European Solidarity Corps (ESC)
The European Solidarity Corps (ESC) is a new European Union initiative that aims to meet societal needs by creating opportunities for young people to volunteer, work or network in projects that benefit society in their home country or abroad, while promoting their personal, educational, social, civic and professional development.
It brings young people together to build a more inclusive society, support vulnerable people and respond to societal challenges. The program offers an inspiring and empowering experience for young people who want to help, learn and develop themselves.
The program adds value to the Volunteering program, formerly known as European Voluntary Service and now under Erasmus+ and other EU funding programs.
The European Union is built on solidarity, a shared value which is strongly felt throughout European society. Solidarity defines the European project and provides the necessary unity to cope with current and future crises by holding a strong moral ground. Solidarity provides a clear compass to guide the European youth in their aspirations for a better Union.
Young people need easily accessible opportunities to engage in solidarity activities, which could enable them to express their commitment to the benefit of communities while acquiring useful experience and competences for their personal, educational, social, cultural, civic and professional development, thereby improving their employability.
The European Solidarity Corps brings together young people to build a more inclusive society, supporting vulnerable people and responding to societal and humanitarian challenges. It offers an inspiring and empowering experience for young people who want to help, learn and develop and provides a single entry point for such solidarity activities throughout the Union and beyond.
The Programme opens up more and better opportunities covering a broad range of areas, such as integration of migrants, environmental challenges, prevention of natural disasters, education and youth activities, preservation of cultural heritage, humanitarian aid. It also supports national and local actors, in their efforts to cope with different societal challenges and crises.
By extending its scope to cover volunteering activities in support of humanitarian aid operations, the European Solidarity Corps provides needs-based emergency aid and helps to deliver assistance, relief and protection where most needed. It thus helps addressing not only unmet societal needs in Europe but also humanitarian challenges in third countries.
The activities of the European Solidarity Corps support the objectives of the EU Youth Strategy for 2019-2027 which encourages young people to become active citizens, agents of solidarity and positive change for communities across Europe, inspired by EU values and a European identity.
Volunteering Teams in High Priority Areas
Volunteering Teams are solidarity activities that allow groups of minimum 5 participants to volunteer together for a period between 2 weeks and 2 months. Volunteering Teams in High Priority Areas are large scale, high impact projects supporting voluntary activities carried out by young people between 18 and 30 years old from at least two different countries coming together to express solidarity.
WHAT ARE THE OBJECTIVES?
Activities by volunteering teams in high-priority areas will aim to:
- address clearly defined unmet societal challenges in the area of “relief for persons fleeing armed conflicts and other victims of natural or man-made disasters” and/ or “prevention, promotion and support in the field of healthpromote solidarity across the participating countries; enable the young people to gain skills and competences which are useful for their personal, educational, social and professional development;
- provide tangible benefits to the communities within which the activities are carried out;
- ensure a direct contact between the participant and the beneficiaries of the solidarity-related activities, to enable the young people to gain skills that are useful for their educational and social development;
- reach out to young people with fewer opportunities, including refugees, asylum seekers and migrants;
- promote diversity, intercultural and inter-religious dialogue - and the EU values of human dignity, freedom, equality and respect for human rights, including the rights of persons belonging to minorities - as well as projects enhancing media literacy, critical thinking and a sense of initiative among young people;
- reinforce the capacities and international scope of the participating organisations;
- raise young volunteers’ awareness and understanding of other cultures and countries, offering them the opportunity to build networks of international contacts, to actively participate in society and to develop a sense of European citizenship and identity.