Introduction

Lääneranna Youth Center is an institution managed by Lääneranna municipality Government. The structural units of the youth center are youth rooms or youth houses (commonly known as youth work units) located in different areas of Lääneranna municipality. The youth center coordinates the youth work of Lääneranna municipality through youth work units and in cooperation with educational institutions.

The organisation in coordinating youth work in Lääneranna municipality. We are mainly operating in Lihula Youth Center, but as well in around areas in Lõpe, Kõmsi and Varbla Youth Centers. The main objective is to support young people, help them to create possibilities to volunteer in local and international level and we are quite involved and trying to be more in Youth in Action (Youth Exchanges, Erasmus+, etc.). In previous year we coordinated many projects, involving more than hundreads of local youngsters in volunteering in local society and as well abroad. We are engaged promoting Europe and its values to the local youth community. Lääneranna Noortekeskus works mainly with young people aged 7-26. The mission of Lääneranna Noortekeskus is to empower youth work in Lääneranna parish to achieve their full potential, to create opportunities for young people to contribute in local community and grow up to be responsible citizens. We are standing for educational approaches that privileges Non-Formal Education (NFE) as a methodology and encourage the use of experiential methods (learning by doing), surprising activities (art/provocation), including information and communication technologies (ICT), and finally, using music and outdoor activities (sports and nature) as tools for more active involvement of young people in our activities,

Website: https://noored.laaneranna.ee/

Facebook: www.facebook.com/laanerannanoortekeskus

 

Location

The organisation is located in Penijõe street 2, Lihula town, 90304 Pärnu county

 

Work tasks and Proposed activities

The arriving volunteer will have the opportunity to help out at the local school and youth centers around the Läänemaa municipality.

Main tasks of the volunteer will be as follows:

  • organising and hosting a language and culture club at the local school. The main objective of the culture club will be to provide the opportunity for the local youngsters to get to know the culture, heritage, history and language of the volunteers’ home country. The activities will be prepared, chosen and managed by the volunteer themselves.
  • Doing youth work in Lihula Youth house. The volunteer will interact with local youngsters that come here after school, help out around the youth center and host an activity once a week: the activities itself will be for the volunteer to decide ( painting, crafts, music or photography related, football club etc.) The main objective of this is to develop new skills and competences of the local youngsters and try out new things.
  • Writing a column about ESC and volunteers’ life at least 2 times a month for Lääneranna Noorteportaal. This will increase the visibility of the project, raise awareness about Erasmus plus and opportunities of the programme among local youth and help the volunteer to reflect back on how their ESC journey is going on a regular basis.
  • Doing youth and culture work at Lõpe klubi one day a week. In Lõpe we have a wonderful youth and culture center where there is plenty opportunities to apply yourself creatively and socially while helping out with organising and running events for the whole community of Lõpe and surrounding areas.
  • Helping out with organising youth activities in Kõmsi noortetuba. In Kõmsi there is a small space for the youngsters to come together which would really benefit from outside help; exposure to the foreign culture and language would mean a lot for the local kids, The volunteer will be able to plan and organise

 

Benefits of volunteering

We have a team of very dedicated, friendly and helpful youth workers in our county who are ready to support the volunteer on their stay here with whatever is necessary. I am sure almost everyone says so when inviting the volunteer here, but we really do mean it. We are excited to share our culture, language, heritage and everything we can with you!

We will offer the position of Mentorship to one of our local youngsters: if this way the volunteer will have an easier time connecting with and getting to know the local youth.

We are not very strict in terms of how the tasks should be done; there will be a lot of opportunities for the volunteer to take initiative and creative decisions when it comes to organising their  work hours and actions on a weekly basis. We want the volunteer to be able to genuinely contribute a piece of themselves and their culture to our community, hence we will try to be supportive and motivational to our best ability, but not set any rigid frames so that the volunteer can take  responsibility and initiative in designing their ESC experience.

The volunteer will have a pretty diverse set of work tasks in different establishments around the county. This will allow the volunteer to get acquainted with the local culture, language, customs and people on a wider scale. And vice versa; in this way the results of volunteers working here will reach a wider range of local people.

The volunteer will be able to enjoy the beautiful Nature of West Estonia, from the coastline and the Baltic sea, to the Matsalu nature reserve and serene bogs and woodlands. We will provide the volunteer with a bike to help you on your adventures around the Lääneranna parish.

 

Requirements for the volunteer

  • Readiness to work with children and youth. This is the most important thing about the whole project. The volunteer needs to be interested in youth work or be comfortable with working with kids aged 7-18.
  • In Lääneranna Noortekeskus we try to base our work around the principle of supporting, guiding and uplifting our youngsters, but not necessarily doing and organising everything for them, as developing a sense of initiative and entrepreneurship in our youngsters is very important for us. Hence you must be ready to be a team player and take a supporting role while organising events and activities with the youth. This might require at times patience and understanding.
  • Be also comfortable with working individually when needed.
  • Be prepared for the realities of living in rural Estonia. The winters are dark, the weather is moody and the local people are sometimes a little bit cold ( not all, we promise! but it might take some time to get used to.) The towns in Lääneranna municipality are quite small, there are not many shops, cinemas or nightlife here. But we do have beautiful nature to make up for it 😉
  • Drive to try new things and work together with the local community for the good of the community.
  • Be comfortable with using social media and have an interest for photography or videography. We have a lot of equipment in the Lihula noortemaja for you to use and create with.

 

Application

To apply fill in the application form in the left column and send it to evs@estyes.ee.

We are flexible regarding the project dates which means we can change the service dates to a certain extent according to the needs of volunteer.

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