Music Festival of Couleur Café
Brussels
June 24 - July 8, 2012
Volunteer project: This festival has been created in 1990. The idea is to provide a friendly and culturally diverse festival. The program of the time was primarily focused on African music and Afro Cuban music. The first edition was a success with 3500 visitors. The ingredients of the perfect cocktail Couleur Café are already present: souks, decoration, food, crafts, bands,… After the big success, the festival moved and the program became more eclectic providing a special place of discovery and the Belgian music scene while remaining a niche in worldbeat.
Since 1994 in Tour&Taxi, Couleur Café doesn’t appear only as a festival of world music but as a festival of all music. With more than 40 concerts during 3 days, Couleur Café now offers three capitals which combines R&B, hiphop, world, dubstep, afro, soul, reggae, ragga, dub, dancehall, reggaeton, latin, salsa, rock, electro.
Altought it now houses more than 75,000 people in three days, Couleur Café festival keeps primarily a human spirit. Managed independently by a nonprofit organization, the festival has always stood as the party to be at 23 years after its creation!
With more than 75,000 people in three days, the area
of the festival gets very dirty.
1 visitor=871 grams of trash; Last year in the camping, there were 2250
campers and 300 eco volunteers. 65 tons of waste of which 1/3 was
recycled: 6 tons of PMC, 11 tons of organic waste, 6 tons of glass, 2
tons of paper/cardboard and 1 ton of cooking oil. 75% of the
biodegradable cups are recycled!
The volunteers will help to install stands, tables, barriers, and so on during the festival. After the festival, the volunteers will clean the area; they will collect and recycle the waste to give a nice and safe ground to the festival-goers. The volunteers will discover various aspects of the organisation of a festival.
Volunteer profile: Volunteers must be motivated to work outside and live in a camping. They have to be flexible, enthusiastic, physically fit, and most important, they must love music!
Possible free time activities: Next
to your help on the festival, the goal is of course that you enjoy
the concerts the best you can. The entry is provided for you. Between each festival, you could visit
other cities.
In the city: Brussels – Capital of Europe –A multicultural city with a
thousand faces: a majestic historic centre, a unique ambiance, a huge
array of activities. Visit the
Manneken-Pis, the Atomium, the Art Nouveau Houses (Horta) and the
Belgian Strip Cartoon Centre. And last but not least, taste our famous
chocolate and waffles!
Language: English or French
Accommodation: We have a camping
reserved for the volunteers, well located. (with sanitary facilities and
a bar). You need a tent, a sleeping bag and a camping mattress.
Location: Tour & Taxis, Brussels
Terminal: Brussels
Age range: 18 - 35 years old
Support the organisation and
running of music festivals in Belgium
Brussels, Dour, Spa
June 28 - July 23, 2012
Volunteer project: “Vacances pour Tous” is a non-profit organization founded in 1983 that provides holidays for more than 300 less privileged children. Besides the social integration, the other objective of this initiative is to enable these children to enjoy an original and simple holiday organized during school holidays. To be able to finance the camps for the children, we have different projects like a road rally, a fashion-show party and the music festivals. Through our help we raise funds for the children's camps.
This is a travelling workcamp. The volunteers will
support 3 music festivals in Brussels, Dour and Spa. The tasks will be
different depending on the festivals. Here are the details:
- Couleur Café : Back Stage Surveillance and control of the pass.
- Dour festival: Front Stage Security
- Francopholies: Parking
Volunteer profile: We’re looking for motivated people who are interested in festivals and music as well as discovering the other side of the organization, all mixed with the desire to live a unique experience. If you are active and you like to take initiatives, you are very welcome in this project. A bit of social skills and a lot of great atmosphere will make those moments unforgettable. Of course we also count on your reliability.
Possible free time activities: Volunteers will have the opportunity to enjoy the concerts. The entry to the festivals is provided.
Language: English or French
Accommodation: You’ll be sleeping in the camping of the festivals. Thus you need your sleeping bag and a tent. If you don’t have a tent, the local host may be able to provide one.
Location: Brussels, Dour, Spa
Closest airports: Charleroi Bruxelles-Sud, Bruxelles (Zaventem)
Age range: 18 - 35 years old
International
Rock Festival of Dour
Dour
July 11 - July 24, 2012
Volunteer project: Dour Festival is four days of discovery; it is a bubble of oxygen, pleasure and 200 artists over four stages. More than anything, Dour Festival is a unique concept, producing an inimitable atmosphere and an overall event that feels both democratic and good-natured.
Once again we are expecting to relive Dour Festival’s
unique atmosphere this year, something which has gained the festival a
reputation worldwide. Over the four days, an eclectic crowd live
together, letting cultural and social differences slide. For a time, the
festival-goers share the same way of life and living together, creating
a sort of electricity that is difficult to describe. Perhaps this is due
to the diverse line-up – so abundant, coherent, and challenging that you
get the impression that everything is possible. The festival crowd are
open-minded and passionate for music in the broadest sense of the word.
On the media side of things, the coverage of the festival each year is
vast, with more than 1000 journalists turning out. These media
professionals are generally from Europe. Last year we noted the presence
of journalists from Australia, Canada, Switzerland, Czech Republic,
Germany, Estonia, Spain, Greece, Ireland, Luxemburg, Poland, Reunion
Island and the USA. The line-up is similarly more international than
ever, however a large part of the program is dedicated to Belgian
artists.
The volunteers will be part of the Croix Verte
(the green cross), helping to keep the area clean and
tidy. The team will collect and recycle the waste in order to provide nice and safe
ground to the festival-goers.
The volunteers in this project will discover various sides of the
organisation of a festival.
The volunteers will work about 6 to 8 hours a day. During the free time, volunteers are free to go to the festival and enjoy the concerts (concerts start at midday and end at 5.00 a.m.).
Possible free time activities: The nearby Dour and Mons offer various opportunities for free time activities (museum, Scientific Adventure Park, Mac’s, cinema,…). There are several opportunities for sports and outdoor activities, as well as many opportunities offered by the natural environment ( La Chaîne des Terrils, le Parc Naturel des Hauts-Pays, l'Insectarium, les sentiers de grande randonnée, etc.).
Language: French and English
Some of the people you’ll work with speak English, but it will be good
to have some knowledge of French as most of these people are from Dour and its region.
Accommodation: There is a camping reserved for the volunteers (well located, with a bar, showers and toilets). You need a tent, a sleeping bag and a camping mattress.
Location: Dour, Province of Hainaut
Closest airports: Charleroi Bruxelles-Sud, Bruxelles (Zaventem), Lille-Lesquin
Closest train station: Saint-hislain, Mons
Closest TGV stations: Mons, Bruxelles, Lille
Age range: 18 - 35 years old
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