Mustamäe Cultural Centre Kaja/ Mustamäe Open Youth Centre

EI ref: 2012-EE-32

Project environment:
Tallinn Mustamäe Open Youth Centre is a municipal organization working at a local level. Mustamäe Open Youth Centre was established with the decision of town concil in 04. of April 2001. The main directions of activities are: organizing and developing youth work at Mustamäe; in interests of children and youth for taking active part in social life and processes around them, for spending time with friends, gaining new skills, developing international relationships through non-formal learning and projects for and with young peole; Crime and drug abuse preventon; Co-operation with specialists who work with children and youngsters – teachers, social workers, police etc.; Developing a system of volunteers to help children from risk families;
Mustamäe Open Youth Centre is open from Monday to Thursday 09.00 - 20.00 and Friday 09.00 – 18.00. Sometimes events also take place on Saturdays. The staffs of Youth Centre are experienced specialists, who are accustomed to work with children and youngsters.
The youth are not charged for most of the activities. Our target group is young people aged 7 – 26. We are open to any young person without prior conditions of his beliefs, abilities, skills, knowledge and financial resources.
The children and the youngsters can study, communicate and play with other children, volunteers and youth workers in the centre.
There are 2 target groups: children aged 7-13 and youth aged 14-26. The first group is very active in participation in various kinds of projects such as competitions, town camps, outdoor activities, concerts, artistic activities, prevention projects, tournaments, excursions etc.
Second target group is more independent: they visit the gym, practice dances in the hall of mirrors, participate in different projects (local and international) raising awareness through international non-formal learning by using Europe Youth programmes; one of our methods of intercultural learning and youngsters personal growing in our youth exchanges is outdoor experimental learning etc.
The centre receives most of its materials and finances from the Municipality of Mustamäe as well as from various projects.
Half the children in the centre speak russian, half estonian as their first language.
Facilities in the centre include two big rooms for board games and for communication on the first floor, TV, computers, table football, table tennis, WII etc. Also there is a room for youth workers, a kitchen and shower. On the second floor is the art-room, gym and the hall of mirrors. There are also two rooms for youth workers.
The centre is located in the capital of Estonia – Tallinn, the most developed city in Estonia, founded about 1000 years ago. It is now a very beautiful modern city with ancient buildings & fantastic sightseengs, a popular tourist destination. Tallinn is situated on the coast of the Baltic Sea, and has a population of about 400 000 people. The spoken native language is Estonian, but English, Finnish and Russian are also widely understood. Tallinn combines a lot of enterprises, businesses, organizations, etc. Governmental institutions and representatives of international organizations are situated here as well. Detailed information to be found on www.tallinn.ee
The centre is located in the district of Mustamäe, 20 min (by public transport) from the Centre of Tallinn. The population of Mustamäe is ca 64 000, 12 632 of which are young people aged 7-26.
Mustamäe is one of the 8 administrative districts of Tallinn. The smallest by area (covering only 8.1 km²), it is at the same time the second largest district by population with 64,327 inhabitants.
It is located 5 km from the city center, and bordered by the districts of Haabersti, Nõmme, and Kristiine. Local housing is mostly represented by 5-9 story-high panel blocks of flats, built in the 1960-1970s. Mustamäe is usually referred to as a bedroom suburb. Other important areas and buildings in the area include the Tallinn Technical University, numerous scientific institutions and part of the Kadaka industrial region. There are a lot of shops and local transport services: buses and trolleybuses.
The volunteer(s) will be based in Tallinn.

Proposed activities for EVS volunteers:
The role of EVS volunteer in our organization is to bring it's own creativity and work with the youth.
The Centre will provide volunteers with the opportunity to create and realize his/her ideas: a place, children and the youth, needed materials, support from the tutors, experienced tutors, knowledge and skills.
It will also be a great opportunity for the volunteer to get to know Estonian country and culture, as the Centre is organizing outings and excursions for the children, and it is possible to involve volunteer in this as well. There is also a possibility for the volunteer to develop his/her skills and personality through different kinds of activities that the Youth Centre offers. Volunteers will have the opportunity of developing independence and self-confidence, to learn about youth work and youth worker competencies, conflict management, team-work, group-dynamics, decision making, communication etc. There is also educational value for volunteer, through experiencing social, pedagogical and youth work, and being part of different kinds of projects and activities in the Mustamäe Open Youth Centre.


To us, the most important quality is that the volunteer wants to work with children and youth. Previous experience is not necessary but could help. Volunteer is expected to be flexible, tolerant, open-minded, friendly, have a positive attitude, and be a helpful and creative person. He/she has to be active and take initiative and responsibility.
Volunteers are asked to fill in an application form, which will be the base for making the selection. A telephone interview is foreseen as well. The staff of the project will choose the volunteer whose profile and interests match the best with the activities of the project.

Mustamäe Open Youth Centre is able to host 2 volunteers at once

The host organization will ensure:
1) that the volunteer's work is safe and has been assessed for risk
2) that every effort is made that project meets high health and safety standards
3) that the volunteer is trained and familiar with the volunteering work and have access to adequate safety equipment if needed
4) that the volunteer will get all the practical and psychological support from the staff.

The volunteers will have a experienced supervisor, who will always be ready to help or just give good advice about everyday life in our city and country, who will help the volunteer to better understand the new environment, new people & feel more comfortable.
The intended role of the mentor is to support the volunteer outside of the project environment, but willingness to be available for purposes of the project is also welcome. ESTYes arranges a schooling for mentors before service at the project begins. At the schooling, the rights and responsibilities of the mentor are reviewed, as well as the subject of culture shock, and offering methods to help the volunteer blend into daily life in Estonia in the context and location of their project. One of the mentor's tasks is to build a connection with the volunteer already before the commence of service. It is the most important close bond for the volunteer at project-start - ideally, the mentor and volunteer meet at the volunteer's arrival at the airport, so that they may connect the soonest possible, creating a base for the volunteer-mentor relationship. The mentor should be the one to help the volunteer deal with daily things - showing them around town, helping to open a bank account, buying an Estonian calling card, and helping with applying for a living permit at the KMO [Ma ei tea, mis see on, seega, kuidas see ingl. olema peaks]. MANK and EstYes will also assist with any of these activities, if necessary.

Accomodation for volunteers will be organized by our coordinating organization NGO Noortevahetuse Arengu Ühing ESTYES: the volunteer will live in apartments with convenient transport connectivity to the workplace, each volunteer in either a separate room, or sharing a room together. Apartments are fully furnitured with beds, bedclothes bath/shower & kitchen. As an alternative,the volunteer can live in a respectable local family with the same conditions.
Food will be prepared by the volunteer at home, money will be provided by our coordinating organisation. In addition, volunteers will be paid a monthly allowance according to our financing rules.

Motivation and EVS experience:
Before the year 2012, Mustamäe Open Youth Centre has hosted two volunteers, who have brought to us new ideas, and left a mark in our hearts. We strive to be a small family and to support the volunteer throughout their service in every way possible.

Our workers also include former volunteers, who have made the same experience far from their homeland, providing us with further valuable insight.
One of the directions the centre wishes to take is co-operating on an international level. Because of this, having active foreigners that enrich us with their personality and culture, is very important to our collective. We have monthly events dedicated to a specific country, these events also bringing foreign volunteers serving their voluntary duty in Estonia, to our centre. Many of those volunteers take part in our events, as well as daily activities. This provides a wonderful opportunity for intercultural learning for us, our youth and our volunteers.

Description of the organisation:
Tallinn Mustamäe Open Youth Centre is a municipal organization working on a local level. Mustamäe Open Youth Centre was established with the decision of town concil in 04. of April 2001. The main directions of activities are: organizing and developing youth work at Mustamäe; in interests of children and youth for taking active part in social life and processes around them, for spending time with friends, gaining new skills, developing international relationships through non-formal learning and projects for and with young peole; crime and drug abuse preventon; co-operation with specialists who work with children and youngsters – teachers, social workers, police etc.; developing a system of volunteers to help children from risk families.