Teenage Programme
The VSI Teenage Programme is open to young people aged 16-25. The Programme aims to involve young people, regardless of social, economic or educational background, physical or mental ability, religious or ethnic origins, or gender, to grow, prosper, learn and develop through volunteering projects that will connect them to their local, national and European communities.
Voluntary work can be an important means for personal and community development and that the possibility of doing voluntary work is often limited to those who have more opportunities in society, thus excluding those who have personal, social or financial difficulties in life.
The Teenage Programme has provided hundreds of young Irish people with the opportunity to engage with other young people from a range of cultural backgrounds in short term voluntary work experiences, in Ireland and abroad.
These short term experiences often lead to a greater community awareness and involvement on the part of the young person, and in many cases make it possible to have a longer term experience later on. Most importantly, it often allows the young person to develop a sense of responsibility, confidence and other social and personal skills.
Summer Projects 2009
During the summer months of 2009, VSI Teenage Programme was involved in a number of unique and exciting youth projects here in Ireland, and around Europe. These projects allowed young people aged 16-21, from a variety of countries and backgrounds, to experience the spirit of volunteerism, as well as develop personal, inter-personal and social skills through non formal learning and peace education workshops. VSI ran two youth exchanges in Ireland and also sent groups of young volunteers to projects in Belgium, Italy and Spain.
In Belgium, the project took place in Ypres, a Flemish town who had been the location of intense and sustained battles between Germany and France, in WWI. The volunteers from Slovenia, Spain, Belgium and Ireland had spent 10 days learning about the history of Ypres and about the war in general and made a movie regarding this theme.
In Italy, young people from Belgium, Slovakia, Italy and Ireland were gathered together around the theme of water consumption but more widely about environment and the use of the resources. Differents workshops took place in relation to this topic but they also volunteered for different projects such as cleaning a beach area, an old castle and painting murals in the local town.
In Spain, the project was called "knowing our environment" and the main theme was the environment, natural resources and rural life. This exchange took place in Vallbona de Las Monges, in Catalunya. The young volunteers explored this theme through workshops, games and activities, and voluntary work.
In Ireland, the first project took place in Wicklow around the theme of sustainable living. Groups from Spain, Italy, France and Ireland explored the topic on the grounds of An Carraig Dulrá, a permaculture project run as an example of self sufficiency and experiment in permaculture methods. They participated in workshops, games and activities on the environment and learned how to live in a more sustainable way (recycling, growing vegetables, reusing waste, etc...). The main project consisted of helping the people at Carraig Dulrá with the construction of an amphitheatre using dry stone walling technique. They also did some activities in the organic garden (cutting woods, weeding, protecting trees and so on).
The second exchange was located in Downings, Co. Donegal and the project was on the theme of understanding conflict. The venue was the Donegal Peace Center, An Téach Bán which works in the area of peace and reconciliation. The group learned about the history of the Troubles in Northern Ireland and had the chance to meet people who experienced the conflict in northern Ireland such as a group of young people from Derry from an interface community, and Jon McCourt, who witnessed the events of Bloody Sunday and has worked in community and reconciliation work for many years as a result. A series of workshops in peace education had also been organised as well as a lot of artistic workshops on the main topic allowing the participants to record their experiences, impressions of peace in the world today and become "peace messengers" in their own communities. The focus of the project was allowing the young people to explore examples and ways of taking action for positive change in their communities. We hope to reproduce all this work in a booklet in the coming months.
All these youth exchanges were co-funded by the Youth in Action Programme of the European Commission. A big thank to the following organisations for the financial and in-kind donations and support;
LEARGAS (http://www.leargas.ie/)
The Donegal Peace Center An Téach Bán (http://www.donegalpeacecentre.com/)
An Carraig Dúlra (http://www.dulra.org/)
Croney Byrne Holiday Accommodation (http://www.croneybyrneholidays.com/)
Jabba Jabba Jembe (http://www.jabbajabbajembe.com/)
The Teenage Programme for 2010 will involve a variety of volunteer days, weekend trips and the possibility of a 2-week exchange with international participants.
Youth Leaders Wanted
The programme is currently looking for volunteer youth leaders to assist with the running of the programme. If you are aged 21+, have experience with young people, are dedicated and enthusiastic then contact us. VSI will organise International Youth Leader Training for all youth leaders. Youth Leader Application Form here
Contact teenage@vsi.ie for more info.