music fund project

Looking for one volunteer

Trip type

ESC Volunteering

City + Country

Marche-en-Famenne, Belgium

Dates of the next project

01 February 2022 – 31 January 2023

Deadline to apply

24th October 2021 (11:59 PM)

Due to the Covid-19 crisis, activities might be subject to modifications.

Hosting organisation : Music Fund

« Music Fund » is a non-profit association based in Belgium with an expertise centre in Marche en Famenne, a town located in the French part of Belgium. It’s aim is to promote music as an instrument to develop social projects for young people, mostly in conflict zones and developing countries, with the slogan “Give music a chance”.

Another objective of MF is to work with music schools and improve their access to musical instruments globally. They work hard to develop a network of musical repair technicians and improve their abilities. Last, but not least, they facilitate the access of musical instruments to young musicians all around the world.

Through a network of organisations all around the world, they collect the instruments, repair them, and give them back to communities for their socio-artistic projects and music schools in need.

Music Fund works on a global level and their musical instruments reached as far as Haiti, Mozambique, Morocco, Palestine, Congo, USA etc…

In Belgium, the team of MF helps young people who want to learn to play by providing them with a wide range of instruments. Through their expertise centre in Marche en Famenne and a warehouse in Jemelle, they are able to fulfil all the needs for local music schools and socio-artistic projects all around Belgium.

They recognised the need for musical therapy in specific groups such as youngsters with difficulties, inmates, refugees and they work closely with organisations aiming to help specific groups of people. To this day, Music Fund organised 18 successful sessions of instrument making for inmates of the Marche en Famene Prison Centre. They also donated and maintained instruments for Red Cross asylum seeker centres.

Organising concerts, promotional events, stands on musical fairs are a part of their everyday activities. They promote solidarity, instrument donations and informing the general public about their work and how they can be involved with their projects.

Even though it’s only their second time hosting an ESC volunteer, they have years of experience hosting international volunteers and practitioners wiling to join this amazing cause! They are very excited to host a new volunteer!

Further information can be found at: http://musicfund.eu/about/history-philosophy/

CBB host in total 21 international volunteers around Wallonia. The ESC team of CBB try his best to connect this network of volunteers together trought different collective activities, seminar …

Support organization : CBB

In addition to this, the hosting organization is supported by the Association des Compagnons Bâtisseurs, aka CBB located in Marche-en-Famenne not far from Rochefort. CBB is a non-profit, non-political youth organisation recognized and financially supported by the Wallonia-Brussels Federation. The organisation proposes different kinds of activities, based on volunteering and non-formal education: local and international workcamps, medium and long term voluntary services (including ESC), and leisure time activities for and with disabled people, camp leaders trainings…CBB is active within the different European Programmes of volunteering and non-formal education since 1997 and also hosts ESC volunteers each year.

CBB’s role as a support organization is to:

Promote the project and link between local and the international networks;
Support in the selection and preparation of European volunteers before arrival;
Manage of administrative matters: budget allowances; support in the creation of the bank account and enrollment at the municipality; enrollment in insurance (if not done by sending organization); preparation of activity agreement;
Provide pedagogical support for the volunteer and the hosting organization: ensures the participation in the NA seminars; organization of auto-evaluation meetings for the volunteer and the hosting organization to reflect on learning outcomes;
Handle practical arrangements: information about health insurance system in Belgium; indications about French lesson possibilities; online language tool…
Create networking between all ESC volunteers of the hosting organizations we support.

Note: some tasks can/will be adapted because of the covid-19 pandemic.

The volunteer will have the opportunity to participate in most of their activities taking place in the workshop and the warehouse: administrative and cultural. First weeks will mostly consist of showing the volunteer all the tasks that the organization is working on, so gradually they can participate more and more in all activities. Also, the volunteer will be greatly encouraged to create a personal project inside the organisation with great support of the Music fund. The goal is to help the association in their daily tasks (in the atelier, warehouse and the main office), share their activities with the general public and help with event organisation.

Activity: Logistics regarding the musical instruments

This part of the project will be done three to four times a week, divided in two locations: main Atelier of Music Fund in Marche en Famenne, and the organization’s warehouse in the town of Jemelle where volunteers will have to go by public transport.

Tasks will include:

Taking care of instruments; updating the instrument database (Excel sheet); delivering them for the projects; organizing the stock in the warehouse; be actively involved in the improvement of the storage; labelling and distribution processes.
Work in the storage- installing the informational sheets “how to take care of instruments”.
Helping with the organisation of concerts and workshops.
Helping with the stand during events: festivals, music fairs, music weekends, etc…
Helping with the collection of instruments at pick up points around Belgium.
Helping with the organisation of musical concerts in Marche (about ten each year).
Helping the organization put in place a project called “Music Fund repair challenge”.

Collective activities with other ESC volunteers :

Volunteer gatherings and activities will be planned in order for the European Solidarity Corps to gain visibility and encourage cooperation between local associations through cultural events. This experience will allow the volunteer to enlarge his cultural and social scope, improve his teamwork skills, learn and discover cultural activities, practice French and spend time taking care of instruments, organising events and taking care of the communication for the organization.

Accommodation in Marche-en-Famenne

The Music fund project allows the volunteer to move around the Wallonie region, giving them a chance to discover one of the most picturesque parts of Belgium. The atelier of the Music fund and the main part of the project is located within 5 minutes of walking distance from the house in Marche-en-Famenne, a small charming town in the province of Luxembourg. Even though the population of the town is about 60 000 people, volunteers can find everything they need here: supermarkets, shopping area, bars, restaurants, cinema, sport centre, occasional festivals and carnivals but also lots of forests and hiking trails for nature lovers.

The volunteer must appreciate that living a small town of Marche en Famenne will be resourceful, quieter and will give you a break from your usual routine.

The village Jemelle

The warehouse of the organisation is located in Jemelle, just a short train/bus ride away from Marche (the point on the map). Jemelle is very close to Rochefort and both towns are surrounded by amazing nature that can be discovered by taking one of the many hiking trails in that region.

Collective activities with other ESC volunteers

The ESC activity within Music fund, together with other ESC activities organized in the municipality of Marche en Famenne & Rochefort participate in the aims of increasing European awareness among the local community in Marche and Famenne and surroundings, as well as enhancing closer networking between the local non-profit services. For this reason, some activities might be run with other ESC volunteers involved in other local organizations. The volunteers are encouraged to take any initiative that enhance such kind of collaboration and make their presence visible in the community.

The country - BELGIUM

Squeezed between the Netherlands, Germany, Luxembourg and France, Belgium is one of Europe’s tiddlers.
The north is flat, the south dominated by the picturesque Ardennes and the 65km North Sea coastline monopolized by resorts, except for a few patches of windswept dunes. The 4 seasons are well divided, cold and white winter and warm and sunny summer… But be ready to grey sky at least a half part of the year.

But the belgian population are usually warm. A lot of cultural and free EVENT in the street happen during the year, which brings your journey in this little country fun and interesting.

This project will be taking part in the south of the country which is French speaking. Be therefore ready to learn and speak French! Especially in this project involving kids.

Specialities : FRIES, BEERS and FESTIVALS
AREA: 30,518 sq km
POPULATION: 11.420.163 million
CAPITAL: Brussels (pop: 1.191.604)
REGIONS: Flanders (North), Wallonia (South), Brussels – Capital
COMMUNITIES: Flemish, French and German speaking community
LANGUAGE: Dutch (±59%), French (±37%) and German (±1%)
CURRENCY: Euro

Practical arrangements

Working Hours

Working days will be from Monday to Friday. Volunteer will work no more than six hours per day (train journeys to and from Jemelle do not count), finishing in the early afternoon, but it can also involve occasional participation in the evenings and weekend events according to the schedule of the concerts, stands and other activities MF offers during the year. Five days per week will be worked on average. Days off will compensate for the extra shift hours if necessary, to keep an average of 38 hours a week (French lesson included). The volunteer will generally have two consecutive free days per week except for special events and has the right to two days of holiday per month.

Insurance

All participants in cross-border activities have to be covered, throughout the activity period, by the obligatory European Solidarity Corps insurance plan set up by the European Commission. This coverage is only complementary to the mandatory coverage of the European Health Insurance Card (EHIC), which must be obtained prior to departure.

In certain cases, when national rules deprive participants of coverage under EHIC for the duration of the placement, CIGNA will provide full coverage. However, participants must provide proof that obtaining the EHIC in their case was not possible and they should contact their National Agency to seek tailored advice, for their specific circumstance.

The participant must read carefully the insurance-related information found online here: https://www.cignahealthbenefits.com/en/plan-members.

Accomodation

The volunteers will have a private room in a fully-equipped shared house in the city of Marche en Famenne, with other ESC volunteers.

Language course

OLS + French lesson: an online language course is provided as part of the project support from the Commission allocated on the basis of a level test to complete before the activity starts. The volunteer is also encouraged to join free French lessons given in the municipality or around.

Food

The volunteer will receive a budget and will take care of the meals by her/himself.

Pocket Money

Participation in the European Solidarity Corps is free of charge for the participant, except for exceptional contribution to travel costs. The volunteer will receive free board and lodging during the whole activity. In addition, she/he will receive a small allowance (pocket money) for personal expenses throughout the duration of the activity, including holidays.

Food

Profile of the volunteer

The age requirement to take part in the ESC program: 18-30 years old
Prior to departure, the volunteer should be in contact with a support (sending) organization in order to receive information and preparation. Look up for a support organization in your region via this link: https://europa.eu/youth/volunteering/organisations_en
Our project is open to anybody motivated by volunteering and who wishes to be involved in the organization and working in the field of culture, regardless of their nationality, religion, beliefs, diploma, professional experience.
As the activities of the project will involve working with different age groups, organizing and follow-up musical concerts and some administrative activities, we expect the volunteer to be very motivated to join the activity, to be open-minded, creative and proactive about their project.
Volunteers with basic musical education are encouraged to apply (but it is not compulsory).
The volunteer should not be afraid of spending time outside and appreciate the contact with nature.
Because most of the activities take part in the French-speaking part of the country, the volunteer is advised to have basic skills in French, to be able to fully engage with the activities and the lifestyle.
Please consider that your project involves constant movement between different cities in the country. Be prepared to spend a lot of time on public transport.

How to apply ?

Deadline: 24th October at 11:59 p.m. (brussels time).

1. In the frame of the new program of the European Commission, the European Solidarity Corps, you first need to create a profile on the new data base: https://europa.eu/youth/solidarity_en (“JOIN THE CORPS”).

2. Find the project and click on “apply” > HERE – To apply

3. Answer the questionnaire below (NB: you will be asked to attach a CV at the end of the form)

4. (optional) if you’re feeling creative, please feel free to send us any addtional material related to your application: esc@compagnonsbatisseurs.be

The application through the ESC portal and fulfilling the form are compulsory for us to take your application into consideration.

In the days following the 25th October, the pre-selected volunteers will be contacted for a skype interview.

ESC Music Fund / Apply form and motivation letter (2)

Step 1 of 4 - Personal Data

Personnal data
By filling the information below, you provide us with personal information. You are aware of the fact and agree that the pieces of information will be used in the frame of the call for candidates for the Erasmus+ volunteering project. Your personal data will be used by the persons in charge of the selection of volunteers in the sending and coordinating/hosting organizations. Each part mentioned takes the responsibility of erasing the documents containing your personal data once the selection procedure is over.
Name*
Surname Name
PNR (if you already have it: it’s a super long number you receive when you get registered into the PASS)*
E-mail*
Birthdate*
Day
Month
Year
Phone number*
Current address*
Street Address City ZIP / Postal Code Country
Languages spoken*
Please specify which level you have whenever possible
Availability period for the project (preference will be given to the volunteers able to join the project for the whole period)*
Have you ever taken part in a volunteering project under ERASMUS+?*
- YES
- NO
If yes, what was it and for how long ?
Sending organization (Name, Accreditation or PIC number, post address, phone number, contact person’s name and email address)*
What are your (long term) travel experiences?*

Here you get more into the AMO Le Cercle project
What are your general motivations to join a long term volunteering activity abroad?*
What do you like about this specific ESC project at Music Fund?*
Which of all above mentioned activities do you find most appealing? Why?*
What are, for you, the qualities of an employee of this organization?*
How do you see your role, as volunteer, within these activities?*
Can you explain how you expect a typical week of a volunteer (working hours, tasks, colleagues, location,etc.) at the “Music fund association” to be?*

Which are your qualities and weaknesses for this project?*
Do you think you will be confronted with some difficulties? If yes, which ones? If no, why?*
Do you have some special skills that would be interesting in the project?*
What would you like to implement as personal project during the activity?*
What would like to know about our organization and activities?*
Do you have any questions or doubts before accepting to be volunteer in our project?*
What do you like to do in your free time?*
What do you think about working and living in a rural environment?*
Regarding the recent Covid-19 crisis, how do you see yourself adapting to possible measures that might come in the future (social contacts, work and traveling) considering that you will be living in a foreign country?*
How do you feel about experiencing a collective international life?*

And now, Write down in (1500-3000 caracter) +- 20 lines, your motivation letter*
Please add your CV*
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Long term

Short term

music fund project

Hosting organisation : Music Fund

Support organization : CBB

Accommodation in Marche-en-Famenne

The village Jemelle

Collective activities with other ESC volunteers

The country - BELGIUM

Practical arrangements

Working Hours

Insurance

Accomodation

Language course

Food

Pocket Money

Food

Profile of the volunteer

How to apply ?

ESC Music Fund / Apply form and motivation letter (2)

Step 1 of 4 - Personal Data

Personnal data

Here you get more into the AMO Le Cercle project