Workshop Volunteers Needed For Youth Arts Festival in Bosnia

Most Mira (Peace Bridge) is a British registered charity (charity number 1120122)that provides an opportunity for children living in the postconflict environment in Bosnia toestablish and participate in a local youth arts festival. Most Mira is run by a group of dedicated volunteers from both England and Bosnia, and is currently recruiting both Logistics and Artistic Volunteers.

The aim of the festival is to create an independent social and cultural space in order to provide young people with an opening for creative development in Bosnia.We wish to offer the experiences of new activities; give the chance to discover talents and affirm skills; and hope to widen the horizons for the children who make up part of the first post-war generation in the Balkans region.

The festival will take place on April 26- 30th, 2010 (there is potential for this to change to May 17th-22nd but we will keep you informed) but volunteers are expected to participate in planning activities beginning in February 2010 probably involving 3-4 one day workshops.

Application deadline is December 31st, 2009. Please send a CV and a summary of not more than 500 words to stating why you want to be involved in this project and what you think you can bring to the festival.

For more information, please visit our website at

Logistics Volunteers

Logistics volunteers are responsible for organising the logistics before, during, and after the festival. This may include contributing to organising pre-festival trainings, preparing the festival site, and coordinating the volunteers’ food, accommodation, and transportation. Logistics Volunteers will also coordinate daily volunteer meetings during the festival and various needs related to the festival. Volunteers must be willing to put in hard work behind the scenes of the festival and go without amenities.

Logistics volunteers will start in February 2010

Essential

  • International driving license
  • Previous coordination and organization experience
  • Strong administrative skills
  • Interest in empowering young people through the arts

Desirable

  • Previous international experience
  • Excellent report writing skills

Art Workshop Volunteers

Art Workshop volunteers are responsible for running participatory arts workshops with children aged 5-15. The five-day festival (April 26th- May 1st) consists of daily 2-3 hour workshops, which culminate at the end of the week in a collaborative performance involving every young person at the festival.

Logistics volunteers will start in February 2010

Essential

  • International driving license
  • Previous experience leading workshops
  • Interest in empowering young people through the arts

Desirable

  • Previous international experience
  • Ability to work with translators and with individuals who do not speak English

Specific Areas:
1. Drama

  • Previous experience developing and facilitating participatory drama workshops for children
  • Previous experience using drama techniques (such as mime) to encourage communication between different groups of young people
  • Ability to produce small collaborative sketches which can be used as part of a performance on festival day
  • Ability to work within a team to develop best practices for working with children

2. Art

  • Previous experience developing and facilitating participatory art workshops for children
  • Good understanding and knowledge of artist techniques
  • Creative and flexible with artistic approaches, including graffiti or recycled sculpture
  • Interested in collaborative and outdoor installation work

3. Music

  • Previous experience developing and facilitating participatory music workshops for children
  • Good understanding and knowledge of musical techniques
  • Able to work in an inclusive and accessible way
  • Interested in working with sounds made from recycled materials

4. Recycled art

  • Previous experience developing and facilitating participatory workshops for children
  • Interest in facilitating collaborative installations
  • Commitment to ensuring technique is accessible for all

5. Dance

  • Previous experience developing and facilitating participatory dance workshops for children
  • Ability to demonstrate dance techniques
  • Creative and flexible with different approaches to dance including capoiera or break dance
  • Ability to build the confidence of children in order to try new ideas

6. Circus/ Acrobatics

  • Previous experience developing and facilitating participatory workshops for children
  • Ability to demonstrate acrobatics skills
  • Strong team building skills

7. Photography/ Film

  • Previous experience developing and facilitating participatory photography or film workshops for children
  • Creative and flexible with different approaches to photography and filmincluding working limited resources
  • Ability to demonstrate photography and film techniques

8. Journalism

  • Previous experience developing and facilitating participatory journalism workshops for children
  • Creative and flexible with different approaches to journalism
  • Ability to demonstrate journalism techniques

9. English/Bosnian Language Translation

  • Previous experience developing and facilitating participatory workshops for children
  • Previous TEFL experience