YALA: Your Active Life in Aveiro EVS Project

What is YALA? YALA! ("Your Active Life in Aveiro") was a long term EVS project that happened in Aveiro during 2015.The service started in February 2015 and lasted for 6 and 7 months. We hosted 4 volunteers: Jasna and Tea from Croatia, Tanja from Latvia and Wiola from Poland.

The project followed the main objectives of Agora Aveiro: helping creation of more active community and raising awareness of some important social issues.

Volunteers supported local activities of Agora Aveiro, helped with organisation of already scheduled activities (workshops, guerrilla actions, etc), and proposed their own ideas and managed their own projects with the help of our local volunteers.

Some of the activities they took part in were Projeto Valentino, Clothes Swap party, Human Library, International Day of Smiles, "If you need it, then take it!�, presentation of EVS and many more. They also helped organising Wave2 youth exchange and joined the crew of TEDxAveiro volunteers.

Read about several of their activities on next page, and about some more of them on our website and social media profiles.

PROJETO VALENTINO was a Valentine’s

INTERNATIONAL DAY OF SMILES

HUMAN LIBRARY was an event where

day activity that had for a goal promotion of positive feelings. We created several kissing and hugging spots around Aveiro and handed out positive messages to people on the streets.

we celebrated by putting red ballons around the city with message “tira um sorriso” or “take a smile”. Everyone could take a smile to brighten up their day.

local people could meet with people different from them, with a refugee, a blind boy, a vegan, couchsurfer… and talk to them and ask whatever they wanted to know about their life story.

CLOTHES SWAP PARTY was a small

IF YOU NEED IT, THEN TAKE IT! was Clothes swap party follow-up activity. We used donated clothes and hanged them around Aveiro for those in need. While we were placing hangers with clothes on the fences and trees, people already were approaching and taking some of the items.

WAVE 2 YOUTH EXCHANGE took place

event where people where donating clothes they no longer used. They could choose some of the donated clothes and take it for free for themselves. But most of the clothes were left with Agora Aveiro and we used it for other activities.

in Sao Jacinto in June-July 2015, and hosted 35 youngsters from 7 different European countries. They spent 10 days in nature learning about healthy lifestyles, sports and sustainability. Our EVS volunteers helped in making it great!

What do they say?

“During my EVS I discovered a whole new world. I met a lot of people from all parts of the world, learned some Portuguese and improved my English, traveled up and down through country, became a part of local community but, most importantly, I learned a lot. I learned what it takes to organise an event, what it means to work as a team, I learned how to go from an idea to realization, I learned what I wanted to do in next years and how I want to shape myself professionally in the future." Jasna, Croatia

"My EVS project was one of the nicest experiences and one of the best decisions of my life.

The best thing about YALA was that our job was directly contributing to the local community. We ended up being one of them and at some point we felt like locals too. Another unforgettable thing is that I met amazing humans over there and created some real friendships, but also learned so much. After EVS I decided to go back to live in Portugal. I love it and I guess I will stay here for a while.

Cheers!" Tea, Croatia

"EVS was an experience that lifted up my level of selfconfidence. I gained social and professional skills which I can use now in my job. After the project I know how to organise small events, work in multicultural team, I speak Portuguese. I made friends and got to know rich culture of Portugal. Right now I moved to Warsaw and I'm working in PR agency." Wiola, Poland

"Participating in EVS was by far the best decision I ever made. It raised my self-confidence, taught me new social and professional skills and made me a happier person in general. I made a lot of new friends from all around the world, I learned how small and bigger events are organised, learned new tricks in my professional field, and I was able to write my Masters Thesis about one of the projects I did during EVS. I fell in love with Portugal and its culture, and would love to go back." Tanja, Latvia

What exactly is EVS?

It’s once in a lifetime opportunity to do a voluntary service abroad for up to 12 months, financed by European Commission (Erasmus+ Program). EVS means “European Voluntary Service” and it’s a mobility program that anyone younger than 30 can do! There are no other restrictions - you don’t have to be a student to do it, you can be from any European country (and some others) and of any nationality. EVS can be short term or long term (from 2 weeks to one year) and you can do it in any country except for the one where you live in.

Volunteers get health insurance, language course, airplane tickets, accommodation, pocket money and a Youthpass certificate. They do the service up to 35 hours per week and have paid holidays – 2 days per each month of their EVS. EVS program are 100% financed by Erasmus+ program - EU program that supports mobility of young people and professionals. You can learn more about all the conditions on the website www.ec.europa.eu.

Management of this program in Portugal is done by Portuguese National Agency with headquarters in Braga and website www.juventude.pt.

You can also do it!

If you would like to have a similar international experience, get in touch with us. Agora Aveiro, besides hosting, also sends EVS volunteers abroad. See more on our website, get in touch with us or visit us personally!

Why should you do EVS? If chosen well, EVS can be the best experience in your life. It can be a unique opportunity for you to grow professionally and personally. You may acquire new competences, learn new language and gain other new skills that will help you later in job search or in other projects.

Also, living in a foreign country is an experience on it’s own. You’ll have a chance to get to know other culture than your own, learn about tradition and customs and travel during your free time. Besides, you will meet a lot of people - locals, foreigners, other EVS volunteers, etc.

How to find a perfect EVS? There is a lot of organisations all around EU (and out of it) with EVS projects. You should look carefully for the one that suits best your needs and interests. There is a database of all the organisations accredited to send or host EVS volunteers. You can look for the one for you here: www.europa.eu/youth/volunteering.

If you need help, or would like to hear opinions from youngsters who already did an EVS, get in touch with us and we’ll provide you with all necessary info.

OUR CONTACTS: E-MAIL: agora.aveiro@gmail.com PHONE: +351234482575 WEBSITE: agoraveiro.org FACEBOOK: www.facebook.com/agoraaveiro MAILING ADDRESS: Praça da República, Casa da Cultura, 3810-156 Aveiro OFFICE ADDRESS: Rua dos Mercadores, Aveiro