We want to carry out this project to help youth associations who want to work with ESC volunteering to get their Quality label and move the first steps in this field.

The goal of this project is to have, in 2021, more European organizations working with ESC volunteering, proposing quality projects.

More specifically, the objectives of the training activity are:
– to help the participants to get a quality label to host/support ESC volunteers for their organizations;
– to build a net of reliable potential ESC partners;
– to share knowledge about practical arrangements and budget;
– to discuss potential problems that might occour during ESC projects and propose solutions;
– to share management/digital tools.

– Participants: improved competences linked to youth work and project management; increased support for and promotion of mobility activities; increased opportunities for professional and career development; increased motivation and satisfaction in their daily work; equipping youth workers with competences and methods for their professional development, including for digital youth work (digital project management tools e.g. google drives, sharing folders and calendars etc.).

– Organizations: increased capacity to operate at EU/international level; improved management skills and internationalisation strategies; reinforced cooperation with partners from other countries.

– Youth (volunteers of future projects implemented by the organizations of the participants): enhanced employability and improved career prospects; increased self-empowerment and self-esteem; improved foreign language competences; enhanced intercultural awareness; more active participation in society; better awareness of the European project and the EU values.

This project foresees 1 activity, a 5 days (+2 travel days) training course to be held in Faenza (Italy).
We want to carry out this activity to help the participants to get a quality label to host/support ESC volunteers for their organizations; to build a net of reliable potential ESC partners; to share knowledge about practical arrangements and budget; to discuss potential problems that might occour during ESC projects and propose solutions; to share management/digital tools.
Being SE.M.I. an association which started to work with EVS in a town where there were no other EVS accredited associations, being able to count only on official trainings, the Erasmus+ guide and a few personal contacts of the staff members, we know that organizations willing to start their journey with ESC could use some extra help.
The potential issues that we want to takle are, for newcomers, the difficulty to understand the burocracy linked to Erasmus+ and ESC; understanding the application form for the ESC quality label (and the linked matters in the implementation of real projects); the management of the first project (partnership; selection process; training cycle etc.) and foreseeing potential problems in the implementation of the first project; the difficulty in finding reliable partners when moving the first step.
These issues are connected to the need of finding specific guidance to get a PIC, upload on URF the necessary documents etc.; guidance to fill the application; partners to share experiences with; of having a clear idea of the requirements, timescales, receive advice on best practices; the opportunity to count on a net of organizations in Europe, starting their experience with ESC or more experienced ones; for a network of personal contacts and potential partner organizations to count on.

We will involve 20 youth workers actively involved in the life of the partner organizations (or close stakeholders), willing to improve theirselves by acquiring the necessary knowledge and skills to work in the field of ESC volunteering. They will be mainly newcomers in the field of ESC volunteering, but also 2 facilitators from the hosting association and 2 experienced youth workers from Greece.

Through this activity, the participants will acquire knowledge about the European Solidarity Corps and will help their organizations to get a quality label to participate in the program. Therefore, the impact will be strong because thanks to the training new doors will open for the participating organizations and youth workers, but also to young people who will apply to volunteer with the partner organizations.
Ideally, the participants are already working in the international department of their associations, so they will go back to their daily work with the knowledge and the international contacts to start a new international area related to the European Solidarity Corps.
Hopefully, in one year they will be able to host and/or send the first ESC volunteers.