YUPI - Association for Social and Community Development, existing since 2008, has as its mission to motivate, raise awareness, develop and empower young people in the community, resulting in an effective instrument for active participation and citizenship. YUPI's objectives are to promote youth mobility for diversified learning purposes; to encourage active participation and committed citizenship in young people; to use non-formal education as a tool for skills development and to encourage youth volunteering. In pursuit of its objectives YUPI has carried out numerous projects of local volunteering (Time4U - Volunteering and Youth Active Participation Exchange) and international volunteering (EVS - European Voluntary Service/ESC – European Solidarity Corps), international exchanges and training, development and recognition of non-formal education at national and international level and its integration into school contexts, support to initiatives of groups of young people for local community development, among others. YUPI is an NGO of 300 members under 30 years old with strong motivations to actively participate in civil society and cooperate with our local community and extends our activities to a European dimension. The four main dimensions of YUPI's work are: 1) Active participation and citizenship; 2) Volunteering in thecommunity; 3) Mobility in Europe; 4) Skills development in non-formal education. The mission of our organization is to motivate and empower young people in the community, functioning as an effective tool for active participation and citizenship. YUPI is a youth organization founded in 2008 from a former informal group. It was created with the support of the National Youth Institute and is now recognized and accredited as a youth organization. We are also accredited by the National Agency for Youth in Action Program to host, send and coordinate the organization for ESC action since 2010. We have been recognized several times in our projects for our best practices with youth outreach (in 2009 for our youth exchange in the field of social inclusion, in 2010 for our best practices in transnational youth initiatives in volunteering, and in 2011 for our best practices at the national level on youth participation and empowerment, all recognized by the National Agency for the Youth in Action Program). We received the Municipal Recognition for Innovation in Community Work 2 times (2017 and 2018) for projects related to youth volunteering and promoting active participation and entrepreneurship in young people. YUPI received the award for Good Practices in Youth Organizations given by the National Institute for Youth and Sports in 2017 and 2019 for projects related to the education human rights program and the development of cooperation with schools for the implementation of school participatory budget.

The project will be coordinated by YUPI in learning community, EKOA, which consists of an alternative school for who seeks free education by transforming the way of looking at learning, relationships, and communication. It is not just a project for children, it is a community made of people, of all ages, who together support each other in their learning and transformations of the world. Some tasks are: support daily routines with children from 1 to 10 years old, lead different workshops and activities in the field of ecology, art, culture, music. To get more info, please write to [email protected]. Take care of children ages (mostly 2-6 years), general support, providing leaning, tidying, maintenance and good use of the facilities, help, design educational activities together with the team, help feed, sanitize and put children to sleep. Infopack: https://shorturl.at/sXrYC.

The volunteer will be accommodated in a house of local people, with single room, and shared bathroom and kitchen, a 2 minutes’ walk from EKOA. The towels, sheets and blankets are provided. Wi-fi available in the house and in EKOA. During lunch, vegetarian food will be provided at EKOA, and the dinner will be prepared by the volunteer (or taking extra lunch from school). Pocket money will be provided by the Hosting Organization as well as costs of travel, accommodation, food, local transportation and activities. The environmental way of travelling (train, bus, etc.) is strongly encouraged.

During the project the volunteer will receive on arrival training, provided by Portuguese National Agency in order to improve quality implementation. Also, the language course of Portuguese language will be offered via OLS platform, before arrival, as well as during stay in Portugal in a way to be easier to get involved in daily activities with the target groups, as well as with the local community. We support each volunteer with individual Portuguese lessons and also encourage the communication with children at school as it is a very engaging way of learning Portuguese.

The Participant profile: We are looking to host 1 volunteer, experienced in working with kids, openminded, motivated, proactive, responsible, communicative, creative and able to work in an alternative educational system. Who is not afraid of physical work, insects, getting dirty or wet. EKOA is a living, free, ever-changing community, and flexibility is a core skill. This project is for you if you are interested in: alternative forms of education, environment, creative expression (DIY, arts and crafts), sustainability, vegetarianism. Communicative English is required. We highly appreciate a person who already has experience with children, open to exploring an alternative form of education; preferably has taken a first aid course for children, is warmhearted and prepared enough for the required role.
Deadline: 31/07/2025 23:59

The project is implemented under the European Solidarity Corps Programme, financed by the European Commission.
The participating organisations have to be mindful of these needs as they are responsible for providing a respectful and trusting hosting environment. At the same time, the organisations participating in the initiative devote a great deal of time, energy and resources to set up a high-quality activity; they should therefore expect that European Solidarity Corps participants show a similar level of respect for the local communities and the people that are directly concerned by the activities (https://youth.europa.eu/solidarity/mission_en).
What do we provide ?

• Training before and after the project
• Health insurance during your project
• round-trip travel reimbursement
• accommodation and food
• pocket money
• language course
• Return Week-end
• Youth Pass and SVI international Volunteer passport

Before applying for this volunteering project, you need to enroll yourself at European Solidarity Corps Platform (https://europa.eu/youth/solidarity_en) and specify your European Solidarity Corps Participant Number (PRN).
This organisation holds a European Solidarity Corps Quality Label.
Contact the ESC coordinator at +32 2 888 67 13 to get more informations.