| 30/05/2022 | 30/11/2023 |
Lead of the project : Collectif pour un service civique européen
Partnering associations:
Brief of the project:
We want to open up European mobility to all types of young people, especially those with fewer opportunities who are still often excluded, despite the advantages of existing programs. With no formal prerequisites (language, academic background, skills), we enable young volunteers to spend 6 months volunteering in their own country and 6 months volunteering in another Member State with the European Solidarity Corps (ESC). To make access to the European Solidarity Corps more inclusive, the first volunteering experience takes place in the volunteer's own country, enabling him or her to prepare for and facilitate the second, which takes place in another member state. Consequently, we aim to establish a network of local and national partners in several member states who have a track record in advocacy and project management. They all have experience of volunteering, national civic service and/or European work, through the European Solidarity Corps. So for the first time, we are combining these two types of mechanism: national and European. We enable volunteers to start a national voluntary service in their country of origin, then prepare and facilitate their mobility abroad as part of the European Solidarity Corps.
Thanks to this innovative and progressive approach, which has earned us the European Parliament's Charlemagne Youth Prize for 2020, we are significantly strengthening the social inclusion of the European Solidarity Corps. This project has already been successfully tested in France, but also in Italy and Malta, where it has effectively facilitated the expansion of national civic service programs.
What's more, we promote the quality and innovation of socio-educational animation in the field of volunteering, as well as the recognition of this experience throughout the Union.
Through this cooperation, all our partners aim to give as many young people as possible access to the benefits of volunteering and European mobility, thus promoting the experience of shared values, civic commitment and youth participation, notably by creating links between volunteers across Europe. At the same time, we're getting new member states to test and measure the value of full-time, paid national civic service, as we did earlier in Malta. In this way, we are promoting the dissemination of youth policies that are already at the origin of major instruments for social inclusion and non-formal education in France, Germany, Italy and Luxembourg. By encouraging the promotion of these instruments, and linking them with the European Solidarity Corps, we are helping to engage, connect and empower young people across Europe.
The volunteer quality guide
This guide comes from experienced volunteer organizations in France, Italy, Germany and Malta, as well as from the fledgling pilot projects we have launched as part of this cooperation in the Czech Republic, Estonia, Romania and Greece.
Topics mentioned :
- Adapted recruitment process and awareness-raising methods by Ecogenia
- Young people with fewer opportunities by Dobrovolnické centrum.
- Unis Cité follow-up and inclusion process.
- Charter of values of the European civic service network.
- Monitoring and quality mission by the EstYES International Youth Association.
- Training and skills development by the InCo association.
- Skills assessment and evaluation by Scambieuropei
- Non-formal learning and participation techniques by the Malta Council of Voluntary Sector.
- Global benefits and impact of volunteering by the NGO CreativePlus.
The guide to disseminating national and European civic service throughout Europe
This comprehensive guide is easily accessible to all organizations aspiring to embark on and support projects similar to civic engagement and long-term youth volunteering.
It is an invaluable resource for those seeking to experiment with and advance the noble cause of civic engagement among young people.
The primary aim of this guide is to support the promotion and implementation of civic engagement initiatives at national level, with a particular focus on promoting long-term volunteering programs for young people in member states.
The guide draws on a wealth of knowledge gained from successful initiatives in France, Italy, Germany and Malta, as well as emerging pilot projects launched as part of this cooperation in the Czech Republic, Estonia, Romania and Greece, compiling a repository of valuable information and innovative ideas.