SERVIZIO VOLONTARIO EUROPEO

ORGANISATION: ARCHE NOAH, Schiltern

DESCRIPTION OF THE PROJECT: The preservation of cultivated plants

The main aim of ARCHE NOAH is the preservation and spreading of a variety of cultivated plants. We focus especially on traditional old plants which are threatened of extinction through modern agricultural industry. We grow seeds of these plants in our big garden in Schiltern and try to increase their number again. We have developed a "seeds-bank" of in about 6000 different plants, we catalogue them and make it known to farmers, gardeners, interested private people. In this way we can spread the seeds of these "old" plants and make it possible that they grow naturally again.
ARCHE NOAH has also an educational focus to its work. We open up our garden for the public on weekends, offer guided walks through it and try to make people aware of the possible variety of plants in our environment. Throughout the year we have five to six "thematic days" with a alternative focus on special plants and plant groups; for these days we invite other organisations working, processing or spreading these plants to pass on their knowledge and sometimes their products to interested people.
Our team consists of 10 members of staff and one Austrian volunteer from the "Voluntary Ecological Year".

TASKS OF THE VOLUNTEER: The volunteer can learn a lot about growing, preserving and spreading of seeds and about the importance of keeping a variety of cultivated plants. Especially the volunteer will work with our team in the following fields:
- Growing and Cultivation of young plants in the glass house
- Planting out of the young plants in the garden; cultivation during the growing period
- Increasing the number of the seeds through different special methods
- Collecting the seeds, cleaning them, packing and selling them
- Especially during the summer period - selling of plants and taking care of the visitors and with the themed days.

SUPPORT SYSTEM: We can offer themed training courses ARCHE NOAH organises; in 1998 for example "Variety of old fruit plants" or "Cultivation of hempseeds and the different methods for processing it", a.o.
We work very team-oriented wand meet once a week to discuss all different issues. The volunteer will be in close contact with the other team members from the beginning on.

ORGANISATION: Jugendwohngemeinschaft ARGE NOAH, Kronstorf

DESCRIPTION OF THE PROJECT: Centre for youths with problems

The ARGE NOAH is a center, where youngsters from the age 13 to the age 21 in problematical situation (at home or work, in school, with themselves) can live, work and study together. They have the possibility to experience their manuel skills in the manufacture (work with wood, clay etc) and to finish or continue their school education with an house internal school and teacher at the center. The staff consists of experienced social workers and a teacher.
The living and working together gives to the young person the chance to "learn on the model" and to live in a save structure, wher he/she can be prepared ti live on his/her own.

TASKS OF THE VOLUNTEER: The volunteer will be integrated in the various activities in the center: helping the youngsters in the workshop, supporting them in their educational programm, organizing leisure time activities, excursions, thematic discussions (drug prevention, vocational orientation etc.)according to the skills and interests of the volunteer.

SUPPORT SYSTEM: The team consists of trained youth workers who have a great experience in integration. Especially in the beginning the volunteer needs support to feel integrated in the team.
There are weekly evaluation meetings, where we will reflect special difficulties with the young volunteer. The volunteer in this project should be prepared to handle with young people in extremely difficult situations. The staff is highly motivated to integrate and to support the young volunteer.

ORGANISATION: Jugendzentrum "MARK", Salisburgo

DESCRIPTION OF THE PROJECT: Youth Centre

Youth centre for social handicapped youngsters: broken families, refugees, working class kids. We offer free time activities as we are in many cases an "asylum" for these young people if they have troubles at home, in school or at work.
Opening hours: Tuesday to Friday 5pm to 10 pm and Saturday from 3 pm to 9 pm.
We offer various leisure time activities, organise trips, visit cultural events and try to support youngstes if they have any problems.

TASKS OF THE VOLUNTEER: The volunteer will help the team in organising special thematic events : e.g. professional orientation, Aids prevention, etc. He/she can also be integarted in our music workshop, which we have once a week: we offer the youngsters the possibility to get information about various musical styles. According to the personal interest of the volunteer he/she can get involved in specific projects, organize excursions and activities etc.

SUPPORT SYSTEM: In our team we have trained youth workers, who have many years of experience, as wellas skilled teachers who have been trained in Intercultural learning. We will have weekly evaluation meetings with the volunteer which will reflect special difficulties or problems.

ORGANISATION: Polycollege Stöbergasse, Vienna

DESCRIPTION OF THE PROJECT: Polyfilm distribution

The Polycollege is one of 18 "Further Education Centres" in Vienna and offers 25% of all activities in this field within Vienna. The Polycollege manages 2 cinemas, 1 travel agency, 1 book store, 1 video library, 1 radio-station (in cooperation with the ORF - Austrian broadcasting station - and the City council of Vienna) and organises classical Further Education Activities on an upper level: International language certificates, extreme sports activities, summer workshops at the Neusiedler See (lake nearby Vienna), Vocal college etc..
More than 30.000 people are taking part in the offered courses during a year, more than 50.000 people are visiting the two cinemas.
The "polyfilm-Distribution" with its two cinemas is one project of our organisation. We concentrate on high-quality films, which are often low-budget productions. We try to give young unknown directors teh chance to show their movies to a greater audience.

TASKS OF THE VOLUNTEER: The "Polyfilm-Distribution" buys film presentation rights for Austria. The purchase is made internationally, the commercialisation nationally.
Besides the two cinemas within the Polycollege Stöbergasse, the Polyfilm-distribution offers a lot of films to different Austrian cinemas.
The volunteers will be integrated in our preparatory team for our contribution to the film festival in Cannes: Help in the concept and organisation of the filmstarts (Marketing, information policies, analyses and evaluation); provide help with the running of the cinema.

SUPPORT SYSTEM: The team consists of managers and trained youth workers, who have working experience since many years and skilled teachers with pedagogic formation in intercultural learning. There will be weekly evaluation meetings with the volunteer to reflect special difficulties or problems.

ORGANISATION: Polycollege Stöbergasse, Vienna

DESCRIPTION OF THE PROJECT: Radio station coordination

The Polycollege is one of 18 "Further Education Centres" in Vienna and offers 25% of all activities in this field within Vienna. The Polycollege manages 2 cinemas, 1 travel agency, 1 book store, 1 video library, 1 radio-station (in cooperation with the ORF- Austrian broadcasting station - and the City council of Vienna) and organises classical Further Education Activities on an upper level: International language certificates, extreme sports activities, summer workshops e.g. at the Neusiedler See (lake nearby Vienna), Vocal college etc..
More than 30.000 people take part in the offered courses during a year, more than 50.000 people are visiting the two cinemas.

TASKS OF THE VOLUNTEER: In spring 1998 we will start to build up additional infrastructure for the radio station and a second broadcasting production studio.
Preparing this surveys, ceoncepts and the setting up of a digital sound studio are needed.
The volunteer will accompany the team in working out the concept for additional infrustructure for the broadcasting studio, as well as get to know and help in repairing technical equipment.
The radio station works with 100 journalists who work in 12 different editorial offices; five of these editorial offices are located in the same building as the radio station.
The volunteer can/should coordinate the working hours, studio-schedule, writing and posting of the weekly Radio-program and help with setting up an efficent communication-structure.

SUPPORT SYSTEM: The team consists of radio specialists and trained youth workers, who have working experience since many years and skilled teachers with pedagogic formation in intercultural learning. There will be weekly evalutation meetings with the volunteer to reflect special difficulties or problems.

ORGANISATION: Polycollege Stöbergasse, Stöbergasse 11-15, 1050 Wien, fax +43-1-54 666 19

DESCRIPTION OF THE PROJECT: Viennese Radio

The Polycollege is one of 18 "Further Education Centres" in Vienna and offers 25% of all activities in this field within Vienna. The Polycollege manages 2 cinemas, 1 travel agency. 1 book store, 1 video library, 1 radio-station (in cooperation with the ORF - Austrian broadcasting station - and the City council of Vienna) and organises classical Further Education Activities on an upper level: International language certificates, extreme sports activities, summer workshops e.g. at the Neusiedler See (lake nearby Vienna), Vocal college etc..
More than 30.000 people take part in the offerd courses during a year, more than 50.000 people are visiting the two cinemas.

TASKS OF THE VOLUNTEER: The volunteer will accompany the team in organizing the so called Donaukanal, a channel specially supported by the City of Vienna. The volunteer has the possibility to learn about radio journalism. The volunteer gets an introduction into how to make radio and can/should produce 15-30 transmission minutes on a regular basis one a week.
The project offers a good basis for interested young people to get to know Vienna and the possibility for the host organisation to get to know Vienna how the volunteer sees it.
There is a new EU-Interreg-Project in perperation just now, with the cities Vienna - Triest - Sarajevo; the project offers an ideal possibility for the volunteer to integrate himself into a dtudents group coming from these cities, taking part in a Radio and an Internet education program.

SUPPORT SYSTEM: The team consists of radio specialists and trained youth workers, who have working experience since many years and skilled teachers with pedagogic formation in intercultural learning. There will be weekly evaluation meetings with the volunteer to reflect special difficulties or problems.