Tailwind for cross-border volunteering of young people
Cross-border volunteering by young people within the framework of the European Solidarity Corps (ESC) and other national programmes will be made easier. The Council of the European Union has just made this clear in its recommendation on volunteering for young people.
“The EU’s youth and mobility programmes are a great complement to what is done at national level. They make it possibleto experience other countries, other languages and still a European sense of community. This European sense of community among young people has doubtlessly contributed to the longest period of peace among the countries of the European Union – and is therefore more important than ever,” emphasises the state secretary Claudia Plakolm.
“Volunteering is an important pillar of our society and is becoming more and more popular with young people. In the European Year of Youth the strengthening of volunteering and solidarity is therefore definitely to be welcomed,” emphasises the OeAD’s managing director Jakob Calice with regard to the Council’s recommendation. According to the EU volunteering is an important activity for Europe’s young people: 34% of young people said in 2019 that they had taken part in organised volunteering activities in the last 12 months. This figure has risen continuously. In 2011 it was 24%. The total budget of the European Solidarity Corps for the period 2021-2027 is one billion euros. 17 million euros are available for Austria.
Support for Ukraine
ESC volunteer placements create new perspectives for young people who are particularly affected by the pandemic. At the same time a solidarity contribution is made to society. More than 100 volunteer organisations from Austria and the entire EU have also agreed to involve young refugees from Ukraine in their ESC volunteer projects and to accompany them for up to one year. “The OeAD, of course, is also a point of contact for this,” says Calice.
Easier accessibility, volunteering in the field of climate protection and better recognition
The European Council encourages looking at new forms of volunteering as well as removing barriers for young people and giving more emphasis to volunteering in the field of climate protection. The recognition of voluntary commitment will also be further promoted, for example by means of the youth pass, a certificate and self-evaluation tool that comes from the non-school-related youth sector. The main aim is to recognise non-formal/out-of-school learning, for which one often does not receive any certificate – this also includes volunteering.
As the national agency for the implementation of the European Solidarity Corps the OeAD has established a European partnership with 12 other agencies in its function as “SALTO European Solidarity Corps Resource Centre”. The aim of this European partnership is to strengthen European volunteering in the long run through closer cooperation between the agencies involved, transfer of knowledge and increasing the visibility of the impact of volunteering.
“We see in our daily work that there is a great demand for volunteering at home and abroad and that young people in Austria are very willing to volunteer,” explains Ernst Gesslbauer, director of the European Solidarity Corps and the Erasmus+ programme at the OeAD.
European Council recommendation: https://europa.eu/youth/strategy/mobility_en
European Year of Youth in Austria: www.solidaritaetskorps.at/jahrderjugend