Call for initiatives

You have a vision what life in your village could become, but you don’t exactly know where to start with all the ideas? You have been wavering about an initiative with your pals and the only thing missing up to now has been an international friend to take in the boat? You have already built up a cool project, but it’s the little things that cause big questions?

Let us know what you are after! Brag with how far you have come and tell us where you’re stuck! Convince us why you think we are your perfect partner! Join our community! Go ahead and apply for a Eurobus mentorship!

Who can apply and how?

The call for initiatives addresses to all residents of the 5–6 Ukrainian villages selected within the call for villages, which has been closed on february 22nd. In every village 2–3 initiatives will be selected for mentorship.

The selected villages and regions will be announced at the beginning of march on the Eurobus webpage. By then, everyone living or being active in the selected villages or regions is warmly invited to apply with an initiative to be mentored!

The application for initiatives will be open from 1st of march to 31st of march 2010. Please send the filled-out application form to eurobus.fri@gmail.com.

The call for initiatives is open to ideas, initiatives and projects of all kind. We mainly address Ukrainian youth, but if only your initiative is somehow linked with youth, school teachers, members of the local administration, NGO’s and public agencies are very welcome to apply as well! Whether you are a school eager to create an intercultural partnership, whether you are a bunch of future star-journalists monitoring the ecological problems of your village, or whether you and your friends dream of a series of concerts reviving traditional Ukrainian music and culture – all you need is to fill out the application form and to send us a brief exposé of your mission. We are looking forward to get acquainted to the visions of Ukrainian youth!

What do we expect?

If you want to know what we are after, have a look on www.eurobus.org.ua/about-us, where „mission“, „objectives“ and „tools“ of our project are outlined. Your visions do not need to be the same as ours. Just see that your initiative meets with the following criteria:

• sustainability. If you only want to celebrate one night’s Europe party, we might ask: what will persist beyond the hangover, what will continue afterwards, what will have changed thanks to the event? Think further!
• practicability. You want to transform Ukraine into a blossoming realm of wealth and prosperity within the EU? We love you, but tell us how, by what means and efforts, within what time, with which concrete steps to be taken. Better be smart and small than genius and unrealistic!
• interactivity. As we won’t pay you the champaign for the successful completion of your project, there must be something else that we can offer to you. Consider us not spectators to the perfect Ukrainian initiative, but partners in a joint venture. Maybe your initiative shall become a Polish-Ukrainian dialogue, maybe you want simply to discover how the Germans managed to separate their waste. Think of what we can do for you, this makes it even more likely that we’ll come and do it!

What’s next after the application?

All applying initiatives can present themselves on our webpage, even in case they won’t be selected for mentorship. We want you to get in touch with each other, to exchange online, to mutually learn from the experience of like-minded, beyond the line of the Eurobus route, beyond the duration of the Eurobus tour.

The mentorship of the selected initiatives will be launched in april 2010 and documented online. So are all further steps your initiative takes to its successful completion. And relax, the day of the Eurobus crew visiting you in may 2010 does not necessarily fix the date of the completion of your project. If you are planning a concert or a Europe holiday, it could be an aim to jointly assist to the implementation of what we have worked out together prior to the tour (A). But if you are fine-tuning a long-term initiative of several years and consider the Eurobus visit only the most intense point of our cooperation – even better! (B)

What activities will occur during the Eurobus visit?

• Eurobus will visit every selected village for two days. The crew members will stay in host families of local residents, if possible.
• If there is a school in your community, the first part of the stay will be constituted by the seminars to be held in the school classes (www.eurobus.org.ua/seminars).
• Within the second part, the actual mentoring takes place. This may be something like a Toloka – the old Ukrainian tradition to solve a certain problem together with all inhabitants of the settlement. Depending on the nature of the project the formate will be working groups, discussion teams or other joint activities.
• The third part will be an actual event to take place during the presence of the Eurobus crew. (A) If an event is the final aim of your project (e. g. if you are preparing a concert, a social or environmental action, a Europe holiday), the event will be carried out together. (B) If you are working on a long-term initiative, the joint event will be a public presentation and communication of your initiative.

What does Eurobus provide for?

• March 2010: A preparatory training in the selected villages on civic activism and leadership commitment, held by FRI and UNDP. This is meant as a basic support for your activities within the planning and implementation of your initiative.
• By april 2010: online mentoring of the selected initiatives through the members of the Eurobus crew. All planing and implementation steps will be taken jointly and documented online.
• May 6th–8th 2010: Participation of the person in charge for the initiative and eventually one representative of the local administration in the preparatory meeting Europe inside in Warsaw  to fix the remaining details. Travel costs will most likely be granted.
• May 2010: Two days Eurobus visit in your village including:
• Face-to-face-mentoring within working groups.
  • (A) If you are planning an event to take place during the Eurobus visit: joint implementation of the event, including consultancy, feedback and evaluation.
  • (B) If you are working on a long-term initiative: joint implementation of an event to promote and to communicate your initiative and the results of the Eurobus mentoring.
• Sustainable contacts and further cooperation opportunities with the members of the Eurobus crew.

What do I have to provide for?

With a submitted application you will be in charge for your initiative. This means you should

• March 2010: assist to the preparatory training of FRI and UNDP on civic activism and leadership commitment.
• By april 2010: communicate and cooperate online with the members of the Eurobus crew about your initiative.
• May 6th–8th: assist to the preparatory meeting Europe inside in Warsaw for the final coordination of your initiative.
• May 2010: assist to the two days visit of the Eurobus crew in your village and to the mentoring sessions.

Can I submit more than one application?

Yes definitely. Just don’t forget to convince us why it is exactly your initiatives that shall be mentored.

Can I apply if I don’t live in the village or town where my initiative shall take place?

Yes, of course! As long as your initiative takes place in the village and you will be present during the Eurobus visit, go ahead!

Can NGO’s apply?

If you think that your work could benefit from exchange and cooperation with like-minded Europeans, absolutely!

I would like to start an initiative, but I have little experience with the role of a coordinator. Should I apply?

No worries, go ahead! The development and mentoring of your initiative will be a great chance for exchange and cooperation for you and your pals. Be sure we won’t let you alone! Take the adventure!

Are there any priorities within the selection of initiatives?

Principally, apart from those outlined before (sustainability, practicability, interactivity), no.

What about the money?

Eurobus does normally not provide grants for your initiative. What we offer is support in terms of experience, exchange, consultancy, mentorship, contacts. If you are unsure of the financial disposition of your initiative, don’t hesitate to ask us, we’ll try to help you to find a solution.

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