The South-East Brandenburg branch of the “Sozialpädagogisches Institut” (Social Pedagogy Institute) foundation operates the “Bergschlösschen” inter-generational centre in the city of Spremberg. This year will be the 18th time that an international workcamp takes place there. There are refurbishment tasks within the holiday resort in the neighbouring community to be completed. It has been planned for the workcamp to start to prepare this project (dismantling work), for which we will need your energetic support.
In the city of Spremberg you will have the opportunity to get to know a bit about intercultural work with refugee children, adolescents and families and to enrich this work with your ideas – such as with childcare, for example. You will experience the traditional local festival in Spremberg up close and will help to organise the children’s party with us. You can also actively support the Spremberg film nights on the open-air stage in the city. Besides this, you will have the opportunity to be creative and artistically engaged. There will be numerous opportunities to get to know the local landscape and people during this camp.
Extra fee:
There is an additional administration fee of 50 € for participants who are not from Germany.
Accommodation:
You will be staying in a B&B in Spremberg city centre.
Food:
The group will prepare and cook meals together.
Free Time:
You will be staying in a B&B in the centre of Spremberg. The central location of our “Bergschlösschen” centre offers a variety of diverse leisure activities, such as using the media and youth rooms, creative projects and sports. In Spremberg itself there is an outdoor pool, a cinema, a skate park, various tourist attractions, well-established cycle paths (there will be bicycles available for you). It is also possible to go on trips as a group to the nearby regions. The unique Spreewald region is a paradise for boat tours and canoeing. Spremberg is in the region of Brandenburg, around 120km away from Berlin and 20km away from Cottbus (both reachable by train). There are buses that run within Spremberg itself. Upon your arrival at Spremberg train station, you will be picked up with a shuttle bus which will take you directly to your accommodation.
Your help is needed to prepare space and the facilities for the Focus Festival. You are invited to bring your individual creativity and your talents and you should be ready to work together in international teams: Supported by a carpenter and a metalworker you can create fancy furniture for the visitors, colorful decoration for the stage, you can help to expand the BMX trail and by designing a luminous advertising. Also quite important is the support of the kitchen team. It would be great if the group can contribute something special for the focus festival. At the end volunteers will support the focus festival itself and you will come in contact with the visitors discovering your creations. For further information please visit https://www.rabryka.eu/justlab/index.php/d/projekte/fokus-festival.html
Accomodation & food:
Volunteers will stay in a flat near to the youth and culture center. There are three sleeping rooms, bathroom including washing machine, living room and a kitchen. Volunteers will need a sleeping bag. It is planned that volunteers will prepare breakfast and dinner for their own and lunch will be offered at Rabryka
Location & leisure:
Study and leisure time: Goerlitz is situated in the very east of Germany. After Second World War, it was devided and the area in the east of the river Neisse is now the autonomous town Zgorzelec and part of Poland. Volunteers will get a guided tour through Goerlitz and will learn about its eventful history. You will learn as well about the current network of initiatives in this city, which offer a wide range of cultural and social work. Beside this there will be time for a cycling tour to a lake nearby, long evenings at the bonfire and party
Age:
18-26
Location:
Goerlitz
Language(s):
English, German
Airport:
SXF: Schonefeld (Berlin, Germany)Vegetarian food will be available
"Denkmal!Kunst – KunstDenkmal!" (DKKD) is a festival, taking place from 17.08 to 26.08 in the historical town Osterode in the Harz mountains. Historical buildings will be opened to the public and newly brought to life with specially selected works of art and events. As part of the festival, a fortified tower belonging to the town wall will be professionally renovated. Your group will be helping to rebuild the timber framework and the façade of the tower. You will learn manual labour techniques from the past, work with traditional materials and get to know people who are supporting the preservation of historical buildings. You will also help to prepare and organize the festival events.
Accomodation & food:
You will be staying in a former production hall on the Eulenberg campsite; there you will have your own large common room available. You will sleep on mattresses on the floor. Meals will be prepared and cooked together in groups.http://www.eulenburg-camping.de/campinghotel/matratzenlager/index.php
Location & leisure:
There will be arts and cultural events with music, theatre, exhibitions and parties as part of the festival. Osterode is on the edge of the Harz region, which is a very popular tourist and holiday destination thanks to its mountains, stalactite caves, mining museums and forests. The Unesco World Heritage places "Upper Harz Water Management System" and the "Mines of Rammelsberg" are not far away. Your group will visit the concentration camp memorial "Mittelbau-Dora".Barbecue area, bowling center and games (such as table football) at the campsite. Pool and History museum (Ritterhaus) in Osterode.https://www.osterode.de/tourismus/osterode-entdecken/https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Upper_Harz_Water_Regale
Requirements:
You should be interested in timber-frame constructions and therefore also keen to learn about building materials and techniques from the past. During the festival working hours may be in the evening.
The complex of Belvedere Orangery and the associated buildings had been restored by Weimar Classic Foundation during the last years and was reopened in 2015. In the former Garden Inspector's House a permanent exhibition prepared by European Heritage Volunteers about European Heritage Volunteers Projects in Europe as well as about UNESCO World Heritage Volunteers Projects worldwide is installed. The exhibition is complemented by videos presenting some of the Heritage Volunteers projects having taken place in Europe during the last years.The volunteers taking part in the Guest Guiding project will be at the place from Tuesday to Friday in the afternoons and on Saturdays and Sundays the whole days – the time when most of the visitors will come. Every Monday is the free day of the volunteer. S/he should be available for the visitors of the exhibition, answering their questions concerning European Heritage Volunteers, UNESCO World Heritage Volunteers in general and the UNESCO World Heritage Volunteers project at Belvedere Park. Own contribution concerning related topics as conservation, heritage management, garden architecture and similar is welcome. The volunteers will work in close cooperation with the Department for Castles, Gardens and Buildings of Weimar Classic Foundation. After the introduction week(s) s/he gets 15 € pocket money for each real guest guiding week lasting seven days and 7 € for food per day and s/he will have a simple bike to get from the accommodation to the working place (ca. 4 km). During the H09 project will be further explained, the volunteer will not receive the food money. The volunteer will be accommodated in a flat, with a sleeping room with bed, simple equipped kitchen and shared bathroom. For the participants of this project should be clear that s/he is the only volunteer at the place. From 15.07 to 19.07 the G01 volunteer will have an introduction seminar to become familiar with the organisation as well as to get first instructions about guest guiding, in Lohra Castle (please have a look on the description of Lohra Castle)From 18.07 to 31.08, the UNESCO World Heritage Volunteers Project in Weimar (therefore see the description of the project H09) will take place. The G01 volunteer will be there during the first week, providing guided tours for the participants. . Also, during this period, the G01 volunteer will have the have the possibility to transmit the knowledge about exhibition to the G02 volunteer. Thus, the G02 volunteer will be introduced during the first week and then start guest guiding. The G02 volunteer will be involved in the activities of the European Heritage Day on September, 8th, by providing guided tours, too. Both volunteers will be part of the group, presenting heritage sites of its country of origin and being involved in the social life of the group. During this period, both will be accommodated in the hostel with the participants of the World Heritage Volunteers Project.
Accomodation & food:
The volunteer will be accommodated in a flat, with a sleeping room with bed, simple equipped kitchen and shared bathroomFrom 18.07 to 31.08 will be accommodated in the hostel with the participants of the World Heritage Volunteers ProjectFood described in "Description of work".
Location & leisure:
Weimar is a beautiful small city, located in the middle of Germany in the state of Thuringia. It has a huge number of cultural important places; especially the Classical Period made the city, what it is now. By the late 18th century many of the leading writers and thinkers in Germany, such as Goethe, Schiller and Herder, came to Weimar and shaped the cultural life and in the same time the image of the city. Weimar became the cultural centre of Europe at that time. Many painters, composers and philosophers lived in the city during the classical period. Until now you find many creative and inspired people living in Weimar, which were attracted by the great accumulation of cultural spirit. Since 1998 "Classical Weimar" is inscribed in the UNESCO World Heritage List.Besides Goethe's House, the City Church and the City Palace, especially the parks and gardens with their impressive landscape architecture and pretty castles are part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site "Classical Weimar". During the 20th century Weimar became the birthplace of the Modern Movement in architecture and aesthetics. The Bauhaus was developed by merging the Grand Ducal School of Arts and Crafts and the Weimar Academy of Fine Arts. It had a profound influence upon developments in art, architecture, design and typography. The "Bauhaus and its Sites in Weimar and Dessau" are listed as UNESCO World Heritage, too. For all this historical important marks and to spread the knowledge of the past, Weimar became in 1999 the European Capital of Culture. Since 2012 UNESCO World Heritage Volunteers Projects are taking place at the parks and gardens of the UNESCO World Heritage Site "Classical Weimar". The focus of the activities had been all the years at Belvedere Park, where the volunteers uncovered and restored historical paths which had been disappeared for decades. European Heritage Volunteers coordinates the European part of the UNESCO World Heritage Volunteers initiative as well as organises European Heritage Volunteers projects in Germany and initiates and coordinates European Heritage Volunteers Partner Projects all over Europe.
Requirements:
-Good German -Good English -Motivation letter related to the project -CV + photo
Age:
20-70
Location:
Weimar
Language(s):
English, German
Airport:
LEJ: Leipzig Halle (Leipzig, Germany)Vegetarian food will be available
« I can say that the best things about the workcamp and this whole experience were the chance of making a real difference to the lives of very needy children. This is an extremely valuable project where volunteers can have a massive impact. Also the possibility of learning a huge amount about a country so different from our own. I learnt ten times as much by carrying out a workcamp than I would ever do backpacking. »
