The Volunteers Coordinator Course is a comprehensive training program designed to equip individuals with the necessary skills and knowledge to effectively coordinate and manage volunteer groups. The course emphasizes conflict management, deep listening, group animation, collaborative games, and working together to achieve common goals. These are critical skills for anyone working with volunteers, as conflicts and communication breakdowns can quickly derail a project. The course covers a range of topics, including understanding the psychology of volunteerism, developing leadership skills, building effective teams, and managing group dynamics. Participants will also learn about the legal and ethical considerations of volunteer management, as well as best practices for recruitment, training, and recognition. In addition, the course will delve into the importance of community involvement and engagement, highlighting the role of volunteers in building strong, resilient communities.
The 120-hour course is designed to be flexible and adaptable to the needs of different communities, and will be offered according to territorial needs.The curriculum will be built as a glue for the continental mosaics of landscapes, fostering interterritorial processes of identification, coalition, and partnership. Therefore, the themes and curricula of the course cannot be set preemptively, but will be tailored to meet the unique needs and challenges of each community. Participants in the course will have opportunities for hands-on fieldwork, curriculum development, and the presentation of their own course designs. They will also learn key factors of pricing in volunteer management and how to set them, as well as strategies for promoting short circuits and fair trade. The course will explore participative methodologies and tools, as well as community involvement tools, empowering participants to engage in collaborative, community-led initiatives.
The Volunteers Coordinator Course is a tool for opening a cross-narrative dialogue between projects, students, visitors, doers and locals. Ultimately, the course aims to develop a new generation of volunteer coordinators who are equipped with the skills and knowledge to manage and motivate volunteers effectively, foster collaboration, and build strong, resilient communities.
The topics and subtopics of the course include the following:
- Introduction, Course Overview, and On-Site Orientation
- Principles of Ecological Restoration
- Learning Patterns from Traditional Cultures
- Basic Ecology
- Water in the Landscape
- Soil and the Pathways Through Time
- Plants and Fungi
- Plants, Soils, and Water 1
- Soil Formation
- Reading the Site and Landscape
- Making Soil – Practice
- Design Patterns
- Design Methods
- Design Tools
- Tools and Management in Rural Life
- Energy Resources and Conservation
- Culture and Society in Deep Ecology
- Economics and Justice in a Possible World
- Marketing of Ecological Restoration Products and Services
- Participative Methodologies and Tools
- Community Involvement Tools
- Climate and Biomes
- Microclimatology
- Microclimates and Ecosystems
- Plants, Soils, Water 2
- Forests and Ways of Life
- Water Systems – Cycle and Recycle
- Community Involvement and Learning of Ways of Life
- Succession and Structure of Living Systems
- Landscape Reading
- Climate, Forest, Soil, Landscape, Rainmaking
- Climate Design
- Building and Living in Homes
- Gardens, Edible Landscapes, and AccessiblFood
- Holistic Prospective Integrated Farming
- Neighborhood and Beloved Dwellers
- Life in the Countryside
- Live and Let Live
- Educational Methodologies and Approaches 1 and 2
- Integral Visions of Human Beings in Harmonic Convergence
- Conflict management
- Deep listening
- Groups animation
- Collaborative games