European Volunteering as a tool for personal and community transformation
July 2020 - June 2021
Bergolo - Italy
European Solidarity Corps
A once-in-a-life experience
A life-changing experience
The European Solidarity Corps is the European Union program for young people to volunteer or work in projects in their own country or abroad that benefit communities and people around Europe.
European Solidarity Corps projects are available to people from the age of 18 up to 30 years old.
Mission and principles
More information about the European Solidarity Corps [FAQs]
VOLUNTEERING ACTIVITIES
Individual volunteering lets young people participate in the daily work of organisations and lasts between 2 and 12 months. Participants can volunteer abroad or in their country of residence for projects covering social inclusion, environment, culture, and more.
The costs of accommodation and food are covered. Participants also receive a small allowance for personal expenses.
Join the Corps here!
About Vitality
Why "Vitality"?
Vitality is a European Solidarity Corps project that brings vitality and dynamism on different levels:
- in the rural community of Alta Langa and lower Piedmont by introducing 3 foreign volunteers who give visibility to the opportunities of the Erasmus program offered by Vagamondo Youth Organization, they collaborate with local entities in the realization of festivals and events and their own personal project.
- in the lives of 3 young Europeans by giving them the opportunity to experience themselves outside of their own local reality and to discover new passions, enhancing undervalued talents. The project also provides learning opportunities in the field of youth work and by getting involved in the project organized at local and at international level
- in the associations involved in the project: Associazione Vagamondo will receive new inputs and new ideas from the European volunteers that will increase the offer and the capacity of the association to operate at local, national and international level
Associazione Vagamondo
Travel - discover - evolve
Vagamondo, based in the south of Piedmont region, in Italy, is an NGO focused on European mobility and non-formal education. It provides learning and growing opportunities for young people and youth workers.
The name Vagamondo comes from the concept of travel as a powerful tool of self-discovery and personal development: it is through direct contact with cultural and personal differences that identity becomes more visible to every individual; it is coming out of the comfort zone, getting involved in new activities, different from the usual ones, that people can identify room to grow and work on themselves.
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In that condition of clarity non-formal education becomes a playground where people can practice new ways of thinking and acting; an effective tool to make a change that can create a long-term positive impact once back home, thus to improve the quality of personal and professional life.
From 2013 to 2020 Vagamondo took part in the organization and implementation of more than 120 international projects in Italy and abroad, involving more than 400 young people and youth workers.
Youth NGO
1
1
Coach
Supervisors
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Volunteers
2
Opportunities
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The Volunteers:
Veso - Bulgaria
Vicky - Spain
Veso is from Pleven, Bulgaria. He was volunteering with us for 6 months. He had an important role in the preparation and implementation of the training course "Move to Move on" that we delivered in September 2020.
Veso improved our visibility by creating videos and documentaries aimed to communicate what we do and the results of our activities.
He enjoyed spending time in Nature and focusing on his personal wellbeing and inner balance.
He supported also the Municipality of Bergolo in the organization of concerts and with small practical tasks for the maintenance of the village.​​
Vicky is from Mallorca, Spain. She is volunteering with us for 11 months. She had an important role in creating a new visual identity for our organization:
she created a new web page for Associazione Vagamondo. She also was involved in the Team of the training "Move to Move on", implemented in September 2020.
Vicky worked also for the efficiency of the organization enabling new free online tools and resources; she created also our Wikihow: a written description for the main tasks related to our office work.
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Veso tells his experience:
Conditions
TRAVEL
There was a maximum amount of 275€ to reimburse the A/R travel costs of the volunteers.
ACCOMMODATION
The 3 volunteers were sharing an apartment in the main square of Bergolo, 150 m far from the office.
The apartment consists of a kitchen with dining room, a bathroom and 2 bedrooms. The rental and all expenses related to housing were covered by the project funds.
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FOOD AND POCKET MONEY
There was a reimbursement available for food expenses up to 150€ per month
Each volunteer received monthly pocket money of 150€
WORKING SCHEDULE
The usual daily working schedule was from 8:30 to 13 and from 14 to 16:30, from Monday to Friday.
LOCAL TRANSPORTS
All local transports related to the activities of the project were covered by the project funds.
There was a car that the volunteers used to go for personal shopping and to discover the local area; gasoline expenses were covered.
Volunteers' tasks
International Projects
The volunteers supported Associazione Vagamondo in the development of a training course in Bergolo and of some youth exchanges and training abroad.
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Main Tasks:
- Communications with partner organizations, local partners and participants
- Visibility of the projects on the media, social media of the organization and face-to-face
- Preparation of the projects with local young people
- Practicals and logistic
- Facilitation of workshops and non-formal activities
- Planning and project management
- Small maintenance and manual work
Promotion of youth opportunities
Volunteers promoted the international opportunities for young people and for the Youth Sector available within the ESC and Erasmus + program. For the Erasmusdays 2020, they organized an event in Alba in cooperation with the Infoyouth office of the city where they presented their personal experience of Vitality and other opportunities available. Next to that physical event, they organized 2 online events based on virtual reality that allowed young people to interact with our organization, with young ambassadors and with our national and international colleagues. Those initiatives allowed us to reach young people also in the pandemic time and young people who live in rural areas.
Festivals and cultural activities
The volunteers cooperated with the Municipality of Bergolo in the organization of festivals and cultural events in the musical and artistic fields. They took care of the promotion, of the practical aspects like the setting of the space in the theatre, the welcoming of the artists and of the spectators, the setting of the welcoming buffet.
Local eco- tourism
The municipality of Bergolo is part of the touristic route La Via del Sale, an ancient road built by the Romans that connects the coast of Luguria to Piedmont and which was used to transport salt.
Now the Salt Road is a touristic route that is covered on foot and by mountain bike. Langhe local area is also an area of Eno-gastronomic interest. The volunteers promoted the local territory as a destination for natural, eco-sustainable and eno-gastronomic tourism by giving information to tourists.
Personal project
In the framework of their learning goals and according to the values and mission of Associazione Vagamondo, each volunteer carried out his own personal project. The volunteer had the freedom to decide which project to carry out and how to develop it during their volunteering.
Veso focused on developing himself as a video maker; to learn how to become a professional in this field; to promote himself within our European partners' network. He also focused on his personal welbeing.
Local area
Bergolo
Bergolo, a village of 54 inhabitants, is located on the hills of south Piedmont in the province of Cuneo, northern Italy.
It is a peaceful destination for Nature and outdoor activities lovers. The village doesn’t have any shop, only 1 restaurant and it is the ideal place for diving in nature and disconnecting from busy city-life. Bergolo has a long tradition of music, art and, in general, cultural festivals and since 2018 hosts regularly youth exchanges and trainings organized by different youth organizations.
Cortemilia
Cortemilia is the main centre of the local area of Alta Langa with a population of 2300 people. It is located 8 km far from Bergolo.
It is noted for the production of one of the most famous types of hazelnut, the Tonda Gentile di Langa, awarded IGP status. Every August the town celebrates the Sagra della Nocciola (hazelnut fair). In Cortemilia there are bars, pubs, supermarkets, shops, banks, gas stations and public buses to the cities Alba, Asti and Savona.
Langhe
The Langhe is a hilly area famous for its wines, cheeses, and truffles - particularly the white truffles of Alba. The countryside as it was in the first half of the 20th century features prominently in the writings of Beppe Fenoglio and Cesare Pavese.
On 2014 Langhe area was inscribed on UNESCO's World Heritage list for its cultural landscapes, outstanding living testimony to winegrowing and winemaking traditions that stem from a long history
