What to Expect When You Join Us?
Busy days filled with emotions, new friendships, and joy from exploring and discovering the city. However, let’s also talk about the duties and responsibilites that come with volunteering for Open House Prague. Our volunteer program has been accredited by the Ministry of Interior of the Czech Republic, which means we have to give evidence of our work with volunteers in detail every year.
- The minimum time of your involvement during the festival weekend is 8 hours (1 day).
- In a few days after you fill out the application form, a volunteer team will be assigned to you; each team has its leader, the so-called Corps.
- You will attend training in the assigned buildings (approx. 3 or 4 weeks before the festival weekend) and you can also attend the common training of all volunteers.
- You will sign a volunteer agreement, which includes insurance (in case of injury or property damage).
- You will be provided with refreshments.
- You will get a unique volunteer t-shirt.
- You can attend the traditional afterparty for volunteers and, throughout the year, you will also be invited to special tours and events.
- Aside from the festival, you can also help us with year-round events held for the public.
Still Not Sure If Volunteering Is For You?
Take your time to think about what kind of work you are interested in and if your selected position is right for you. To help you decide, you can read more about each role and our expectations below.
Volunteers typically act either as tour guides, or as coordinators of visitors, but you can also do both and alternate between the two roles on site. It all depends on your agreement with your team.
Which Volunteer Positions Are Available?
TOUR GUIDE
We will provide you with basic information about the building, but there’s also a lot of space for your own preparation of the tour. Rather than an elaborate lecture on history, we emphasize a general introduction of the building’s architecture and use. Visitors mainly want to hear interesting facts and explore on their own. You don’t have to be an architect, historian, or professional tour guide; all you need is passion for sharing information with visitors.
COORDINATOR
Your task is to organize and manage the lines of waiting visitors, organize groups for tours, give information on the traffic and operation of the building, and update information in the festival app. We expect you to be proactive, nice, pleasant, and unafraid to talk to people. This is a very important and responsible role.
TOUR GUIDE FOR CHILDREN
Our tours are designed for children aged 5+ with emphasis on their own activity. The tour guide’s monolog is not important; the tour needs to be interesting for children and capture their attention. Ideally, we welcome if you have pedagogical experience in managing a children’s group and the ability to work with an age-diverse group.
TOUR GUIDE FOR VISITORS WITH DISABILITIES
This type of tours requires more time for careful preparation and training for work with visitors with disabilities. As early as several months before the festival, we focus on e.g. how to describe to the blind what they cannot see, how to work with tactile plans and 3D models of buildings, or how to lead a tour that is interpreted into Czech Sign Language, all in collaboration with other organizations.
PHOTOGRAPHER
Photographers and video makers make a special team of volunteers. Their team leader assigns them places and important festival events to capture the atmosphere and the course of the festival. The selection of volunteers who are interested in becoming a part of this team is based on their portfolio or previous experience.
SOCIAL MEDIA TEAM
We welcome your help with creating content for Facebook and Instagram. If you become a part of this team, you will be sent out to capture the atmosphere of the event (take pictures or shoot a video, do an interview). We can also ask you for help at our information center with managing our community on social media and creating posts. Our aim is for the visitors to be informed in time. This positions requires excellent writing skills.
