Out and about! Up and away to Europe!The European Union supports Europe-wide projects under the “European YOUTH programme”. The YOUTH programme is a mobility and education programme for young people aged between 15 and 25. It is open to participants from 31 European countries: the current 25 EU Member States and Liechtenstein, Iceland, Norway, Bulgaria, Romania and Turkey.
National agencies have been set up in all these countries to provide information and advice on the EU programme and assistance with the submission of projects.
http://europa.eu.int/comm/youth/program/natage_en.html
The programme offers co-funding (partial funding) for young people and persons involved in youth work. The funding is for activities in the field of youth group exchanges, European volunteer services, youth initiative projects and support projects in the field of training and information measures.
The YOUTH programme is divided into several action lines.
EU co-funding for encounters between youth groups from two or more EU countries who plan and carry out together a meeting of several days' duration focused on themes of Europeean interest, such as anti-racism, art, the environment, youth culture, drug prevention, etc.
A volunteer service posting of 3-12 months in a non-profit-making initiative in a foreign country. In return for their personal commitment, the volunteers' travelling expenses, accommodation and board, insurance and support services will be financed by the EU programme.
Organise a local youth project (for example in your home community) – the theme of the project should be of Europe-wide significance. You do not need a cooperation partner from abroad for this action.
This action promotes joint activities between the EU education programmes YOUTH (non-formal education), SOCRATES (general education) and LEONARDO DA VINCI (vocational training).
Training courses for people involved in youth work, information measures by and for young people, etc.
You can find detailed information on these action lines on the websites of the national agencies for the EU YOUTH programme.
http://europa.eu.int/comm/youth/program/natage_en.html
Step 1: Collect information, download application forms – preferably from the website of the appropriate national agency
http://europa.eu.int/comm/youth/program/natage_en.html
Step 2: Plan your project – adding a generous measure of flexibility; search for possible partners and discuss your idea with them
Step 3: Make an appointment with the national agency and run your ideas past them – their advice is free
Step 4: Fill in the specific application form with your project partners, discuss the project again if necessary with the regional or national information centres
Step 5: Submit the project application to the national YOUTH agency – there are 5 or 6 submission deadlines per year
NB: you should reckon, on average, with a time lag of 6 to 10 months from project planning to project realisation.
. . . . . . there is a massive range of possibilities for projects of your own! Many ideas can thus be put into practice.
A list of frequently asked questions (FAQ) on the EU YOUTH programme can be found at: http://europa.eu.int/comm/youth/program/faq_en.html
Examples of current projects are posted on the national agencies' websites: http://europa.eu.int/comm/youth/program/natage_en.html
The European Voluntary Service (EVS) - action line 2 of the EU Youth programme - provides young people with the opportunity to spend up to one year in another country to take part in a non-profit-making project. Volunteers are for the most part posted to NGO (non-governmental organisations) projects, local authorities or non-profit initiatives in the fields of social work, culture and ecology. The European Voluntary Service must not involve job substitution and is not a substitute for military service or alternative service formulas.
Young people aged between 18 and 25 can participate for the duration of an EVS project, normally between 6 and 12 months. “Young people with fewer opportunities” (because of their social background, health impairment, etc.) can apply for “short-term projects” of 3 weeks to 6 months.
You can access further information on the EVS through the European Youth Portal:
http://europa.eu.int/youth/volunteering_-_exchanges/european_voluntary_service/index_eu_en.html
More in-depth information on how to do voluntary service within the EU can be found on the following websites:
http://europa.eu.int/youth/volunteering_-_exchanges/index_eu_en.html
EVS volunteers share their experiences on the following site:
The European Commission's SOS Volunteer Help Desk has a multitude of links and answers to questions about voluntary services:
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