Workshops on creative rehabilitation for volunteers helping disabled youth “Give the hand to your friend”

Donetsk city youth centre of arts “EkoArt” and partner organisations (NGOs “Rainbow”, “Iskra”, I.C.R. and PAHRE COMPASS) take this opportunity to invite young people with experience of volunteering to take part in an international youth meeting – workshops on creative rehabilitation of young people with disabilities in August 2011.
Deadline: June 26, 2011
Open to: volunteers from 18 to 30 years old from Ukraine, Russia, Belarus, Moldova, Poland, Greece, Germany, Italy, Norway and Belgium as well as other Council of Europe member states.
Fee/Costs: no participation fee (hosting costs and 70% of the travel costs will be covered)
Venue: 10-14 August 2011, Donetsk, Ukraine
Working languages: English and Russian

The aim of the international creative workshops is distribution methods of creative rehabilitation of youth with disabilities in order to improve their socialization and integration into society through volunteer activities.

The program of creative workshops includes:
- introduction to the basics of creative rehabilitation for people with special needs;
- workshops and master classes on various kinds of creativity that can be used for rehabilitation of disabled people;
- visits to NGOs which help people with disabilities;
- carrying out creative workshops for the Donetsk disabled people by the project participants;
- intercultural and international communication of project participants and volunteers from Donetsk;
- international exchange of experience in the volunteer work with disabled people and discussing the possibilities of volunteering in Ukraine.
Workshop participants will receive certificates.

Number of participants: 21
Requirements for candidates:
- 18-30 years old (no more than 3 people over 30 years old may be involved);
- citizens of Council of Europe member states (participants from Ukraine, Russia, Belarus, Moldova, Poland, Greece, Germany, Italy, Norway and Belgium will have priorities);
- experience in volunteer or social activities, preferably with disabled people;
- Russian and/or English skills at a level sufficient to work in the international group;
- willingness to work actively during the workshops and apply their knowledge in practice after training.

Mandatory requirement – the willingness to hold at least one workshop in creative rehabilitation for volunteers or use at least one new method of creative rehabilitation for disabled people in your countries within a month after an international meeting, and also make a brief report about it and send it to the organizers.

How to apply
Fill in the application form in English or Russian (attached or on the website of the Center “EkoArt”: http://ekoart.org) and return it by e-mail to info@ekoart.org no later than 24:00 on Kiev time (GMT +02:00) on Sunday June 26, 2011. Late applications will not be accepted. Please indicate in the subject line “Application for workshop”, your last name and country (for example: Application for workshop, Gorski, Poland). The file name must also contain your last name and country in Latin letters (for example: Gorski_Poland).

Successful applicants will be notified by e-mail no later than Tuesday 5th July, 2011. List of selected participants will also be posted on the website of the Centre “EkoArt” (http://ekoart.org).

Costs
Hosting costs will be covered by the organizers. 70% of the travel costs will be reimbursed (using cheapest way of transport bus, train, low cost airfare/ economy class); 30% of the travel costs will be covered by participants. There is no participation fee.

About organizers
Workshops are held in the framework of the international youth project “Give the hand to your friend” organized by the Donetsk city youth centre of arts “EkoArt” in partnership with Donetsk city public organization helping to disabled children and young invalids “Rainbow” (Ukraine), the Voronezh Regional Non-Profit Children’s Organization “Iskra” (Russia), the Polish Association for Human Rights Education “Compass” (Poland) and NGO ”System and G” (Greece). Financial support of the project is provided by the European Youth Foundation of the Council of Europe.

Contact
Please feel free to call or e-mail us with questions.
Contact person: Valentyna Sakhnenko
Email: info(at)ekoart.org
Phone: +38 (095) 494-18-21, +38 (097) 292-80-60

in Poland: Tomasz JastrzebskiEmail: tomasz_jastrzebski(at)yahoo.comPhone: 0048-71-759-16-26

in Russia: Ekaterina VotyakovaEmail: kvotters(at)gmail.comPhone:  +7906-67-589-11

in Greece: Diana Batraka and Argyris ChouliasEmail: systemandg(at)gmail.comPhone: 00306940966584
and Eleni Katigaridou
Email: development(at)iea.gr
Phone: 0030-231-070-23-88