Young Researches of Serbia
Voluntary Service of Serbia
WORKCAMPS 2014
About YRS – VSS
Young Researches of Serbia (YRS) is a non-profit, non-political NGO officially established in 1976 as a network of organizations, societies, clubs and sections with research programmes, gathered around the coordinative office on the national level in Belgrade. Through its history the number of members changed, but there were over 50 different organizations taking part. In the 90’s YRS leaves the organizational form of vertical relationships following the current direction of civil sector development. Today YRS represents the organization on the national level and it unites three thematically different but interconnected sectors – Environmental Protection and Conservation Sector, Youth Sector and Voluntary Service of Serbia.
Young Researches of Serbia involves mostly young people aged 15-30, including the ones with physical or intellectual disabilities, or difficult social backgrounds.
THINK BIG - do little: start an avalanche! is our motto.
Our vision is to be the driving force for all those whose aim is to make our planet a more peaceful, just and healthy place.
Driven by science and education, our mission is to contribute:
- to environmental protection and nature conservation,
- to development of voluntarism and its values,
- to scientific creativity and active participation of the youth.
Our main aims are environmental protection, environmental education, youth exchange and work with young people, as well as the promotion of sustainable development, scientific creativity and voluntarism.
We have organized hundreds of research projects and educative programmes for young people in various areas of natural and social sciences.
MEMBERSHIP IN INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS
YRS is a member of: CCIVS – Coordinative Committee of International Voluntary Service, YEE - Youth and Environment Europe, ANPED – Northern Alliance for Sustainability, CEEWEB - Central and East European Working Group for the Enhancement of Biodiversity, Alliance of European Voluntary Service Organizations, and a partner of the SCI in Serbia. YRS is one of the founding members of the SEEYN – South East European Youth Network and Youth CAN - Youth Culture in Action Network.
Address: Bulevar umetnosti 27 , 11070 Beograd 190531 - SERBIA
Phone/Fax numbers: +381 11 311 66 63, +381 11 311 13 14, +381 11 311 66 53
E–mail address: (for all general volunteer exchanges related issues)
(outgoing placements), (incoming placements)
Website: www.mis.org.rs
Working days: Monday – Friday
Working hours: 09.00 – 16.00
General issues: Jelena Ristic Beronja (Skype contact – jelena.yrs)
Outgoing Placement Officer: Bojan Beronja (Skype contact – vss.outgoing);
Incoming Placement Officers: Bojan Beronja (Skype contact –vss.incoming);
Languages spoken: English, Italian
Contact points in Serbia:
Since 2010 we have entered into partnerships with voluntary organisations or local youth offices all over Serbia in order to give more support for volunteers who want to go to workcamps abroad, but also to have local partners that act as regional centres, following up the volunteers on their way back to the country, organising regional promotional campaigns of international voluntary service and local youth activism and to organise regional workcamps.
CAMPAIGNS
International Campaign for Sustainability in Voluntary Service: The Campaign aims at increasing the impact and joining the local actions and volunteering projects of more than 20 organizations and networks all over the world who contribute to the transformation of our communities, in the local level, and, through networking, in the international level, for the construction of a fairer world, more sustainable, more healthy and with better resources that impulse integral development of people, the communities and peoples, and their happiness and solidarity. All our workcamps aim to act on the principles of environmental sustainability.
Accessing Campaign: with more than 3.000 workcamps around the world, Alliance’s member organisations offer over 25.000 volunteering opportunities. All workcamps are open to anyone and often provide a first volunteering experience abroad. Workcamps are gender balanced, with even more female participants, a unique situation regarding construction work or environmental activities. Without implementing a heavily centralized programme, Alliance’s network offers a chance to young people or adults facing exclusion to experiment a first mobility action.
The Alliance’s Accessing principle is to offer a complete educational process that includes preparation, tools, projects, follow up... This principle would find a first concrete and common implementation with opening one or two places in as many international workcamps as possible, to participants with fewer opportunities, who, for any reason, face social, cultural, economical, physical barriers to their participation.
We are open to host volunteers with fewer opportunities, intellectual or physical disabilities or from various economic, social or other disadvantaged situations. We will discuss each case individually.
CAMPLIST*
Camp code / Name / Type / Dates / No. of vols / NoteVSS 01 / OVCAR BANJA, Cacak / ENVI / 12/07 – 26/07 / 9 / to be confirmed
VSS 02 / SUMMER IN TOPONICA II, Donja Toponica / ART/ENVI / 19/07 – 03/08 / 18 / 18 - 50
VSS 03 / KUPINOVO, Pecinci / ARCH / JULY / 12 / to be confirmed
VSS 04 / SUNFLOWER II, Omoljica / ENVI / 22/07 – 04/08 / 14
VSS 05 / MORIEK, Bor / ENVI/RENO/CONS / 01/08 – 15/08 / 20 / 18 - 40
VSS 06 / MALI STAPAR, Kula / MANU/FAM / 02/08 – 16/08 / 10
VSS 07 / INTERCULTURAL SUMMER, Stara Pazova / SOCI / 04/08 / 15/08 / 10
VSS 08 / DRACA, Kragujevac / CULT/FEST / 05/08 – 20/08 / 18 / 18 - 35
VSS 09 / ARANDJELOVAC, Arandjelovac / ENVI/MANU / 05/08 – 19/08 / 15 / 18 – 26
VSS 10 / OBRENOVAC, Obrenovac / ENVI /CULT / AUG / 15 / to be confirmed
VSS 11 / GRADINA, Cacak / ARCH / 16/08 – 30/08 / 9 / to be confirmed
VSS 12 / LIKE ROBIN HOOD, Becej / CONS/MANU / 11/08 – 20/08 / 7 / 18 - 30
VSS 13 / ZASAVICA, Sremska Mitrovica / ENVI / AUG / 12 / to be confirmed
VSS 14 / OBEDSKA BARA, Pecinci / ENVI / AUG / 12 / to be confirmed
VSS 15 / SUMMER IN KARAVUKOVO, Karavukovo / ENVI/ART/CULT / 06/09 – 20/09 / 10 / 18 - 26
VSS 16 / WINE FEST, Sremski Karlovci / FEST / end of Sept / 10 / 12 days
*At the moment not all the camps are confirmed or have fixed dates. We are expecting by the end of the March either more camps to be announced or some camps to be, finally, confirmed.
General conditions:
We accept volunteers who are 18 and older, without upper age limit, except in some camps.
The language of the camps is English.
As there is not enough support from the government for the organisation for the workcamps in Serbia, the participation fee is used as an addition to the workcamp budget. Minimal fee is 15 € and maximal is 30 €, the extra being used for additional excursions and material for work.
Some camps (e.g. art workshops) have special requirements.
VSS01 OVCAR BANJA, Cacak
ENVI
Dates: 12/07 - 26/07
Number of volunteers: 9
Age limit: 18+
Work: This workcamp involves various tasks like clearing mountain paths from vegetation, maintaining hiking paths, clearing garbage along the paths, making and setting containers for waste disposal. Main work will be at the cost of the lake from the invasive species and garbage. Volunteers will clean the lake from the boats. Although the camp organizers provided safety equipment swimming skills would be useful.
Accommodation and food: Volunteers will be hosted in a local mountaineers hut; sleeping in shared rooms on beds. We will receive prepared meals most of the times but you will help in the kitchen and it is possible that sometimes you will be in charge of cooking.
Location and leisure: Ovcar Banja is located in the heart of the Ovcarsko-Kablarska gorge, a natural area of exceptional importance and as a Category I natural resource, through which the Zapadna Morava river flows. It is surrounded by the forest-covered Ovcar and Kablar mountains. Ovcar Banja is 18 km from Cacak and 160 km from Belgrade. The landscape is outstandingly diverse and beautiful. The Ovcarsko-Kablarska gorge is a significant cultural and historical area with its mediaeval monasteries, its diverse flora and fauna and is an outstanding monument of geological heritage.
Language: English
Special requirements: Bring warm clothes sometimes the nights can be chilly even in summer.
Terminal: Belgrade
VSS02 SUMMER IN TOPONICA 3, Donja Toponica
KIDS/ART/ENVI
Dates: 19/07 - 03/08
Number of volunteers: 15
Age limit: 18 - 50
Project: The local partner organisation “Grupa Kobra” (http://www.grupakobra.org/) has put a lot of effort in the past years in developing and improving life conditions of its community. They are involved in youth activities and environmental conservation since 2007. Although young they received twice an award for their activities from the Ministry for Youth. This is the third workcamp they organise in here, with the aim to familiarize the local young people with their peers from other countries as they do not have opportunities to travel. Since 2009 local group renovated and adapted for their activities ruined Youth centre and at that place made Cultural centre.
Gatherings and activities together with the local youth are essential to this workcamp, the hosts would use the opportunity to present their local community, tradition and customs and, together with the participants of the camp, to encourage rural development, youth mobility and intercultural understanding.
Work: Having an international group in the village will attract people to interact, make friends, so it is more likely that the impact to the local community in terms of environmental awareness will be greater and that the interaction through work and many cultural and social events. This workcamp will celebrate volunteers and volunteering and for that reason volunteers will create a statue about volunteering; prepare workshops for locals about environmental protection. The volunteers will work also with the youngest, teaching them English and learning about local customs, games and dances from them in return. A final event will mark the finish of the workcamp, and it will depend of volunteers creativity.
Accommodation and food: in the local Cultural Center on mattresses or in tents next to the Cultural Center (the choice is free, no sleeping bags nor own tents needed). Food will be prepared by the locals with the help of the volunteers, so to learn more about the local cuisine and introduce international elements.
Location and leisure: Donja Toponica (15 km from Nis) is a village of merely 350 inhabitants, situated very close to Nis, one of the biggest cities of Serbia and the host of this year’s 1700 anniversary celebration of the Milan’s edict. Excursions to a mountain village, an unexploited natural spa and Nis will be organised. Mountains of south-eastern Serbia boast nearly untouched nature, rich wildlife, old forts and cities on their tops, and many of them are hiding in its interior a spacious halls of magnificent caves. www.discoversoutheastserbia.com
Language: English
Special requirements: The volunteers should have necessary skills for teaching English to children and/or through presenting the traditional and modern dances from their countries and/or have other artistic skills like painting. They should be nature and village lovers.
Terminal: Nis, Belgrade, Sofia (BG)
Extra fee: 25€. It is used as an addition to the workcamp budget, for additional excursions and material for work.
VSS03 KUPINOVO, Pecinci
ARCH
Dates: two weeks in July
Number of volunteers: 12
Age limit: 18+
Project: The Srem Region has been permanently inhabited since the early Stone Age with many clear signs of life just below the ground surface. Thanks to those signs we are able to see activities, ways of life even the way of thinking of the inhabitants of past time. The overall excavations of all historical layers show that this part of the region has an extraordinary rich cultural background. The locality “Ethno house” in Kupinovo village should provide evidence on communities living here since the Iron Age. Many of the localities are endangered due to agriculture or construction, especially in industrial zones, but not this one. The first excavations started last May and the results were very positive.
Work: Volunteers will join the team of archaeologists in the continuance of the field excavations in the compound of “Ethno house” in Kupinovo. Knowing the results from the last year we can expect some marvellous results marking the cultural and historical heritage of this area. It is planned to have an exhibition at the end of the camp, showing the results of the work.
Accommodation and food: in two renovated houses in the Ethno Park, sleeping on mats. Food will be prepared by the volunteers.
Location and leisure: Kupinovo is 50 km south-west of Belgrade in the Srem Region. It is well known by the famous special protected area “Obedska bara”, the oldest protected area in Europe. There are some very important cultural and historical monuments in this area which will be shown to volunteers during leisure time.
Language: English
Terminal: Belgrade
Special requirements: This is a perfect camp for students of archaeology or anyone especially interested in archaeology.
VSS04 SUNFLOWER II, Omoljica
Dates: 22/07 – 04/08
ENVI
Number of volunteers: 14
Age limit: 18+
Partner: Association of citizens ‘Sunflower’ started with work recently in the beginning of 2013 with the aim to organize a first workcamp in Omoljica. Group consists of 20 young people that are working on different kind of programs and projects. The aim of Sunflower is to develop cultural, educational and ecological program for local youth. Besides that, Sunflower is trying to raise awareness of volunteering, interculturality, sports and activism in this village. The biggest project that had been done, until now was international workcamp called Sunflower. It lasted for 2 weeks and it helped raising values of interculturality in the village with different cultural and festival programs.
Project: Volunteers will help cleaning protected natural area Ponjavica, between Omoljica and Banatski Brestovac, on the left bank of the Danube River. Present natural values of the area are characterized by a range of educational significance and the environment with developing opportunities is strictly controlled, it has big leisure and tourism potential to offer to the citizens of the wider region. Lately this region has been neglected, and some parts of it has to be maintained in order to preserve this place. After cleaning some areas, volunteers will create resting and picnic areas.