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EUSA Project: Job Shadowing in Craiova, Romania.
Andreina Soto March 2013
During the month of March, three of the member of the EUSA Project from Argentina (OAJNU), Brazil (ORPAS), and Venezuela (SWYAA) had the chance to do a Job Shadowing in the city of Craiova, Romania, as well as other cities from the Oltenia Region of this country, to identify and investigate about best practice examples related to youth entrepreneurship. All the activities were coordinated at local level by the members of the European Platform for Youth Development (EPYD).
The first week served for the three participants get settled and get to know a bit more about the city where they lived for the next weeks. They participated in the closure of the international project “Moving On: Our perfect Job in the Balkans”, coordinated by the Regional Organization for Volunteer, which had the presence of representatives of youth organizations from Bulgaria, Macedonia and Serbia. During this work session an evaluation of the situation of each country was possible, observing the common points of their realities concerning to economic, demographic, social and political aspects, and how these elements affect the insertion of young population in the labor market, as well as economic and social initiatives regarding entrepreneurship. They also had the opportunity to do an interview to the President of Rroma Young for the Unity, Solidarity and Transparency (Tinerii Romi pentru Unitate, Solidaritate şi Transparenţă - TRUST), organization conformed by members of the Rroma Community that, from the year 2008, had been working on different projects for the vindication of the ethnics minorities and disadvantaged groups in the Romanian society. The Job Shadowers also had the chance to know a little bit more about the Romanian history doing cultural visits to the Bran Castle, famous for the legend of Dracula, and the Peleş Castle, part of the legacy of the royal family. Also, as part of the intercultural activities, the birthday of the President of EPYD was celebrated with a traditional Romanian party.
Intercultural presentation at the Elena Cuza School
International Project "Moving On: Our Perfect Job in the Balkans"
Ethnographic Museum of the Oltenia Region
Intercultural presentation at the Elena Cuza School
Welcome Reception in Honor of Ambassador of Japan in Venezuela, Mr.Tetsusaburo Hayashi.
Ricardo Reséndiz July 2013
On July 29 the Japanese Embassy in Venezuela hosted a reception Melia Caracas Hotel, on the occasion of the arrival of the new Ambassador of Japan in Caracas, Mr. Tetsusaburo Hayashi. The event brought together representatives of the Venezuelan government, various diplomatic missions in Venezuela, Japanese citizens residing in the country, and guests from different institutions that have relations with the Japanese Embassy.
Several ex-participants of the SWY program were present: former National Leaders Liliana Sivoli (SWY21) and María Elizabeth Rodríguez (SWY24) representing venezuelan Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Carlos Díaz (SWY24) board member of GOEN Maracaibo and Ricardo Reséndiz (SWY21) on behalf of SWYAA Venezuela.
The new Ambassador addressed the audience a brief speech about his expectations as Ambassador of Japan, his background regarding external commerce, and his desire to keep strengthening bonds and deepen binational cooperation for the development of Venezuela, considering that 2013 is the 85th anniversary of japanese immigration and 75th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries. His speech ended with two of his own Haiku poems dedicated to Orinoco River and Venezuela.
On behalf of the SWYAA Venezuela we would like address a special welcome to His Excellency, wishing him much success and hoping to reinforce the bonds between the Embassy and our Association by strengthening the relations between the two countries.
The second week activities were basically developed in the city of Târgu Jiu, in order to get to know the labor of the Regional Association for Rural Development (Asociatia Regionala pentru Dezvoltare Rurala - ARDR). This organization seeks to create opportunities for the persons with social and economic disadvantages, especially in the rural context, to play an active role in their communities for their development and self-sustainability. Its work platform is based on the European Volunteer Service (EVS) and until now, they have been working with 120 volunteers, developing different kinds of projects in the Romanian country. During their stay in Târgu Jiu, the job shadowers had the chance to share with the volunteers in charge of the S.A.V.E. project. Unlike the other projects, S.A.V.E. is focused on raising awareness about the social inclusion of people with mental and physical disabilities. To get to know this project in a deeper way, the job shadowers attended to the activities that the volunteers carried on in two social inclusion centers where they had the chance to share with the children and youngsters.
Other of the activities developed was an intercultural presentation in the Elena Cuza School of Craiova, where each Job Shadower presented information and images about their countries to secondary students. During the weekend, continuing with the enthusiasm of getting to know this diverse country, the volunteers spent a weekend in the city of Braşov, famous for its snowy mountains, ideal for skiing, and for its rich architectonic heritage.
The third week was marked by visits to different schools in the cities of Slatina, Balş, and Dragasani, where it has been developed a Project called “Participation Standards for Citizenship Activeness”, organized by ARDR and EPYD. Through this initiative, the idea is to promote the participation of the students inside their schools, encourage them to play a more active role and the capacity to act, along with the teachers, in the development of activities and decision making process. In each school, workshops were developed with students and teachers to identity the youth initiatives made during the course of the project and the benefits implied by the involvement of the students in a more active life inside the schools and the non-formal education sector. They also visited the community of Sergacea to talk with some of the representatives of the City Council, and some other members of this community related to economical entrepreneurship. With the goal of promote the EUSA Project, the volunteers were also invited to an interview in a local television, presenting their experiences regarding the activities developed and their impressions about the Romanian culture.
The fourth week served to finish with the institutional activities. They visited the Center for Conciliation and Professional Orientation of the University of Craiova, who are in charge of the advisement and guidance of the students at secondary and university level, with the development of projects aimed to promote volunteer activities and entrepreneurship as complement of the formal education. They also made an interview to the president of FPRO, the National Council for Small and Medium Enterprises in the Oltenia Region, in charge of defend the interests of the small and medium enterprises in front of the Government, the advisement of the entrepreneurs to the request of funds to improve their structure, as well as workshops for the employees to improve their capacities. Finally, the work sessions ended with a visit to Acces Oltenia, a non-governmental organization whose goal is to qualify the persons and offer them an alternative to educate them and give them greater opportunities to get in to the labor market, with courses and workshops in different areas. This, understanding that the requirements of the labor market and the enterprises tend to change constantly, and this is why is important to give practical solutions to these requirements.
The last days in the city of Craiova also served to know another interest sites as the Nicolae Romanescu Park, the Ethnographic Museum of the Oltenia Region and the Natural Sciences Museum, which allowed them to know in a deeper way the details about the culture of this region and their natural treasures. Of course, for the farewell of this exchange the volunteers had the joy to be part of another traditional celebration.
EUSA Project: Job Shadowing in Huelva, Spain.
Johalis Ramirez March 2013
As a part of the EUSA Project, on March 2013, SWYAA Venezuela Volunteer Johalis Ramírez participated in a Job Shadowing Program that was held in Huelva, Spain.
The Job Shadowing was conducted by one of the partner Organization, “Aljaraque en Acción”, which is a social-cultural nonprofit organization which promotes intercultural learning through non-formal education with the aim of promoting the participation of young people, children and adults to reduce racism and promote respect, tolerance and solidarity among them.
During this month, Johalis Ramírez had the opportunity to observe the current situation and best practice examples regarding the issues of entrepreneurship and unemployment among youth in Spain, by visiting several Public Organizations, Local Governmental Organizations and NGO’s related to different areas such as Youth, Education, Employment, Culture, Sports, Environment, Gender Equality, International Cooperation and Social Welfare.
One of the activities carried out during the Job Shadowing in Spain, was the presentation of the project at the Town Hall and Interview with the Mayor of Aljaraque, in which it was discussed and analyzed the current situation of this issues and the effectiveness of the existent public policies.
Also, the Job Shadowers had the opportunity to interview some representatives of the following organizations:
• Provincial Government of Huelva
• Local Departments of Youth, Culture, Sports and International Cooperation
• Environment Municipal Office
• House of Culture of Aljaraque
• Information Center for Women
• Andaluz Institute for Youth
• Center for Entrepreneurial Development (CADE)
• Local Development Area of Huelva
• Entrepreneurial Incubator
Through this visits the Job Shadowers were able to collect relevant information regarding the main programs and tools for young, and the impact of these programs in the field of youth development, employment and entrepreneurship.
The Job Shadowers also participated in the conference "Resources and Opportunities for Mobility, Training, Volunteering and Employment" held at the University of Huelva, where the Project and the partner organizations were presented to the students, and after that was carried out a group discussion about the experiences and expectations of the Latin American and European Job Shadowers.
Further to this, the Job Shadowers also had time to interact with the locals and learn about the culture of this beautiful area of Spain, by Enjoying of good a Flamenco Show, walking through the city of Huelva and Sevilla during Easter Week, or visiting the Hermitage of El Rocio and Medieval Fair of Palos de la Frontera.
Interview with young entrepreneurs at the Entrepreneurial Incubator
Conference at the University of Huelva
Working Session at the House of Culture of Aljaraque
Interview with young entrepreneurs at the Entrepreneurial Incubator
EUSA Project: Job Shadowing in Wales, U.K.
Carlos Resendiz March 2013
During March 2013, the SWYAA Venezuela volunteer Carlos Reséndiz traveled with two other volunteers which were Gabriel Gonçalves from Brazil and Jazmin Shneeberger from Argentina to Cardiff, Wales’s capital located in the United Kingdom. As part of the EUSA project, the welsh partners, Eastmoors Youth Center, received the 3 volunteers from Latin America and they welcomed to their beautiful city.
Eastmoors Youth Center is located in a disadvantage part of Cardiff called Splott, this ONG works with young people from the same area. The main objective of Eastmoors is to develop interesting, challenging and creative opportunities to the young people who attend it, and contribute to the development of their full potential. All this, in order to prevent these young people go to the streets, put in risk there life, addictions incur or commit crimes.
The job shadowers had the opportunity to meet several organizations that are working on entrepreneurship and unemployment issues, they had the chance to interview some young entrepreneurs and work with some of them in the Youth Center. Some of the ONG they meet were:
• The Prince’s Trust
• Communities First
• Ministry of Life
• Cardiff Volunteer Community Center
• Radio Cardiff
• Grassroots
• Business in Focus
• Youth Offenders Team
Into the connection between youth unemployment and the opportunities that these young people have to overcome this situation by generating their own enterprises, Wales offers a lot of tools aimed at them, almost all of them supported by the government. In regard to society, it has been observed that the movement of social organizations and NGOs is growing day by day, why raise the possibilities of promoting entrepreneurship in more and more sectors of the country.
These organizations tend to create the necessary conditions (physical, psychological, emotional, academic, economic, etc.) for young people from different communities, cultures and socio-economic positions acquire sufficient preparation and training to be encouraged to start your own business either through projects related to the arts or sports, education, social volunteering, courses to learn trades and so on. Attacking the necessities is the main objective, to create the best environment for young people to encourage their creativity to solve problems by their own and make new opportunities for next generations.
The 2013 SWYAA Tokyo Conference
Edwin Solorzano March 17th -23rd 2013
In March, the SWYAA Venezuela had the huge privilege to be invited to the Tokyo Conference; a meeting sponsored by the Cabinet Office of Japan in conjunction with the Japanese Alumni Association (IYEO) in order to gather representatives from different SWYAAs around the globe, to discuss and promote mutual understanding and practical initiatives as global citizens by voluntarism held during each year and proposing cooperative activities among the associations.
In order to promote deep discussions, the Cabinet Office took the initiative to invite 28 countries from all over the world, with the most active social contribution profiles during the SWY Program such as: Australia, Bahrain, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Egypt, Fiji, Greece, India, Japan, Kenya, Mexico, New Zealand, Oman, Peru, Solomon Islands, Spain, Sri Lanka, Sweden, Tanzania, Tonga, Turkey, UAE, United Kingdom, Venezuela, and Yemen.
The discussion Agenda of the conference was structure in three important aspects:
First, the Current Situation and Future of the SWY program, explained by Mr. Toshio Kuzuma, Director for International Youth Exchange of the Cabinet Office, where also the Conference Delegates exchanged ideas on what kind of essence should be included in the program and how the SWYAA can contribute for supporting the SWY Program.
During the meeting, every SWYAA Representative had the opportunity to make a brief presentation of their most prominent country activities they coordinated in the last year. In the Venezuelan presentation, a short video was played explaining that all the activities were related to social contributions, promoting Cultural Diversity and Mutual Understanding.
In order to mention some of them we have: The Blood Donation campaign named ‘Give Blood – Give Life’, the Tree Planting at the Avila Mountain, an environmental initiative from the Japanese Embassy in Venezuela, and also the most important project of international cooperation with Europe and Latin America called Learn Live Love Project (LLLP), regarding reducing poverty and marginalization in communities with special needs by giving them tools to develop their own projects using non formal education methods, sharing knowledge from 8 different NGOs and increasing volunteering in rural areas and suburbs.
Orientation about the Conference by Mr. Masateru Yoshida, representative of the Cabinet Office of Japan.
From left to right: Ms. Tamae Saito, International Division Chief of IYEO, and Ms. Reiko Ohashi, Vice-President of IYEO.
Representatives of SWYAA Mexico and Venezuela, Mr Jose Ruiz and Mr. Edwin Solorzano signed an Agreement in order to start coordinating mutual projects about social contributions in their associations.
Orientation about the Conference by Mr. Masateru Yoshida, representative of the Cabinet Office of Japan.
At the end of the presentations, the Conference Delegates received a Courtesy Call on the Minister of State of Japan, Honorable Ms. Masako Mori, and she explained the meaning and high value of the SWY Program to the Cabinet Office.
In a second term, as a part of the Agenda the Conference Delegates discussed more about SWYAA Social Contribution Activities, including a review of the past Ex-Participant conference results, and proposals for SWYAA common projects and methods to realize them. This was also a good chance to learn from each other about successful projects that have taken place, develop agreements between Alumni Associations and to promote youth leadership and social contribution activities through the SWYAA Network.
As a part of the Conference, the participants had the responsibility to prepare a very short presentation targeted to Japanese and Overseas Ex-Participants to the SWY Program in the National Olympics Memorial Youth Center (Tokyo, Japan), with an audience of approximately 90 people. In this sense, the presentations were divided in six different groups of Post-Program Activities: Education, Youth Development, Environment, Relation with SWY, Volunteerism and Relation with Japan. After all the country representative speeches, there were chance to explain with more details about each initiative by making Interest Group Discussions, asking frequent questions about how to develop a successful project and what are the most important steps to consider in order to obtain excellent results.
And finally, the last part of the Agenda was about Topics proposed by the conference delegates, to cover important ideas that could be useful to implement in all the SWYAAs. As a result of the discussion, many interested proposals of projects came out:
Proposed SWYAA Projects:
- SWY Day on January 18 (10 countries have implemented)
- Homestay + 1.
- SWY World.net: (10 countries have submitted activities to Greece)
- Individuals or SWYAA can submit their activities for posting in the website.
- Whenever individual ex-PY of SWYAA write about projects on Facebook, Twitter, etc,
use hash tags (#HSplus1 and #SWYppa)
- SWY Radio: ( http://www.facebook.com/SWYradio )
- One More Child Goes to School (Sri Lanka)
- Give Blood, Give Life (Venezuela),
Among many others.
After the Conference, The SWYAA Venezuela reaffirmed their commitment with the program in order to support the cultural activities held by the Embassy, and promoting the SWY Spirit and mutual understanding.
Farewell of TROV Project Representatives
Edwin Solorzano March 03rd 2013
Members of SWYAA Venezuela met on March 03rd at the Simon Bolivar International Airport to offer a farewell to Leonel Velasquez, Stephanie Chacin, and Ricardo Gonzalez, three of our SWYAA Venezuela volunteers that will be part of the The Rhythm of Volunteering Project (TROV Project).
The project has as main objective the personal development of the volunteers, including growth in areas such as communication skills, deeper understanding of the concept of mutual acceptance and tolerance, time management skills, planning and organizing events, team-work related skills, creativity and innovation etc; at the same time at the community level, the project aims at promoting volunteering in general and the European Voluntary Service in particular; The main responsibility will be to organize the 2013 edition of the National Volunteer Week in Romania.
The Project Partners are France, Azerbajian, Italy, Portugal, Romania, and Venezuela.
If you are interested to follow the development of their activities in Romania you can check out the following link: The Rhythm of Volunteering Project
Voluntary Activity at the Luis Castro Primary School
Ricardo Gonzalez February 26th 2013
On Thursday 21 of February, volunteers from SWYAA Venezuela traveled to Caraballeda, a local community in Vargas State, and shared experiences with students from 1st to 6th grade in a public school named Luis Castro, with the aim of teaching them cultural diversity and world geography. The children watched a video called: “If the world were a village”, where all the world population represented in percentages for kids were living in a same community and spoke several languages. Additionally, they made many workshops with recreational activities with the main objective of teaching them important aspects of globalization, country and continents’ locations, the most spoken languages in the world, social and economic differences, utilization and distribution of resources, etc.
The group of teachers and coordinators, as well as the authorities of the school was very pleased for having participated in such a good activity and for seeing the huge effort that youths from SWYAA Venezuela made for the kids with low economic resources.
February 26th 2013
February 26th 2013
February 21st 2013
February 21st 2013
Blood Donation
Ricardo Gonzalez February 21st 2013
One more time, volunteers from SWYAA Venezuela showed their commitment and feeling of responsibility by promoting volunteer activities with a local and international scope. In this opportunity they gathered in the Lab of the Venezuelan Central University to donate blood. 400cc approximately were given by each volunteer to be used in those who need it the most. The activity was made on February the 19th of this year and 5 volunteers participated in it. Ricardo Gonzalez, member of SWYAA Venezuela, declared that for him, donating blood has become one of his favorites activities, because when blood is given, life is also given.
EUSA Project
Capacity Building Romania
Andreína Soto, Carlos Reséndiz y Johalis Ramírez January 2013
SWYAA VEN volunteers were in Romania along with other Latin American and European participants of the EUSA Project, to be part of a training session where several doubts were clarified and various tools were obtained in order to accomplish the next phase of the project, a Job Shadowing in each country member to observe and analyze the strategies implemented for youth entrepreneurship, as a way to fight unemployment and the economic crisis that is affecting our societies nowadays.
This meeting had as main goals that all participants had the chance to know each other and become familiar with the methodology, acquiring the skills and competences needed to implement those strategies on the field. In turn, the group activities sought a strengthening of the interpersonal relationships and a greater understanding of the problems that this project addresses, increasing the analytical capacity of the Youth Workers for the process of research and writing of the final results.
With all these objectives fully covered and along with enthusiasm that characterizes each one of the participants, we seek to make a successful work during the upcoming months.
Youth Workers from Argentina, Brazil, Romania, UK, Spain and Venezuela
Working Session
Youth Workers coming to the Venezuela Job Shadowing Training
Youth Workers from Argentina, Brazil, Romania, UK, Spain and Venezuela
Daniel Neves (ORPAS President), Nathalie and Luanna
EUSA Country Managers
Nathalie and Juliana
Daniel Neves (ORPAS President), Nathalie and Luanna
EUSA Project
Kick Off Meeting Brazil
Andreína Martínez November 2012
From October 2012, SWYAA Venezuela is part of a new international project together with five countries: Romania, United Kingdom, Spain, Argentina and Brazil. This project, called "EUSA - Encouraging Sustainable Action Through Unity", is supported by the Youth in Action fund from European Union, and has as its main objective to create a comprehensive common action strategy that tackles the major global issue of stimulation of initiative and entrepreneurship amongst youth while spurring Latin America – European Union best practice exchange learning and cooperation.
The Kick Off Meeting was held from November 22 to 27 in Sao Paulo Brazil, having ORPAS as our host organization.
Country Managers from all partners organization European Plattform for Youth Development (Romania), Aljaraque en Acción (Spain), Cardiff Youth Council (UK), ORPAS (Brazil), OAJNU (Argentina) and SWYAA (Venezuela) gather to plan out the strategies and methodology for the Project Operational Calendar.
Learn Live Love Project
Youth Seminar Argentina
Ricardo Resendiz October 2012
The Youth Seminar took place from October 24th to 28th, 2012 in Buenos Aires, Argentina. The countries that were invited to the event were Argentina, Brazil, Finland, Norway, Peru, Slovenia, Turkey, and Venezuela, represented by Nathalie Wierdak (SWY21), Edwin Solórzano (SWY21), Erick Wierdak, Johalis Ramirez, and Ricardo Reséndiz (SWY21).
The global purpose of this event was to make the participants to self-assess aptitudes and attitudes regarding volunteerism, share experiences and points of view about social aspects of their own countries, positive and negative aspects.
Further of this sharing and reflection activities, also the organizers meant to provide the participants of a set of tools for each one of the represented organizations, not only produced within the sharing process and giving out ideas regarding interesting and educational group activities, but also through workshops about capacity assessment from an organizational point of view, so each one of the participating organizations could produce their own conclusions to help develop plans to improve skills of the members and to be more clear about what can be offered to potential volunteers.
Venezuela Volunteers group
Role Playing
Ice Breaking Activities
Venezuela Volunteers group
Learn Live Love
Volunteer Project Venezuela
Andreína Soto and Carlos Reséndiz October 2012
As part of the activities of this project, SWYAA Venezuela sought to establish relationships with several schools in the country, cooperation networks through workshops, and the recollection of medical and educational resources. In particular, these donations were designated to three institutions which we had constant communication along the year, the “Escuela Bolivariana de Sicarigua”, in Lara state; the “Escuela Integral El Palomo”, in Bolivar state and the “E.B.E. Luis Castro”, in Vargas state. During the development of the project, a week of Local Volunteer Project was also planned, which was held from October 17 to the 24th, with the participation of member of the partners organization from Argentina, Brazil, Slovenia, Finland, Norway, Peru and Turkey, such as the participation of several members and volunteers from the SWYAA Venezuela, counting more than 20 young participants for this activity.
The Local Volunteer Project started in the city of Caracas, taking this opportunity to get to know better the work and purposes of each organization and its representatives, reaching a wider cultural exchange and the strengthening of friendship and cooperation bonds. Besides this kind of activities, a visit to the town of Caraballeda was programmed; with the intention of spending a day in the “E.B.E. Luis Castro”. The warm welcome from the students and the staff set the basis of what would be an amusing day, continued with a musical act led by children and ended with a series of educational and recreational activities that our volunteers carried on in the classrooms, along with the students. During this day we also had the opportunity to make a short visit to the “Fundación Orquesta Infantil del Estado Vargas” (Maiquetía), where we had the opportunity to listen and appreciate the musical and artistic talent of their students, who delighted us with pieces of classical music as well as traditional songs and dances of our country.
The next part of the project took place in Sicarigua, getting to know better the organized structure of this town, which proved to be a valuable example of local power and sustainable development. During our stay, we spent time with several representative persons of the community, teachers, workers and member of the community council; we visited the Archaeological Museum and some of the excavations being carried out in the area, with the guidance of their researchers; we make several tours around the village and we even organized a small soccer tournament between the volunteers and the local youngsters, having the chance of making new friendships. Finally, we spent a day with the students of the school, who showed all their joy and enthusiasm during the development of different kinds of games and activities coordinated by the volunteers. In the same order, the kids decided to shows some of their own games. This enriching visit was also a great opportunity to deliver to the community educational resources that were collected by SWYAA Venezuela, and now are part of the Museum library, an access free space for all the members of the community.
At the end of all our activities, we discussed about these projects and their importance, not only for the beneficiary communities, but also for the young volunteers, local and foreign, who were capable of learning and getting inspired by the examples of each community and the people with whom they could share. Hence the importance of continuing our work as an organization, promoting further exchanges, demonstrating that this kind of projects are able to generate major changes in our society.
Volunteers Induction Session
School Reception for Volunteers
Volunteers Induction Session
Cacique Simón Bastidas receiving the medical supplies donation
Cacique Simón Bastidas
Volunteers during inventory of donations
Cacique Simón Bastidas receiving the medical supplies donation
Local Action
Medical supplies to the Mapoyo Community.
Nathalie Wierdak September 2012
In recent months, Learn Live Love Project volunteers and SWYAA Venezuela members participated in promoting and collecting donations for the medical clinic located in the Escuela Integral Mapoyo in the community of El Palomo Bolivar State
On Saturday SWYAA Venezuela was pleased to hand over 450 medicines and supplies to the Mapoyo Chief Simon Bastidas. This donation was made possible through the collaboration of many people and institutions.
Once again SWYAA Venezuela would like to extend their sincere thanks to everyone who made this possible!
Reforestation Day
Nathalie Wierdak August 2012
On Saturday August 11, Learn Live Love Project volunteers from SWYAA Venezuela, participated in the reforestation day at the Avila National Park. The event was organized by the Japanese Nikkei Federation of Venezuela and the National Parks Institute (INPARQUES), an entity under the Ministry of Power for the Environment.
The activity was attended by the Cultural Attaché Chikako Yasunaga. As part of the reforestation project of the National Park, more than 100 volunteers helped with the planting of more than 1,000 trees of 16 different species among which we can mention Araguaney and Mahogany.
Volunteers at Parque Nacional El Avila
Volunteers with Miss Chikako Yasunaga, Cultural Attache from the Japanese Embassy
Planting trees
Volunteers at Parque Nacional El Avila
SWYAA members with Ms Chikako Yasunaga Cultural Attache from the Japanese Embassy
SWYAA members with Ms Chikako Yasunaga Cultural Attache from the Japanese Embassy
Meeting at the Aniversary of The Japanese Emperor
Ricardo Gonzalez December 2012
On Tuesday December 4, volunteers and ex-participants of the Ship for World Youth Program in Venezuela, along with all members of the Japanese Embassy & Nikkei Federation, diplomats and ministers from several countries, joined the celebration of the 79th anniversary of the Imperial Highness Akihito, Emperor of Japan, as part of a volunteer activity with more than 300 participants.
The event’s opening ceremony started with the National Anthem of Venezuela followed by the National Anthem of Japan, interpreted by the famous Japanese singer Hana Kobayashi. The environment was full of joy and happiness as all the people gathered to greet the Excellency Ambassador of Japan, Tetsuo Shioguchi, who kindly gave a speech congratulating the Emperor of Japan and described his magnificent work in the Japanese Embassy in Venezuela.
Afterwards, the lunch was served along with beverages and desserts. The members of the SWYAA Venezuela took the opportunity to talk with ministers and diplomats about their own experiences in Japan on the Ship for the World Youth Program, shared knowledge and anecdotes, as well as all their results with several projects which they have been developing and working on during the year of 2012. Furthermore they greeted the Cultural Attaché, Miss Chikako Yasunaga and Mr. Máximo Taylhardat who are active members of the Japanese Embassy in Venezuela and have become good friends since being involved in many Japanese volunteer activities together.
Learn Live Love Project: Volunteer Project Brazil
Ricardo Reséndiz October-November 2012
Within “Youth in Action” Program, financed by the European Commission, one of “Learn Live Love” Volunteer Projects took place in São Paulo, Brazil. The organization that made this project possible was ORPAS (Obras Recreativas Profissionais Artisticas e Sociais), translated from Portuguese as “Recreational, Professional, Artistic and Social Works”. This organization, settled in municipality of Jardim São Luís, develop many activities among it and other areas of the southern region of the city, regarding capacity building in accounting, informatics, music, dance, art, and other tools that are given especially to the young people of the favelas and the surrounding neighborhoods with low resources and scarce opportunities to get into the workforce.
The participants that were invited to involve with ORPAS came from Argentina, Finland, Norway, Peru, Slovenia, Turkey and Venezuela, so one of the main purposes of the Volunteer Project was to bring intercultural exchange to people with little chances of having any, this was achieved by making country presentations in three schools and institutes at Capão Redondo, C.E.U. Três Lagos, and Paraisópolis, involving more than 200 students in total; discussions were held and questions brought up by the audience. This activity had interesting outcomes like some Brazilian students expressing a strong and new found will to learn English language.
SWYAA Volunteer Ricardo Reséndiz with with Gabriel Valfre National Coordinator from OAJNU Argentina at ORPAS Brazil
Volunteers from Venezuela, Peru, Slovenia and Turkey painting ORPAS HQ
LLLP Volunteer Project Brazil-ORPAS
SWYAA Volunteer Ricardo Reséndiz with with Gabriel Valfre National Coordinator from OAJNU Argentina at ORPAS Brazil
The second main activity that took place during the project was helping with the restoring of ORPAS headquarters, by renewing the painting the front wall. This activity also required a new design made by consensus, taking in account some limitations regarding resources (paint, tools, money and time), so the success of the restoring activities gave the participants a first-hand understanding of Latin-American reality, where improvising and re-planning is part of life, but despite that, this kind of teamwork also produces quality results, as it was experienced.
With no doubt, the time spent in Brazil was enriching, not only to the participants invited, but also for the youth that got the chance to be in contact with different cultures, feeling the similarities and differences from the most far of all countries to the neighbor countries. The participants in the Volunteer Project had the opportunity to experience success through the work done in the community, and despite clear language barriers, it was all supported by the will of understanding each other.
Volunteers from the Learn Live Love Project Argentina in Rosario
Volunteers from the Learn Live Love Project Argentina
Volunteers from the Learn Live Love Project Argentina in Rosario
Learn Live Love Project: Volunteer Project Argentina
Johalis Ramirez October 2012
As a participant organization of the Learn Live Love Project, SWYAA Venezuela was invited to the Volunteer Project held in Rosario, Argentina, hosted by the Argentinean organization OAJNU (Organización Argentina de Jóvenes para las Naciones Unidas). The group was formed by ten (10) volunteers from Slovenia, Finland, Norway, Brazil, Argentina, Peru and Venezuela.
This event consisted of a week of activities in the Qom Community of Rosario, in the Cacique Togoye School, attending local people from North East Argentina. This area counts with a high rate of poverty, deficient public services, lack of access to opportunities, and unsatisfied basic human needs.
The volunteers worked on activities to strengthen the integration of the group; introduced themselves to the Qom community and prepared the workshops and activities.
There were also spaces for debates and reflections about non-formal education, common understanding and human rights realities in each one of the participating countries. This was also an enriching learning experience that allowed the volunteers to be more sensitive about important issues of Argentinean history and culture that currently define the behavior of the local society.
At the school, the group of volunteers, together with the students, developed workshops and activities aimed to promote the value of building from diversity towards equity and common understanding. Through this experience the volunteers had the opportunity to perceive a positive feed-back and enthusiastic participation of the students regarding some issues such as: Equity, Integration, Cultural Diversity, Popular Education and active participation to promote positive changes in their society.
Give Blood, Give Life
Nathalie Wierdak August 2012
On Tuesday morning August 28 SWYAA Venezuela members participated in a blood donation day at the Hospital Universitario de Caracas.
The blood obtained through donations is intended for the treatment of many diseases that cause anemia and to treat various types of cancer as well as surgical procedures, organ transplants and treatment with accidents, bleeding and burns.
How have we helped?
• 1 in 10 people admitted in a hospital needs blood.
• Every three seconds someone needs blood.
• Only 5% of potential donors give blood each year.
• The entire donation process, including rest, takes no longer than 30 minutes.
• 450 ml of blood can save up to 3 lives.
The next donation day is going to be in February 2013.
SWYAA Volunteers, Edwin Solórzano, Nathalie Wierdak and Ricardo González
It takes less than 20 minutes!
All the doctors and nurses take really good care of donors
SWYAA Volunteers, Edwin Solórzano, Nathalie Wierdak and Ricardo González
At the Ministry of Culture with National Coordinator from Turkey Fatma Nur and OAJNU Volunteer Ramiro
Youth for UNderstanding Head Quarters in Ankara
The team of dedicated workers
At the Ministry of Culture with National Coordinator from Turkey Fatma Nur and OAJNU Volunteer Ramiro
Learn Live Love Project
Job Shadowing – Turkey
Nathalie Wierdak July 2012
In July 2012, SWYAA Venezuela Project Coordinator Nathalie Wierdak was invited to participate in a Job Shadowing Training Program in Turkey as part of the Learn Live Love Project.
The Job Shadowing took place in the “Youth for Understanding Ankara Office” which is located in one of the most lively, dynamic areas of Ankara with a staff of 5 professionals and a high number of volunteers. Youth for Understanding is a global NGO that targets mobility and intercultural exchange among students. Their main area of expertise is student exchanges with homestays in the destination country. The idea is to give young people an understanding of living together in different cultures prior to adulthood and enabling them to become global citizens.
During the Job Shadowing Nathalie Wierdak had the Opportunity to visit the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) Office in Ankara where one fellow SWYer from SWY22 is currently working there.
The Job Shadowing finished in Mardin, an ancient Mesopotamian town in Turkey’s south-east, where the headquarters of ISDA and E-gençlik are currently based, and institutional visits were held by the International Agency for Sustainable Development, Ministry of Culture and NGOs Project Management.
Learn Live Love Project
Job Shadowing – Finland
Edwin Solorzano June 2012
In June 2012, as a part of the Learn Live Love Project, the Local Coordinator from SWYAA Venezuela Edwin Solórzano and Ana Lopes from ORPAS, Brazil, had the opportunity to receive a special training during one week in Finland. The Job Shadowing was in charge of Ms. Pia Nurmio-Perälä, the Project Manager and host, and consisted in visiting several NGOs in different areas such as Educational, Environmental, Recreational, Cultural, and entrepreneurships.
The first day in Helsinki, we had an institutional visit to NSU - Nyland Swedish Youth, who was in charge of the Leader Volunteer Ms. Helena Von Schoultz. The Association consists of seven local unions and a hundred and ten compounds. Together disposes over a hundred members in the association house, and:
• Promotes youth development movements.
• Works training of teaching skills for children.
• Preserves or acquire further training the Finnish-Swedish cultural heritage for NSU and the common aspirations.
• Organizes several activities with children.
Institutional visit to Nyland Swedish Youth (NSU). The Venezuelan Participant organized a workshop of Venezuelan Drums Rhythms and the Brazilian Participant showed the kids how to dance Samba.
Ms. Eelin Hoffström (FSU partner) kindly offered to the Participants a complete tour around the Island and we visited the Cultural House of Vänö, and know more about the activities in the Island.
LLLP Job Shadowing Participants with the Incredible Finnish Host Ms. Pia Nurmio-Perälä and Mr. Pekka Perälä
Institutional visit to Nyland Swedish Youth (NSU). The Venezuelan Participant organized a workshop of Venezuelan Drums Rhythms and the Brazilian Participant showed the kids how to dance Samba.
As a part of experience in the country, we traveled by boat to Vänö Island, located in the Finnish Archipelago, in order to know more about the activities in the Municipality, meeting with the Finnish LLLP Coordinator Ms. Eelin Hoffström (FSU partner), and the European volunteers: Ines Silva from Portugal and Florian Damour from Saint-Joseph, Reunion (France). During that time, the Volunteers from Europe kindly offered us a complete tour around the Island and we visited the Cultural House of Vänö, where all the participants had the opportunity to present their Organizations and know more about the activities in the Island, such as outdoor games for children, sailboats, exploring and preserving the environment in the island, preparing treasure box games for visitors, Drama performances, Music Concerts, agricultural work in farms, taking care of sheep, cleaning the fields, learning how to make fabrics, among others.
The second part of the experience consisted in helping in a Local Camp for kids and youngsters from 10 to 24 years old, organized by Finlands Svenska 4H. The vision of this NGO is a society of enterprising children and young people who are well, who takes responsibility for the environment and surroundings, which have social skills and feel a global community; they prepare activities and methods symbolized by the green clover representing independent thinking (Head), skills (Hand), compassion (Heart) and a healthy life in a healthy environment (Health).
The next part of the Job Shadowing took place in the Brannskär Island, where some of the locals started to work in a promotion of Initiatives for Youth. As soon as we arrived to the Island we had a meeting with the entrepreneur Mr. Lennart Söderlund (FSU partner) who was in charge of all the activities there, and the Spanish volunteer Mr. Ramon Gonzalez. We had the country presentations and also a Tour around the common areas. The activities in the Island are related to Outdoor games for children (Camping), learning how to build sailboats, growing fruits, vegetables and plants, building new places/areas to receive visitors/tourists (Sauna place, a Café, a rural School, Harbor, etc.; sailing competitions, developing non-formal educational learning systems. At the same time, we had the opportunity to see Mr. Söderlund´s Family business, related to sell home-made bread to the nearest islands. They also receive tourists and prepare tours around the archipelago, and as an interesting fact, they manage investments with the Government to improve the infrastructure of the islands.
After that, in the last day of the training experience, we had a meeting with Ms. Eelin Hoffström in Turku in order to introduce us some European volunteers and know more about an upcoming musical project named “On the Rock Project – Vänö”. All the participants presented their organizations and explained the importance of bringing cultural initiatives to the Municipality: “There is a unique way to involve youth in cultural activities” they said.
Finally, the last Institutional visit took place in Helsinki: in the Finlands Svenska Ungdomsförbund FSU r.f. Office. The LLLP Project Manager explained that the Finnish-Swedish Youth Association was established as a nonpolitical, national youth association in 1906 to advance the interests of the Finnish-Swedish (Swedish speaking people in Finland) youth associations. Their mission is to give the member associations every kind of service such as: information about youth work, service concerning amateur theatre, proposals of project activities, observe the economic support of government, authorities and other important issues valid to activities for the members and young people, and help the members to restore and keep the buildings of the local associations in shape.
This huge opportunity showed us another view of the volunteering, and valuable knowledge that can be applicable into the Latin American local activities.