🇪🇸 ESC Volunteering in Spain 🎉 Friendship Festival 🌍 Cross-Border Cultural Event, Ourense 🇪🇸
A cross-border cultural festival between Spain and Portugal is looking for ESC volunteers to join its third edition in Ourense, Spain. The Festival of Friendship brings together communities, cultures, and European values through talks, traditional games, and participatory activities — this year welcoming Italy as a guest country. Over 14 days, volunteers will support the full organisation and logistics of the event, from preparation to implementation, gaining hands-on experience in event management, intercultural exchange, and community engagement in a truly unique rural setting. A good level of Spanish is required for this project.
🌍 Did You Know? Ourense is one of Galicia’s most ancient cities and is famous for its extraordinary thermal hot springs — known as “As Burgas” — which have been flowing since Roman times at temperatures of up to 67°C. The city sits at the heart of the Galicia-northern Portugal border region, one of Europe’s most culturally intertwined cross-border areas with deep shared linguistic and historical roots.
What Will You Do?
🎪 Festival Organisation & Logistics: Support the full organisation of the Festival of Friendship — from coordinating event spaces and preparing camping areas to managing practical logistics throughout both preparation and implementation phases.
🍽️ Meals & Community Life: Help with meal preparation and coordination, with the village restaurant serving as the social heart of the project — not just a place to eat, but the main gathering point for volunteers and community alike.
🎭 Cultural Programme Support: Contribute to the festival’s programme of talks, traditional games, and participatory activities that celebrate intercultural dialogue and European values.
🏕️ Camping Area Preparation: Set up and manage camping areas and event spaces as part of the hands-on logistical work underpinning the festival.
🤝 Community Engagement: Connect directly with the local Spanish and Portuguese community, participating in a genuinely cross-border cultural exchange rooted in the Galicia-Portugal region.
🌍 Did You Know? The Galicia-northern Portugal border region — known as the Galicia-Norte Portugal Euroregion — is one of the oldest and most integrated cross-border cooperation zones in the European Union. The two areas share not only a border but centuries of shared culture, language family (Galician and Portuguese are closely related), and traditions, making events like the Festival of Friendship a deeply meaningful celebration of this unique European bond.
Who Can Apply?
🗣️ Spanish Language (Mandatory): A good level of Spanish is required for this project. The local community and most participants do not speak English, so Spanish is the primary language of communication throughout the activity.
🌍 Open-Minded & Motivated: Genuine interest in teamwork, intercultural exchange, and community-based activities is essential.
🛠️ Hands-On Attitude: Proactivity, flexibility, and a willingness to support practical tasks — logistics, meals, camping areas, event set-up — are key requirements for this role.
🌿 Rural & Cultural Interest: An interest in rural environments, traditional cultural activities, and cross-border cooperation will be highly valued.
✅ No Prior Experience Required: All skills can be developed on the ground. What matters most is motivation, openness, and commitment to the full project duration.
Accommodation, Food & Travel
🏡 Accommodation: Volunteers stay in a typical village house with two floors — a shared kitchen and dining room downstairs, and two bedrooms with bunk beds upstairs, plus a full bathroom. Situated in the local village community.
🍽️ Meals: Breakfast, lunch, and dinner are served at the village restaurant — which doubles as the social and cultural centre of the project, and the soul of the local community.
🚌 Local Transport: Public transport runs once a day. The hosting organisation has a car available, and bicycles are provided for volunteers. Weekly group trips to the nearest larger village for shopping are organised.
✈️ Travel Costs: International travel costs are covered according to the ESC distance band system.
🛡️ Insurance: ESC insurance is provided for all volunteers for the full duration of the activity.
Training & Learning
🎓 Non-Formal Learning: The project is built on a non-formal learning approach grounded in practical experience and teamwork — developing real skills through doing, not just observing.
📋 Event Organisation & Logistics: Gain hands-on competences in event management, logistics coordination, and problem-solving in a live festival context.
🌐 Intercultural Communication: Strengthen intercultural communication skills and cross-cultural awareness through daily collaboration with an international volunteer team and local community.
🤲 Community Engagement & European Values: Develop a deeper understanding of solidarity, inclusion, and cultural diversity as European values in practice — through authentic community participation rather than theory.
Key Information
Eligible Countries
🇦🇱 Albania, 🇦🇹 Austria, 🇧🇪 Belgium, 🇧🇦 Bosnia and Herzegovina, 🇧🇬 Bulgaria, 🇭🇷 Croatia, 🇨🇾 Cyprus, 🇩🇰 Denmark, 🇪🇪 Estonia, 🇫🇮 Finland, 🇫🇷 France, 🇬🇷 Greece, 🇭🇺 Hungary, 🇮🇹 Italy, 🇱🇻 Latvia, 🇱🇹 Lithuania, 🇳🇱 Netherlands, 🇵🇱 Poland, 🇵🇹 Portugal, 🇷🇸 Serbia, 🇸🇰 Slovakia, 🇸🇮 Slovenia, 🇪🇸 Spain
Application Link
⚠️ Important Notice
1️⃣ Source of Information
This announcement has been prepared based on the information provided by the opportunity organiser.
2️⃣ Responsibility for Content
The organiser is solely responsible for the accuracy, details, and updates of the opportunity content.
3️⃣ Right to Modify or Withdraw
Organisations reserve the right to make changes after publication — including eligibility criteria, conditions, or deadlines — or to withdraw the announcement entirely.
4️⃣ Disclaimer of Liability
YouthWorks Hub is not responsible for any such changes, updates, or cancellations made by the organiser.
💡 Final Note:
All listings are shared for informational purposes only. Please always verify details directly through the official organiser or programme website before applying.
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