Program je namenjen trem mladim evropskim prostovoljcem med 18. in 30. letom starosti, ki jih zanimajo kultura, mladinsko delo in aktivno državljanstvo ter so motivirani za učenje novih digitalnih veščin.
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This project is meant for three young European volunteers between the ages of 18 and 30 who are interested in culture, youth work and active citizenship and are motivated for learning new digital skills.
OFFICIAL OFFER from the European Youth Portal: https://youth.europa.eu/solidarity/opportunity/50131_en
INFOPACK FOR APPLICANTS:
European Solidarity Corps – Individual Volunteering Project
STARTING IN END OF JULY/EARLY AUGUST 2026 – FOR 11 MONTHS
Youth centre | Mladinski center | KOTLOVNICA, Kamnik, Slovenia
Left: Kotlovnica's concert hall floor
Right: ESC volunteer Benedikt setting up the lights for an evening event, background: concert in the youth centre
ABOUT KOTLOVNICA
Name
Zavod Mladinski center Kotlovnica Kamnik (MCK)
Address
Fužine 10
SI-1241 Kamnik
Slovenija
Phone number
00386 70 405 484
E-mail address
info@kotlovnica.si
Website
https://kotlovnica.si
Facebook
MC Kotlovnica Kamnik
@kotlovnica
Instagram
@mckotlovnica
OID
E10144430
Youth centre Kotlovnica (MCK) is a space whose programme orientation has been co-created by young people since 2007. Right now our main topics are culture, digitalization, sustainability, entertainment, non-formal education and volunteering. We've been hosting European Solidarity Corps volunteers (previously European Volunteering Service - EVS) since 2008.
Over 180 events take place at the youth center throughout the year, including:
- cultural and artistic events (concerts by young emerging bands, stand-up nights, poetry evenings, theatre performances etc.),
- workshops (video and music production, light and sound design, analog photography, creative workshops),
- sustainable and social activities (clothing exchanges, board game evenings),
- multimedia content production,
- volunteering and international mobility.
MCK has its own special » production facilities« where our programme takes place. They include a multimedia room for audio and video production, an exhibition hallway, a practice room for young musicians, a workshop room with a 3D printer and a laser cutter, a multipurpose room, and concert hall with a stage.
Our spaces are available free of charge to both autonomous groups of young users and international volunteers.
FESTIVALS
Our organisation is the producer of Festival of free video production (FSVP) and Festival of new music (Novi val). We co-produce summer festival of open culture (Kamfest) – Kamfest FB page.
We are involved with local organisations and institutions – street theatre organisation Priden Možic, House of Culture, primary and high schools, Youth council, Municipality Kamnik, Student club … We co-create events, help youth set up their own organisations and give advice to the existing organisations on how to manage them better.
CREATIVE QUARTER BARUTANA (KČB)
Barutana is our newest attempt of transforming an old industrial building into a production centre. Our vision is to turn the southern part of the abandoned gunpowder factory into a creative quarter designed to promote education, production, cooperation, and the use of infrastructure for youth, cultural, creative, and social programmes. We're currently connecting with other organisations in the area, using the outside premises for some of our events and advocating to develop the space as a public urban infrastructure.
Top left: Kotlovnica's staircase
Top right: ESC volunteer Miha during sound technique workshop, background: town of Kamnik
Bottom left: An event in the Creative Quarter Barutana during the summer festival Kamfest
Bottom right: Exhibition opening evening in Kotlovnica
PROJECT »DEVELOPMENT OF YOUTH ACTIVITIES«
The main activities of this project will be:
- Designing posters and flyers for our events;
- Production and development of photo and video content documenting the activities of the youth center;
- Creating new activities in the youth centre: hosting workshops for young people based on your skills and hobbies (crafts, video, music, theatre, etc.);
- Helping with youth centre activities and event support: we are especially keen on hosting someone how would be interested in learning how to design lights for evening events.
- Being part of one of the largest local summer festivals in Slovenia – festival Kamfest.
WORKING AT THE YOUTH CENTRE
You will help with the activities at the youth centre, which consist of evening events, concerts, clothing exchanges, workshops, festivals, exhibitions ... mainly preparing the venue, helping at the bar, working as a light technician, helping backstage, helping to organise the boxes and clothes during the clothing exchange, taking photos/videos at events or just participating in a workshop or playing board games.
Most preparations for events happen on work ingdays between 10 AM and 1 PM, workshops can happen between Tuesday and Thurday at 6 PM. Evening event mostly happen on Fridays around 8 PM.
You will prepare your own creative workshops based on what you can teach others. In the past volunteers have hosted ceramic workshops, cooking workshops, crocheting, photography etc. You can also perform on the stage, host your own exhibition and create other activities for the local youth.
We offer mentorships for light, sound, music, photography and more, and if you're willing to learn, you can work as a sound or light techician at our events or even at our festivals.
You will produce photo and video content and document the activities of the youth center. You can also help with the promotion and making of digital content by creating graphics, posters and online content.
Left: ESC volunteer Gabriel during a photography workshop, background: volunteers preparing festival Kamfest
Right: ESC volunteers Lili and Benedikt during a clothing exchange, background: clothing exchange in the Creative Quarter Barutana
WHO ARE WE LOOKING FOR?
Nationality – three participants from the European Union.
Age – Between 18 and 30 years of age.
Skills – You don't need any specific knowledge, but we need you to be interested in cultural, sustainable, and digital activities and be motivated to learn new skills and also teach others. Your attitude is more important than any prior knowledge: we're looking to someone who's curious, open-minded and proactive.
Previous ERASMUS+ or ESC activities – We are looking for someone who has never participated in a long term European Solidarity Corps activity.
ESC – You need to be registered in the European Solidarity Corps (ESC) before we can select you. You will need The European Commission's main authentication service (ECAS) profile in order to register in ESC. To learn more about the whole process click here: https://europa.eu/youth/solidarity_en.
WHAT IS COVERED?
Insurance – Each participant must have health insurance in their country of residence and have a valid European Health Insurance Card. With this, you gain the right to additional insurance by Henner – you will be insured for the duration of the project and for two additional months. In case you are unable to get a European Health Insurance Card, Henner will become your primary insurance provider for the duration of your volunteering plus two additional months.
Individual support – You will receive 5 EUR of individual support per day. This will be transferred monthly to your bank account.
Food money – You will receive 196 EUR of food money each month. This will be transferred monthly to your bank account.
Traveling to Slovenia and back – You will be reimbursed for your travel expences up to 417 EUR. It depends on the distance from your residence to our organisation. If you decide to use green travel that means that at least 50 % of the way is done by bus, train, shared car ..., in this case we can also reimburse your expenses of accommodation and food:
10–99 km = 28 EUR or 56 EUR for green travel
100–499 km = 211 EUR or 285 EUR for green travel
500–1999 km = 309 EUR or 417 EUR for green travel
Accommodation – There is an apartment in the same building as our youth centre but it has a separate entrance. It can host 3 volunteers and consists of kitchen-dining-living area, one shower, one toilet with a sink, and three single rooms with a bed, a table, and a wardrobe. It has Wi-Fi, a smoke alarm and a security alarm. We plan on hosting 3 ESC volunteers, so you will be sharing this appartment with 2 other international volunteers.
Training – You will attend on-arrival and mid-term trainings that are organised by Slovenian National agency Movit.
Certificates – You will receive ESC and Youthpass certificates at the end of the activity. You will have a chance to further develop your Youthpass certificate during the activity.
Working hours – You will be expected to work (be active/engaged) as our volunteer for six hours per day, five times per week. This means you will have two consecutive days off each week. You also get an additional two days off each month. Some events also take place on Saturdays (if this happens, you are free on Sunday and Monday to ensure two consecutive days off).
Youth centre's opening hours during programme season are from Tuesday until Friday between 17:00 and 20:00, Friday events usually end by 23:00. During the season, some events also take place on Saturdays.
Temporary residence permit – You will be issued a Slovene temporary residence permit which you need if you want to stay here for more than three months. In order to receive this card, you need to bring with you an identification card or passport, your national health insurance card, the European health insurance card, bank account information and have a permanent address in your country of residence. If you have trouble receiving the European health insurance card, let us know as soon as possible.
Local transportation – When your transportation inside Slovenia is done as part of a project, its costs are covered by the project.
Kamnik lies about 20 kilometers north from Slovenia's capital city Ljubljana. There are good bus and train connections between these two places.
CONTACT INFORMATION FOR APPLYING
Send an E-mail to info@kotlovnica.si with the subject »ESC application«.
E-mail should include your CV and motivational letter.
We don't have an exact application deadline but we would like you to arrive to Kamnik at the second part of July or no later than 3 August 2026 and join us as a volunteer for a period of 11 months.
This year's Kamfest will take place between 7 and 15 August 2026, so we want you to arrive at least a few days before the start.
If a volunteer wants to stay with us for less than 11 months, we can extend the activity of the other volunteers.
You can also write to us – info@kotlovnica.si – if you have any further questions regarding the content of your ESC experience. We are eager to hear from you and to schedule a ZOOM session to get a chance to get in contact with you!
Left: Youth centre Kotlovnica and ESC apartment are both situated in the building of Kamnik's House of Culture (Dom kulture Kamnik).
Right: Aparment that can host up to three volunteers was renovated in 2019.
ABOUT KAMNIK
Kamnik, a town embraced by the Kamnik-Savinja Alps, is considered one of the most beautiful medieval towns in Slovenia. It was once a flourishing trading town, where the counts of Andechs from Bavaria had their seat. At that time, Kamnik was the capital of Carniola.
The first written sources about Kamnik go back to 1229. The two castles of Kamnik, Mali grad and Stari grad, were mentioned even earlier.
Mali grad Hill – Today, only two-storey Romanesque chapel with a crypt has been preserved, which is also one of the main symbols of the city. The hill provides a magnificent view of the town and the Kamnik-Savinja Alps.
Stari grad Hill – The spot is popular among hikers and families.
Description from: https://www.visitkamnik.com/en/top-attractions/kamnik.
Learn more about Kamnik by visiting: https://www.slovenia.info/en/places-to-go/regions/ljubljana-central-slovenia/kamnik.
View over northern part of Kamnik from Mali grad Hill.
Financira Evropska unija. Vendar so izražena stališča in mnenja zgolj stališča in mnenja avtorja(-ev) in ne odražajo nujno stališč in mnenj Evropske unije ali Nacionalne agencije. Zanje ne moreta biti odgovorna niti Evropska unija niti Nacionalna agencija, ki dodeli sredstva.
