Between 7 and 9 September 2021, Club for Youth Empowerment – KOM018 hosted the third international meeting of 13 European cities involved in the European Alliance for Volunteer Support.
Club for Youth Empowerment – KOM018 hosted the event between 7 and 9 September 2021 in Niš, Serbia. Project partners from Serbia, Slovenia, North Macedonia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Latvia learned about volunteering in festivals and manifestations. In scope of the event they attended the Come to Amfi (Dođi na Amfi) festival in Niš and gained practical experience volunteering at the festival.
On the first day, partners presented their organisations and work and discussed volunteering and the organisation of events. During the discussion, they exchanged their experience with the event organisation and cooperation with volunteers for the event organisation. While all have previously cooperated with volunteers to organise an event, no one has experience as extensive as the host. Since KOM018 has ten years of experience organising festivals solely with volunteers, partners were looking forward to learning more about it in the following days. An immersive experience of Serbian culture and cuisine rounded up the first day.
In continuation of project activities, the day started with Jovan Milić, presenting Youth Office Niš, their work and opportunities for volunteering they provide. Nikola Božanović presented the Club for Youth Empowerment (KOM 018). He also introduced the methodology for organizing volunteering activities at the festivals and manifestations, using the Come to Amfi festival as an example, as it involves more than 100 volunteers yearly.
KOM 018 implements the project “Hip Hop culture festival Come to Amfi” in cooperation with various European countries. The Festival engages young artists and supports their work at the regional and European levels. The project builds the capacities of young performers through the support of their senior and more recognized colleagues. The project builds the capacities of young performers through the support of their senior and more recognized colleagues. It provides a platform for young artists to enhance their audience.
Shortly after the end of the festival, preparations begin for the next edition of the Come to Amfi festival. They choose volunteers with an open call. Prospective volunteers describe their previous experience with events of this type and tell to which sector they wish to contribute. They can choose between photo/video, host, promo, technical support, refreshments. After individual interviews, volunteers get assigned to their sectors. Depending on the sector, they undergo short training. There, volunteers are acquainted with their obligations. Each group of volunteers has a team of leaders. They are always there to clarify and advise them in an emergency.
In the evening, project partners had a chance to see the practical side of volunteering at the festival during the first festival night. Before the festival opened, project partners were assigned to different sectors and learned about their role as a volunteer for that night.
Partners returned from the visit full of pleasant impressions and good practices that they wanted to share with others and transfer some of them to their environment. The purpose of the Europe for Citizens program is to get to know the practices of other European cities and connect on joint topics. Follow the Facebook page of the ERAS project, where we will share volunteer stories and good practices from other European countries.