VOLUNTEER IN THE OFFICE FOR LOCAL INITIATIVES IN ROCHEFORT

Looking for one volunteer

Trip type

ESC Volunteering

City + Country

Rochefort, Belgium

Dates of the next project

From 1st April 2023 to 30th October 2023

Deadline to apply

12th of February 2023 (11:59 p.m.)

Hosting organization: Syndicat d'initiatives Rochefort

Syndicat d’initiatives (SI) is an organization of local interest, which aims are to promote and vitalize the territory. They reach the general public through three areas:

1. Event organization

During the year, SI runs about 20 days of public events, most of them taking place during the summer season. Here are the most popular:

Le Carrefour BD – comic books festival that celebrates this special art form holding meetings and talks with local authors
Le Marché du rire – “Laughing Market” of Rochefort, part of the International Laughing Festival that lasts up to three weeks
“The Serenades” – music festival where young musicians have the chance to show their skills to the public
Le Rendez-vous – local market and place where artists gather to share their creations
La Balade Gourmande Nocturne – avenue of local specialities followed by art shows and exhibitions (fire juggling, equestrian shows)
Village de Noel – local Christmas Market lasting for two weeks in December
Festival of Microadventures – festival dedicated to the nature and microadventures, happening for two days, and where people can participate in conferences, workshops and masterclasses

2. SI Info Point

The Info Point is the city’s tourism office, which is open seven days a week during the entire year. Its purpose is to find and promote various events in the region not only for tourists, but also for locals, since they try to promote youth camps, summer activities for children, and, in general, the cultural agenda of the region. The office also serves as a ticket sale point for the Laughter Festival.

3. Tourist attractions in the city of Rochefort

SI maintain 7 hiking trails in the city and around 30 in the surrounding area (650 km)
They operate the little train which takes tourists around town in a 60 minutes guided ride
Under their responsibilities is a mini-golf course. The office is in charge of selling tickets and refreshments and providing safety info to visitors.

To be able to offer all these activities to the public, SI/tourist office collaborates with many organizations in Rochefort: the cultural center, the youth house, the International Festival of Laughter, the local development agency, etc…

They host several local volunteers during the year who support their work.

They target visitors of different age groups. Even though 65 % of the visitors are from Belgium, they also accommodate to the needs of international travellers.

Further information can be found on their website

Support organization: CBB

L’Association des Compagnons Bâtisseurs – aka CBB – is located in the nearby town of Marche-en-Famenne. CBB is a non-profit, non-political youth organization, recognized and financially supported by the Wallonia-Brussels Federation.

The organization 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 programs of volunteering and non-formal education since 1997 and also hosts ESC volunteers each year.

CBB’s role as 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);
Prepare the 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: accommodation; 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.

Check us on Facebook and take a look at our website!

The volunteer's tasks

The volunteers will have the opportunity to participate in various activities of the organization: administrative, cultural, logistic. First weeks will mostly consist in showing the volunteer all the activities the organization is working on, so that they can gradually participate more and more in all of them. The wide variety of tasks will allow the volunteers to find something that suits their interest and pursue it. The aim is to help the association in their daily tasks (at the ticket stands, in the tourism center and the attractions), and help with event organization, management of volunteers and outdoor maintenance tasks.

Activity 1: Event organization

The goal of this activity is that the volunteer fully participates in the creation and follow-up of events organized by SI in Rochefort.

Taking an active part in meetings and reunions of events organization and planning from start to finish.
Promotion of the events: creating a campaign to promote the event; creating posts for social networks; design and distribution of flyers in the city.
Help set up the stages, boots and other physical objects during the events, which is 50% of the job of the volunteer.
Participate in the events by helping in the ticket stands and refreshment corners.

Activity 2: Tourism office management

With active supervision of SI staff, volunteers will have a chance to participate in the daily tasks of the tourism bureaux

Giving information and tips to tourists.
Handing out brochures.
Setting up and managing the souvenir stands.
Updating the statistical data for the office.
Answering calls and emails.
Managing the ticket office.
Creating the weekly agenda.
Managing social networks.

Activity 3: Seasonal help in the recreational areas

SI operates the swimming pool (destroyed during last July’s floods in Belgium, might not be operational next season) and a mini-golf course in Rochefort. Some of the volunteer tasks will be helping out with ticket sales, reservations management and giving out information to visitors during the opening days of the attractions.

Activity 4: Logistics and maintenance

Helping out with animation of other volunteers and the general public. SI has in their responsibility numerous hiking paths around Rochefort and one of the occasional tasks will be cleaning them, rebuilding and painting the signs, creating pallet furniture, etc..

The SI also has diverse equipment that need maintaining and small renovations might be required, such as for the small cabins used for the Christmas markets.

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 their cultural and social scope, improve his teamwork skills, learn and discover cultural activities, practice French and spend time taking care of instruments, organizing events and taking care of the communication for the organization.

Collective activities with other ESC volunteers

The European Solidary Corps volunteering activities within Compagnons Bâtisseurs are part of an ESC group project that aims to increase European awareness among youth in the town of Marche-en-Famenne and to maintain a close collaboration among the local youth services. For that reason, some activities will be run with other ESC volunteers (hosted by other local youth organizations). It will be asked to all the ESC volunteers in Marche-en-Famenne and from nearby towns around to regularly join collective activities as co-animator or participant of CBB activities like environmental volunteering days and week-end and summer workcamps. The volunteers will work together especially during special events organized once a year in Marche-en-Famenne: intergenerational events, youth services opening day…. The volunteers will help prepare and follow-up these events. In some occasions, they could hold an information stand presenting ESC program and youth exchange opportunities. They could organize a “European night” in the local youth house and to present therefore their country and traditions.

The town - Rochefort

The project takes place in Rochefort, in the Belgian province of Namur (Walloon region). It is a small town of around 13.000 inhabitants with an active cultural center, a youth center, a library, a swimming pool during summer, a few bars and historical landmarks, and some shops.

The region is famous for its stunning nature and numerous caves that visitors can explore. More than 70 marked hiking trails are open for exploration.

Nevertheless, the closest train station (Rochefort-Jemelle), 5 km away from the town, is on the main train line between Brussels and Luxembourg, both less than two hours away by an IC train. Buses run every day, though on Sunday they are less frequent. The volunteer must be aware that rural areas in Belgium are not very well connected, but Rochefort remains close to the nearby areas. Marche-en-Famenne and Dinant are the closest towns. Bigger cities close by are Namur, Bastogne and Liège.

The volunteer will live in the small town of Marche-En-Famenne, a 17 000 inhabitants town in the province of the Belgian Luxembourg. This unique situation will allow the volunteer to share the semi-rural life style of the area, but also to meet young people coming from different realities and horizons.

The town offers all modern facilities (shops, supermarkets, sports centre, cinema….).

The volunteer will be in contact with other ESC volunteers being hosted in other projects in the municipality.

For the urban-life-style-lover, it is however IMPORTANT to note that our town is located in a semi-rural area. Even if it is not far away from the biggest Belgian cities (57 km from Liège, 106 km from Brussels, 47 km from Namur) and well connected by train, Marche-en-Famenne can sometimes look remote and very quiet.

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 is usually warm. A lot of cultural and free events in the street happen during the year, which can make your journey in this country fun and resourceful.

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: 11.492.641 million
CAPITAL: Brussels (pop: 1.212.352)
REGIONS: Flanders (North), Wallonia (South), Brussels – Capital
COMMUNITIES: Flemish-, French- and German-speaking community
LANGUAGE: Dutch (±59%), French (±37%) and German (±1%)
CURRENCY: Euro

Working Hours

Working days will be from Monday to Friday. The volunteer will work no more than six hours per day, but it can also involve occasional participation in the evenings and weekend events according to the schedule of the activities SI 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.

Accommodation

The volunteer will have a private room in a fully-equipped shared house in the city of Marche-en-Famenne, a nearby town, with other ESC volunteers. The travel costs from Marche-en-Famenne to Rochefort will be covered.

Food

The volunteer will receive a budget and will take care of the meals on their own.

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, they will receive a small allowance (pocket money) for personal expenses throughout the duration of the activity, including holidays.

Insurance

All participants in cross-border activities have to be covered, throughout the activity period, by the obligatory insurance plan (CIGNA) 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 (NA) in order to seek tailored advice, for their specific circumstance. You must read carefully the insurance-related information.

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. It is recommended that the participant starts practicing French prior to their arrival in Belgium and that they participate in as many activities as possible in order to get better at the language.

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. Lookup 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 tourism and community development, regardless of their nationality, religion, believes, diploma, professional experience.
As the activities of the project will involve working with different age groups, organizing and follow-up of events, contact with a lot of people and some administrative activities, we expect the volunteer to be very motivated to join the activity, to be open-minded, creative and pro-active about their project.
The volunteer should not be afraid of a rural environment and spending time outside; to appreciate the contact with nature.
Because most of the tourists that visit the town will be French speakers, the volunteer is advised to have basic skills in French, to be able to fully engage with the activities and the lifestyle.

Alessio, 25, Italy

Hi! I’m Alessio, I’m 25 and I’m doing my ESC project at the Syndicat d’Initiative de Rochefort.

My main tasks here are:

helping organize the various scheduled events
doing logistics (moving things from point a to b, mounting stages, filling fridges)
attending the events (helping in the bar, in the cashier, cooking, giving information)
and lastly working at the reception (giving information to tourists about Rochefort attractions, selling tickets and giving advices regarding the various Rochefort hikes)

Thanks to the Syndicat I have learned how to create a presentation. Consequently, I have improved my ability to relate to others, I have learned the basics of graphic design and how to promote events by creating posters and flyers. Finally, probably the most important skill, I have learned how to tap beers, which in Belgium is essential.

This project gave me two great satisfactions. The first was to collaborate with Frank Margerin – a French cartoonist who is famous for “Lucien”. I received from him a drawing with autograph. The second satisfaction is to see one’s own photo published on the Syndicat’s official Instagram page.

Leaving out for a moment the working side, one thing that positively surprised me about this ESC experience is the amount of people you know through the project, and above all, the ease and speed with which close
relationships are created. Also, during your ESC project, you are always led to have new experiences and get out of your comfort zone.

Honestly, if a year ago you had told me that I would have stood behind a bar counter serving a cocktail called “panaché”, that I would have participated in the second largest music festival in Belgium or even that I would have gone to Paris to get some art works, I would have laughed profusely and probably called an ambulance.

Of course it’s not all sunshine and roses. Especially when you’re alone in another country for the first time, you could face some difficulties such as the language barrier, the culture shock and maybe practical issues such as managing your budget or paperwork. My advice is to take your time and not panic. It’s only a matter of time. Get help from other volunteers or your tutors. Most importantly : as soon you have a problem, TALK! Don’t let the problem become bigger than it is! Sometimes speaking with others solves the majority of the problems.

This was my experience! Yours is just waiting for you!

Anna, volunteer in 2021

Hello, dear volunteer!

Stop reading this if you are not interested in working and managing a tourism office, creating new projects and participating in events.

One year ago, I was in the same situation as you are now. I am sure that you are reading the description of this volunteering project, but let me share my experience which is beyond this representation on the website.

These are the things that will not miss in my future CV:

I was part of the first Microaventure Event in Rochefort, cleaned and drove a touristic train, danced in a costume of Schtroumpf during Carrefour BD, prepared stage and logistics for local bands and artists during summer, gave tourist guide explanations for my friends, met famous comedians during the Festival du Rire, served Belgian beer in a refreshment stand, walked the beautiful hiking trails of the region, sold ice creams at the swimming pool and minigolf, and so much more…

Of course, not everything is perfect. Be ready to be self-dependent and to leave your comfort zone from time to time. To be honest, I am writing this text during quarantine, because otherwise, I will not have time for it. If you ever get bored at work, believe me, you won’t experience this in a house with other volunteers. There is always space to fool around 🙂

I hope you will choose the best project for you and spend the best time in a foreign country like me!

How to apply ?

Deadline: 24th January 2022 at 11:59 p.m. (Brussels time).

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

2. 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”).

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

The creation of a profile on the ESC portal AND fulfilling the form are compulsory for us to take your application into consideration.

In the days following your application, the pre-selected volunteers will be contacted for a Skype interview.

ESC Syndicate d'Initiatives / Apply form and motivation letter

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.
Birthdate*
Day
Month
Year
Phone number*
Current address*
Street Address City ZIP / Postal Code Country
Email adress*
Do you need a visa for this project ?*
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?*

Long term

Short term