Mitropolita Stratimirovića 5, Sremski Karlovci, Serbia

International workcamps

-season 2009-

Mitropolita Stratimirovića 5, Sremski Karlovci, Serbia

Phone: +381 21 451 788, +381 21 881 027

Phone/Fax: +381 21 523 865

SERBIA

Volunteers` Center of Vojvodina and Nature Conservation Movement

Name of the organization: Volunteers` Centre of Vojvodina and Nature Conservation Movement

• Year of the foundation: 2004

• Location of the central office: Mitropolita Stratimirovića 5, 21205 Sremski Karlovci, Serbia

• Aim and objectives: What we seek to achieve is a society where voluntary work and environmental protection are basic values and means of development and progress of individuals and community on the whole. It is a society in which problem solving and needs satisfaction are completed through interactive co-operation of citizens of all ages and different national, religious, political, cultural and other backgrounds.

• Type: NGO

• Activities: advocacy, regional development, education,workcamps, LTV...

• Official website:

Tel.: +381 21 451 788; +381 21 881 027; Fax: +381 21 523 865

• Age limit: 18+

• Common language used in the camps: English/Serbian.

• Extra fee: Please refer to each specific project

ABOUT VOLUNTEERS' CENTRE OF VOJVODINA

AND NATURE CONSERVATION MOVEMENT...

Volunteers’ Centre of Vojvodina and Nature Conservation Movement (PGVCV) has been established on January 25th, 2004, as a program of Nature Conservation Agency of Vojvodina, with the help from activists from several other organizations. It consists of young people who work on raising awareness on voluntarism and try to encourage other people, mainly young, to activate as volunteers.

What we seek to achieve is a society where voluntary work and environmental protection are basic values and means of development and progress of individuals and community on the whole. It is a society in which problem solving and needs satisfaction are completed through interactive co-operation of citizens of all ages and different national, religious, political, cultural and other backgrounds.

We are trying to include all members of the society in problem solving and development by organizing different voluntary work activities, with strong emphasis on international exchange programs, such as summer workcamps and long-term volunteering. In this way, we are working towards breaking prejudices, developing awareness on tolerance, solidarity, peace, togetherness and progress, both personal and of the society.

We are also working on promotion of voluntary work and education of children and young people for active participation in the development of the society. In order to enable a larger number of people to take active part in improvement of their society, PGVCV is offering technical and informational support to everyone working on solving local community problems.

OUR WORKCAMPS...

One of our main activities is preparing and running international voluntary workcamps, in partnership with local communities in Vojvodina region. We are including local authorities’ youth and other NGOs, local public companies and interested individuals in all our projects. The projects are designed to respond to the needs of the community and are always for the common good. The project supporters are responsible for the organization of the work project and provide tools and leadership.

The workcamp group usually consists of 15-20 participants, some of them are volunteers from local communities and the others are volunteers from all over the world. We try to include local volunteers in all our workcamps, because it is a unique opportunity for them to work and live in an international atmosphere and this also helps foreign volunteers to integrate in the local community during the camp. Age limit of the participants is indicated in the camp description (usually volunteers must be older than 18 years and there is no upper age limit). Group life is democratic, as much as it is possible, and all social activities are decided on by the group members with the guidance of the leaders.

In all our workcamps we have two leaders, who take part in the camp full-time. One of them is usually from our organization and the other is from the local society. All our camp leaders before leading a camp have to complete training on both technical and human/personal issues.

The cooking and house work is in most camps organized by the volunteers themselves. Two persons are responsible for buying food, cooking and cleaning for the group. It would be nice if volunteers could bring recipes and spices traditional for their country so that they can present some of their national dishes. In some camps volunteers may have some or all of the meals prepared by the host.

During the camp time, beside the working activities, there will be many opportunities to relax and have fun, usually in the afternoons and during the weekends. Leisure activities often include swimming, sports, music, hiking, etc. Volunteers are more than welcome to bring some ideas, games and music with them! They will also be able to discover the region trough organized excursions visiting interesting towns or famous sites in the area around the workcamp, as well as getting to know the local people and their tradition. These activities are generally provided in the workcamp’s budget.

Working hours are discussed by the person responsible for the project. An average is 5-6 hours a day. Weekends are free.

Official language of our camps is English, and it is important that volunteers speak at least basic language knowledge.

GENERAL FACTS ABOUT SERBIA...

Location:

Serbia (Serbian Srbija), is republic in Central and Southeastern Europe. It is covering the central part of the Balkan Peninsula and the southern part of the Pannonian Plain. It is placed at the crossroads between Central, Southern and Eastern Europe. Serbia is bounded on the north by Hungary; on the east by Romania and Bulgaria; on the south by the Republic of Macedonia; on the southwest by Albania; and on the west by Montenegro, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Croatia.

Geography:

Most of Serbia can be divided into three regions: Vojvodina, a large province in the north containing fertile plains drained by the Danube, Sava, Tisza rivers; Sumadija, a hilly and heavily populated area in central Serbia; and Kosovo, a mountainous province in the south. A fourth region, the Sandzak, straddles the southwestern border with Montenegro. Vojvodina encompasses part of the fertile Pannonian Plain. The Dinaric Alps dominate Kosovo, and the Balkan Mountains rise up in southeastern Serbia. The Danube, the second-longest river in Europe, exits Serbia through the Balkans, at the Iron Gate gorge.

Area: 88,361 sq km (34,116 sq mi).

Time zone: CET (UTC+1)

Calling code+381

Population: 9,979,752 (2002.)

Officiallanguages:

Serbian, South Slavic language. We use both the Cyrillic and Latin alphabets, as a result of both Eastern and Western influences. In Vojvodinalanguages of the minority groups (Hungarian, Slovak, Romanian, Rusyn and Croatian) are also official.

Religion:

The dominant religion is Orthodox Christianity, with smaller numbers of Muslims, Roman Catholics, and Protestants.

Currency: Serbian dinar(RSD)

Major cities are:Belgrade, Serbia’s capital and largest city (1,273,651 inhabitants in the inner city area), Novi Sad-the capital of the Vojvodina province (215,659), Nis (194,790); Kragujevac (147.473), and Leskovac (78,030).

Culture:

Serbia is one of Europe's most culturally diverse countries. The borders between large empires ran through the territory of today's Serbia for long periods in history: between the Eastern and Western halves of the Roman Empire; between Royal Hungary and Byzantium; and between the Ottoman Empire and the Austrian Empire (later Austria-Hungary). As a result, while the north is culturally Central European, the south is rather more Oriental. Of course, both regions have influenced each other, and so the distinction between north and south is artificial to some extent.

The monasteries of Serbia, built largely in the Middle Ages, are one of the most valuable and visible traces of medieval Serbia's association with the Byzantium and the Orthodox World, but also with the Romanic (Western) Europe that Serbia had close ties with back in Middle Ages. Most beloved queens in Serbian history were mostly of foreign origin: Helen d'Anjou (French), Anna Dondolo (Venetian), Catherine of Hungary, Symonide of Byzantium, Empress Milica of Rascia (Serbian).

Tourism:

Tourism in Serbia is mostly based in mountains and villages. The most famous mountain resorts are Zlatibor, Kopaonik, and the Tara. There also are a lot of spas in Serbia, one the biggest of which is the Vrnjacka Banja. There is also significant tourism in Belgrade and Novi Sad, as well to the Exit Festival and the Guca trumpet festival.

Most carriers, museums, theatres etc. offer a reduced price for students with ISIC/ITIC and Euro<26 cards!

Some useful words:

English / Serbian / English / Serbian
Good morning
Good afternoon
Good evening
Good night
Good bye
Thank you
You are welcome
How are you?
I am fine.
What is your name?
My name is…
Excuse me/ I am sorry
Good
Bad
Delicious
Beautiful
I like…
I love… / Dobro Jutro
Dobar dan
Dobro veče
Laku noć
Zdravo/Dovidjenja
Hvala
Nema na čemu
Kako si/Ste?
Dobro sam.
Kako se zoveš/te?
Ja se zovem...
Izvinite
Dobro
Loše
Ukusno
Prelepo
Svidja mi se...
Ja volim... / Yes
No
What
When
Where
Who
Why
How
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10 / Da
Ne
Šta
Kada
Gde
ko
Zašto
Kako
jedan
dva
tri
četiri
pet
sest
sedam
osam
devet
deset

For more information about Serbia have a look at:

Code / Name / Location / Dates / Type / Number of vols / Age limit
RS-PGVCV 01 / "ARBORETUM" / SREMSKI KARLOVCI / 27/06-05/06. / RENO/ENVI / 15/15 / 18+
RS-PGVCV 04 / “RE-ECOLOGY” / SREMSKI KARLOVCI / 29/08-06/09. / ENVI / 15/15 / 18+
RS-PGVCV 06 / "Wine Fest" / SREMSKI KARLOVCI / 12-20/09. / MUSIC/FEST / 15 / 18+

PGVCV`s 2009. WORKCAMP PROGRAMME:

- Participants are covering their own travel expenses

RS-PGVCV 01 – „ARBORETUM“

Sremski Karlovci

27/06/2009 – 05/07/2009

RENO/ENVI

15 volunteers (ages 18+)

P: Situated on Frushka Gora Mountain, just by the river Danube, the picturesque town of Sremski Karlovci has a rich past and represents the centre of Serbian culture and spirituality. It is a small town (app 9500 inhabitants) on the north side of the Fruska Gora Mountain. It's 11 km away from Novi Sad, the largest town in Vojvodina region.

More info:

W: The main goal of this project is to prepare, one part of an old park - "Arboretum", for further using in educational, playground and touristic purpose. The work will mostly be cleaning the area from the garbage, digging, filling up holes and landslides, and cutting bushes and branches overgrowing the park.

S: Ecological and recycling workshops, interesting excursions… AND MUCH MUCH MORE… 

A: Volunteers will sleep in the Sremski Karlovci “Ecological Center” 22 beds hostel. Meals are included, but volunteers may have to cook.

L: English

X: Participation fee: 15€

RS-PGVCV 04 – „RE-ECOLOGY“

Sremski Karlovci

29/08/2009 – 06/09/2009

RENO/ENVI

15 volunteers (ages 18+)

P: Situated on Frushka Gora Mountain, just by the river Danube, the picturesque town of Sremski Karlovci has a rich past and represents the centre of Serbian culture and spirituality. It is a small town (app 9500 inhabitants) on the north side of the Fruska Gora mountain. It's 11 km away from Novi Sad, the largest town in Vojvodina region.

More info:

W:Volunteers will work on renovating one part of green area, proposed by the local municipality. The work will mostly be cleaning the area from the garbage, digging, filling up holes and landslides, and cutting bushes and branches overgrowing the park, making a walking path, puting benches and trash-cans...

S: Ecological and recycling workshops, interesting excursions… AND MUCH MUCH MORE… 

A: Volunteers will sleep in the Sremski Karlovci “Ecological Center” 22 beds hostel. Meals are included, but volunteers may have to cook.

L: English

X: Participation fee: 15€

RS-PGVCV 06 – „WINE FEST“

Sremski Karlovci

12/09/2009 – 20/09/2009

FEST

15 volunteers (ages 18+)

More info:

W:We will help to prepare the festival, such as site management and decoration. We will promote this festival to local kids through the visiting the local schools. We do the activity for children to spend the festival with a lot of fun.We will help the organizers of the festival with different tasks, for example preparing the venues before the concerts and put them in shape afterwards, helping with the control outside of the places. It will depend on a volunteers if it is possible to organize some kind of programme, and to participate on a festival stage!! THAT WOULD BE GREAT!!

S: Ecological and recycling workshops, interesting excursions… AND MUCH MUCH MORE… 

A: Volunteers will sleep in the Sremski Karlovci “Ecological Center” 22 beds hostel. Meals are included, but volunteers may have to cook.

L: English

X: Participation fee: 15€