Guide – European Voluntary Service

1

EVS GUIDE

European Voluntary Service

You’re about to start one of the best experiences of your life!

The EVS!

This guide was made for you!

In these pages we will try to answer the following questions, in order to help you getting ready

for your European Voluntary Service:

- What is and what is not the ‘European Voluntary Service’?

- What key competences for the permanent learning will you be able to develop

throughout the project?

- What do you need to keep in mind before going to the country of destination?

- How to deal with the cultural shock and learn from new cultures?

- How to deal with conflicts and learn how to overcome them?

- What to do after the EVS?

- What more do you need to know? Where can you find more information?

Guide – European Voluntary Service

2

What is and what is not European Voluntary

Service?

As explained in the guide of the program, an EVS is not:

- An occasional voluntary, part time and with no organization job.

- An internship period in an enterprise.

- A paid job, it doesn’t have to replace a job.

- A leisure or touristic activity.

- A language course.

- Exploitation of cheap workforce.

- A studying or professional formation period abroad.

For this reasons, we consider that an EVS is:

- An activity which allows young people between 17 and 30 years old to express their personal

commitment.

- A not paid voluntary full time service, for a maximum of 12 months, in a different country in the

European Union or outside of it.

- An opportunity to contribute to the daily work of organizations dealing with information and

politics in the field of youth, personal and socio-educational development of young people, civil

implication, social assistance, inclusion of the disadvantaged, the environment, programs of

non formal education, ICT and media literacy, culture and creativity, cooperation to

development, etc.

- An opportunity to develop competences and abilities that will contribute to personal enrichment and will improve the possibility of accessing future professional opportunities.

- An opportunity to get to know a different cultural environment and to share your own culture.

Key competences for permanent learning

Key competencies, which are a combination of knowledge, abilities and suitable attitudes for a determined situation, are fundamental for all the people in a society based on knowledge. These competencies bring and add value to the working market, in the field of social cohesion and active

citizenship, providing flexibility, adaptability, satisfaction and motivation. EVS is a perfect

opportunity to strengthen and develop your competences. The European Commission establishes 8 key competences:

Guide – European Voluntary Service

3

- Communication in mother tongue: the ability to express and explain concepts, thoughts, feelings, actions and opinions, in oral and written way (listening, talking, reading, and writing), and interact in a good and creative linguistic manner in all the possible social and cultural contexts.

- Communication in foreign languages: involves, besides the proper basic competences of communication in mother tongue, mediation and intercultural comprehension. The level of control depends on different factors and on the ability to listen, talk, read and write.

- Mathematic competence and basic science and technology competencies: mathematic competence is the ability to develop and apply a mathematical reasoning to solve different every-day problems. Basic science and technology competences follow the control, the use and the application of the knowledge and methodology employed to explain nature.

- Digital competence: entails a secure and critic use of technology of information society (TIC) and the control of the information and communication technology (ICT).

-Learn to learn: competence connected to learning, to the ability of beginning and organizing learning both individually and in groups, according to the very necessity of the person, as well as being conscious of the methods and determining the possible opportunities.

- Social and civic competence: social competence follows personal, interpersonal and intercultural competences, as well as all the behaviour of a person who wants to take part to social and professional life in an efficient and constructive way.

- Sense of initiative and business spirit: consist in the ability of transforming ideas in actions and it is

related to creativity, innovation and acceptation of risks, as well as to the ability to plan and manage

projects with the aim of reaching objectives.

- Consciousness and cultural expression: it means being aware of the importance of the creative

expression of ideas, experiences and emotions through different means (music, dramatic arts, literature

and plastic arts).

Guide – European Voluntary Service

4

To keep in mind before the travel

How do I pack my bag? What do I need to take? What must I not forget? These are some of the

questions arising before travelling to the country in which you are going to make your EVS. We are going

to give you some recommendations that should be helpful:

- Before packing your bag, make a list of everything you think you will need to bring, check it time and

time again and don’t forget anything!

- Get information about the weather of the country where you’re going (seasons, temperatures,

humidity, etc.) and pick clothes and shoes appropriate to put in your luggage. Keep in mind that in some

countries temperatures change a lot during the different seasons.

- Take typical products of your country that you think you will need and won’t find in the other country

(cosmetic and hygiene products, ingredients, spices to cook, etc.).

- Take medicines that you know you will necessitate.

- Take needle and thread to sew, in case your clothes wear out.

- Take some typical things of your country that you can show as

part of your culture (a flag, a souvenir, a postcard, etc.)

- Take the things without which you cannot be happy (your

teddy bear ).

- Keep in mind the dimensions and weight allowed according to the rules of the mean of transportation

and company you’re travelling with.

- Do not forget to charge credit in your mobile phone, to be able to call once you arrive in the country of

destination in case of emergency; activate the roaming so your mobile phone will work abroad.

- Create a Skype account to be able to contact your family and friends for free during your period

abroad.

- Take a map of the place you’re going to or look for it in Google Maps.

- Write down how to reach the meeting place (what bus/train do I have to take, at what time does it

leave, what’s the name of the person who will wait for you and a telephone number to contact).

- Check the conditions of your accommodation to know if you need: sleepers, blankets, bed sheets,

towels, things to cook, etc.). Even though, in case of necessity, the best thing to do is to visit an IKEA

during the first weeks.

- Do not forget your medical insurance: even if you have the MSH assurance, try to get the European

Health Insurance Card as well.

- Do not forget your flight ticket (and to do the check in).

- Documents: do not forget your DNI and/or passport.

Guide – European Voluntary Service

5

The cultural shock

Before going to live in a foreign country, you need to understand the idea of cultural shock.

What’s that?

Cultural shock can be described as the feelings that you can experience after leaving your original and

familiar culture to go and live in a different cultural and social environment.

It is normal! Even the most open-minded person can be affected by the cultural shock.

Stages

The cultural shock can have 4 stages, depending more or less on various factors, such as how big is the

difference between your original culture and the one of your new setting, and how long are you staying

far from home. A person can experience all the stages (or not).

The 4 stages:

1. The honeymoon stage. It is a moment of fun. Everything is great, exiting and new. You love the

differences, you meet new people, and you do new things, working in your new job. This stage

can last days, weeks or months.

2. The conflict stage or cultural shock. In this stage you start noticing the differences, things that

bother and frustrate you: you don’t like people’s attitudes, you don’t like the food anymore

Guide – European Voluntary Service

6

and you only want mum’s kitchen, life goes by too quickly/slowly and things are “better” at

home in general. There isn’t a fixed time when this starts – for some people it can take days, for

others, months. During this stage, people often feel anxious, upset, frustrated, sad and/or

irritable.

3. Negotiations stage (Adjustment). Essentially, during this stage you decide between giving in to

the negative attitude or negotiating with the past to make the most of your experience. If you

succeed, you will recover the meaning of the perspective, the balance and mood, and you will

pass to the next stage.

4. The EVERYTHING’S FINE stage (Adaptation). Those who get to this stage will feel better with

the differences of the new culture. Depending on how great the change people have

experienced is, they can feel sufficiently comfortable to enjoy differences and challenges.

Negative feelings are reduced to the minimum.

5. The inverted cultural shock stage. Indeed, this can happen! Once you got used to the way

things go in a different country, you can go through the same stages of cultural shock when you

go back home.

What can you do?

• Learn everything you can about your new location before going. Get information about where are

you going to live, what housing conditions will you have, with whom, what means of transportations...

to avoid “surprises” once you arrive there. Get information as well about the time zone, climate, food,

culture, customs and religion(s).

• Stay away from stereotypes. Remember that you will find people who will fit in the image that has

been build about the “typical person of the X country” and people who won’t. Clinging to stereotypes

won’t help you to know more about the new country and its people.

• Share your culture. Feel proud of who you are. A lot of people will be interested in knowing about

you, as well as you are dealing learning about them.

• Keep your mind open and ready to learn. Ask question about whatever. If you have to learn a

different language, you have the right to do a language course.

• Keep your sense of humour. (Sometimes it’s the most important thing!)

• Give yourself time. Don’t be hard with yourself and enjoy every moment of your staying!

Guide – European Voluntary Service

7

• Keep experiencing the new culture. Travel in the country and visit cultural places and events, as

museums or historical sites.

• Build new friendships with positive people. It is very important to be surrounded by positive people!

• Keep yourself active, eat well and sleep sufficiently.

• Keep in touch with your people with Skype, mail, phone call, postcards – whatever. This can give you

a certain comfort, helping you to reduce to the minimum the inverted cultural shock when you’ll be

back at home.

Conflicts resolution

“After the hurricane comes the rainbow”

EVS it’s not just a time to experience a new life and culture, but also a time of challenges and constant

learning.

How you can see in the section about cultural shock, during your staying, sooner or later, there can also

be periods of conflicts. Interior conflicts, conflicts with the new country’s culture, at work or with the

people with whom you interact every day.

Conflicts can turn up because of lack of communication, comprehension and/or tolerance.

To understand a conflict we can use some tools such as the onion conflict. This helps to identify the

positions, interests and needs of the people involved in the conflict.

The tool is based on the analogy of the onion and its layers. Removing each layer of the onion, we can

understand the motivations behind the behavior and needs of people. With this information we can

access to easier ways to resolve the conflict.

Also, when we talk about conflicts, we have to keep in mind:

1. The emotions which we’re living. Everyone has to be conscious of their emotions and

to know how to control them. During a conflict, emotions of hanger, sadness or fear often

appear.

Guide – European Voluntary Service

8

2. The attitude. An aggressive attitude often deteriorates the situation and amplifies

the conflict. Ask yourself what is your attitude in situations of conflict.

3. The behaviour. The way in which a person acts towards you is their responsibility, the

way in which you behave towards them it’s your responsibility.

Steps to solve the conflict:

1. Recognize and accept your own emotions, identify and respect others’ emotions. This point will take you to reflect about which of your necessities have not been satisfied in a determined situation. Knowing that, you’ll understand that when the others get angry it’s because the same happens to them, some of their necessities have not be covered: recognition, attention, justice, etc. Everyone has the same necessities, don’t forget this!

2. Identify thoughts before the problem in order to control your emotions, your attitude and your behaviour. Here we could opt for two aspects:

- It is my fault;

- It is the other’s fault;

3. COMUNICATE! This is the most important part. You have to express how you lived the conflict, your perspective, without blaming anyone.

- Express what you lived;

- Express how you interpreted it;

- Express how you felt it;

- Express what would you would have preferred had happened, suggesting changes for the future.

4. Listen to the other. There always are at least two versions of the problem that generated the conflict, so the best thing is to know the perspective of the other.

- What a person lived;

- How they interpreted that, their real intentions;

- How they felt;

- What they would have liked had happened, and their suggestions for the future.

This will help you to see those aspects you couldn’t see from your position and stance, and will help you

to change the interpretation of the facts and subsequently to change your emotions and behaviour.

When it is time to COMUNICATE to solve the conflict, keep in mind:

- Care for the no verbal communication: look in the eyes when you speak, show yourself close;

Guide – European Voluntary Service

9

- Make it a request, not a demand, when it’s time to meet your necessities;

- Think that you respect the other and urge for cooperation;

- Make questions and suggestions, not accusations. With those you will only obtain attitudes of attack

and defence, which will prevent you from getting to a solution;

- Do not guess the thought of the other. Ask!

- Talk about what the other did, not about what they are. The goal is to change behaviour, and a label

will never bring a change;

- Focus on the theme you’re dealing with during the discussion. Don’t bring up old themes;

- Listen to the other when they’re speaking, do not interrupt them;

- Take your own responsibilities. Do not blame the other for everything;

- Offer solutions. Try to reach an agreement;

- Make the other see that you understood them, repeating some sentences of the discourse which

reflect their requests, and most of all emphasizing the things you agree with or you think as him. At the

same time, express what you like about the other;

- Avoid inappropriate critics, negative remarks, sarcasm and irony. This only answers to the desire of

punishing the other, or humiliate them, it is revenge, not a quest of solutions;

- Ask the other what you can do to improve things;

- Look for a suitable place which will facilitates talking: peace, privacy, and a neutral space.

What to do after the EVS?

You went through the cultural shock, you solved the conflicts... and now what?

Now you can feel that you have had an experience that opened your world, your mind and new

perspectives in your life. Your competencies have been enriched, the confidence in yourself is higher,

and you already know that everything is possible in the world.

To have a clever career journey, it is time you thought what to do after your EVS.

Look at what you can do to avoid the cultural shock returning back home and keep going successfully in

your life’s journey.

Guide – European Voluntary Service

10

- Before ending your EVS, sign up for a career planning session, to reflect about your experience

and plan your professional address.

- If you have a mentor or a good tutor in your EVS, take the opportunity and ask a career

planning session before your departure.

- Take some time to think about what you liked the most in your EVS, what to focus your

working profile on and what you would like to develop in the future.

- If you already know what kind of work you would like to do in the future, look for the suitable

opportunities and start opening some doors.

- After the EVS, some volunteers want to work in their country or develop their own projects.

Others want to work in the European frame.

What to do after EVS?

http://europa.eu/youth/article/que-hacer-tras-el-servicio-de-voluntariado-europeo_es

Practical information

Information that all EVS volunteers should read:

- EVS Charter

- Minimum quality standards

- INFOKIT 1- Welcome Letter Volunteer EVS

- INFOKIT 2 – What to expect from EVS

- INFOKIT 3 - Youthpass

- INFOKIT 4 – Medical insurance MSH guide

- Erasmus + program guide:

You will find all these resources here:

http://www.catalunyavoluntaria.cat/evs-sending-institution/?lang=en

Contact MSH: indiveurope@msh-intl.com

Guide – European Voluntary Service

11

More resources:

- Erasmus + leaflet

http://www.erasmusplus.injuve.es/opencms/export/download/materiales/folleto_Erasmus_2014.pdf

- Youth European Portal

http://europa.eu/youth/index_es

- Spanish National Agency (Injuve)

http://www.erasmusplus.injuve.es/

- EVS learning notebook (very useful)

http://www.erasmusplus.injuve.es/opencms/export/download/materiales/cuadernosve_online.pdf

- If you are travelling abroad… travel safe!

http://www.exteriores.gob.es/Portal/es/ServiciosAlCiudadano/SiViajasAlExtranjero/Documents/TRIPTIC

O%20'VIAJA%20SEGURO'%20version%201.pdf

- What do I need to do before travelling abroad? What do I have to do during my travel abroad? What

do I need to do in case of emergency?

http://www.exteriores.gob.es/Portal/es/ServiciosAlCiudadano/SiViajasAlExtranjero/Paginas/Inicio.aspx

- Consulates and embassies information

http://www.exteriores.gob.es/Portal/es/ServiciosAlCiudadano/Paginas/EmbajadasConsulados.aspx

- European Health Insurance Card (EHIC)

http://www.seg-

social.es/Internet_1/Trabajadores/PrestacionesPension10935/Asistenciasanitaria/DesplazamientosporE

11566/TSE2/index.htm

- European Youth Card (opportunities, discounts)

https://www.eyca.org/

- Youth Card (IYTC)

https://es-online.aliveplatform.com/index.php?/wizardSet/cardAndSchoolType/

- Youthpass (certificate)

https://www.youthpass.eu/es/youthpass/guide/

- Use of the Youthpass

http://www.erasmusplus.injuve.es/opencms/export/download/materiales/Ideas_certificado_Youthpass

_Aragon.pdf

- Non-formal education

Guide – European Voluntary Service

12

http://www.catalunyavoluntaria.cat/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/Quines-s%C3%B3n-les-

difer%C3%A8ncies-entre-la-FR-i-la-FNR.pdf

- Use-it –Cities maps

http://www.use-it.travel/home

- Useful information – REVE (Spanish ex European Voluntaries Network)

http://ex-evs.es/

HAVE A WONDERFUL EVS!