The European Solidarity Corps (ESC), known until 2016 as European Voluntary Service (EVS), is an international volunteering program by the European Commission for young people to go individually or in teams to another country, usually from one European country to another, to work for a non-profit cause. Since 2017, the program also offers opportunities for European youth to get engaged as volunteers in their own communities. [1]
Since the early 1990s, the European Commission was engaged in financing international voluntary service projects for young people as part of the program Youth for Europe. [2] The Association of Voluntary Service Organisations, then known as Steering Group of Voluntary Organisations (CC-EYE), was active in lobbying for the rights of volunteers during this period. [3] In 1996, the European Voluntary Service was established, when 200 volunteers were sent abroad for six to twelve months in a pilot project. [4]
The European Voluntary Service was the second of the five "actions" of the European Union's programme Youth in Action. Until 2016, more than 100,000 volunteers had participated in the European Voluntary Service program. [3] In 2017 and 2018, the European Voluntary Service was replaced by the European Solidarity Corps, which is an expanded version of the European Voluntary Service. [3]
The program is being administered by the Directorate General for Education and Culture of the European Commission.
The European Solidarity Corps is open for young people between 18 and 30 years old from Europe and "partner countries" of the European Union. It offers two ways for young people to get active:
For volunteering abroad projects, the European Commission provides grants to organisations who then can publish calls for volunteers. Young people need to have a supporting organisation (also called sending organisation) in the home country of the volunteer. The supporting organisation prepares the volunteer for their experience abroad and manages the administration of the program together with the hosting organisation that receives the volunteer. [5]
Individual volunteering projects usually last between 2 and 12 months, although projects for people with fewer opportunities or disabilities can also be as short as two weeks. Team volunteering projects, similar to workcamps, can last between 2 weeks and 2 months and involve between 10 and 40 volunteers from at least two different countries. Volunteers work full-time in their projects, between 30 and 38 hours a week. [5]
The grant covers insurance, linguistic support, travel to and from the project, accommodation and food as well as a small allowance for personal expenses. For volunteers with special needs (e.g. volunteers with disabilities), more costs might be covered. [5]
Voluntary Service Overseas (VSO) is a not-for-profit international development organization charity with a vision for "a fair world for everyone" and a mission to "create lasting change through volunteering". VSO delivers development impact through a blended volunteer model consisting of international, national, and community volunteers working together to develop the systems and conditions for positive social change. In 2018–19, VSO worked in 23 countries in Africa and Asia.
Youth For Understanding (YFU) is an international educational exchange organization. A network of over 50 independent national organizations worldwide, YFU representatives work together to advance learning across cultures.
The Erasmus Programme is a European Union (EU) student exchange programme established in 1987. Erasmus+, or Erasmus Plus, is the new programme combining all the EU's current schemes for education, training, youth and sport, which was started in January 2014.
Norec is a Norwegian governmental body financing two-way mutual personnel exchange between companies and organisations in Norway and similar companies and organisations in the global South - that is countries in Africa, Asia and Latin America. Previous to 2018, the organisation was named FK Norway.
The Duke of Edinburgh's Award is a youth awards programme founded in the United Kingdom in 1956 by the Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, which has since expanded to 144 nations. The awards recognise adolescents and young adults for completing a series of self-improvement exercises modelled on Kurt Hahn's solutions to his "Six Declines of Modern Youth".
The Voluntary Social Year in Germany and, in a much lesser dimension, in Austria, is a government-funded voluntary work program particularly for young adults. It can last between six and eighteen months. It can also be spent abroad.
Service Civil International (SCI) is an international peace organisation, founded by Swiss pacifist Pierre Cérésole in the aftermath of World War I to foster understanding and a culture of peace between people from different countries. Since 1920 SCI has organised international volunteering projects in the form of workcamps and has expanded to have branches in 40 countries, as well as partner organisations who help run the projects.
The Royal Voluntary Service is a voluntary organisation concerned with helping people in need throughout England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. It was founded in 1938 by Stella Isaacs, Marchioness of Reading, as a British women's organisation to recruit women into the Air Raid Precautions (ARP) services to help in the event of War.
Youth service refers to non-military, intensive engagement of young people in organized activity that contributes to the local, national, or world community. Youth service is widely recognized and valued by society, with minimal or no compensation to the server. Youth service also provides opportunities for youth development, youth voice and reflection. This may take the form of a youth program where young people are recruited, offered leadership opportunities, participate in activities that improve the community, and are trained and mentored.
The National Council for Voluntary Organisations (NCVO) is the umbrella body for the voluntary and community sector in England. It is a registered charity. NCVO works to support the voluntary and community sector and to create an environment in which an independent civil society can flourish. NCVO has a membership of more than 14,000 voluntary organisations. These range from large national bodies to community groups, volunteer centres, and development agencies working at a local level.
Youth for Exchange and Understanding (YEU) is an International Non-Governmental Non-profit Youth Organisation established in 1986 and member of the European Youth Forum in Brussels. YEU is recognized by the Council of Europe and the Directorate of Youth and Sports of the European Commission. YEU has its Head Office in Brussels, Belgium and a second office in Faro, Portugal from where it coordinates a network with more than 27 member organisations from Europe and North Africa. YEU is a non-profit International Youth Non Governmental Organization (IYNGO) independent of all political affiliation.
The World Assembly of Youth is the international coordinating body of national youth councils and national youth organisations. The full members of WAY are national youth councils. WAY currently has 140 member organisations from all continents. As the international coordinating body of national youth councils, WAY has special consultative status with the United Nations, the highest status possible for a non-governmental organization. WAY co-operates with the UN and many of its special agencies, particularly with UNAIDS, UNEP, ILO, UNESCO, UNFPA, UNICEF, UNDP, UNCTAD and WHO.
The Peace Corps is an independent agency and program of the United States government that trains and deploys volunteers to provide international development assistance. It was established in March 1961 by an executive order (10924) of President John F. Kennedy and authorized by Congress the following September by the Peace Corps Act.
Youth councils or parliaments, are a form of youth voice engaged in community decision-making. Youth councils are appointed bodies that exist on local, state, provincial, regional, national, and international levels among governments, non governmental organisations (NGOs), schools, and other entities. Groups that include children often call themselves children's parliaments and are paired with youth parliaments of older kids.
The National Council for Voluntary Youth Services (NCVYS) was a membership network of over 200 voluntary and community organisations, as well as local and regional networks, that work with and for young people across England. The organisation closed in 2016. For 80 years, NCVYS acted as an independent voice of the voluntary and community youth sector, working to inform and influence public policy, supporting members to improve the quality of their work, and also raising the profile of the voluntary and community sector's work with young people.
International Voluntary Service (IVS), formerly International Voluntary Service for Peace (IVSP), is the British branch of the Service Civil International (SCI). Founded in 1931, IVS promotes peace through volunteering, both in the United Kingdom and other countries.
There are many national organisations in the United Kingdom that have been established to provide services to people under the age of 18.
International volunteering is when volunteers contribute their time to work for organisations or causes outside their home countries. International volunteering has a long association with international development or environment, with the aim of bringing benefits to host communities. It can include a range of services, from healthcare advancement to economic development to governance.
A workcamp is international volunteering, where groups of volunteers from different countries work and live together as a team on a short-term basis and for a not-for-profit cause, usually for one to three weeks. Workcamps are considered one of the most important types of international volunteering programs. They were first introduced in 1920 as a way of bringing people together for increased international understanding and peace reconciliation efforts.
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