The European Solidarity Corps is the new European Union initiative which creates opportunities for young people to volunteer or work in projects in their own country or abroad that benefit communities and people around Europe.
The young people who participate in the European Solidarity Corps will all agree with and uphold its Mission and Principles.
Register for the European Solidarity Corps
You can register for the European Solidarity Corps when you are 17 years old, but you cannot start a project until you are over 18. European Solidarity Corps projects will be available to people up to the age of 30 years old.
After completing a simple registration process, European Solidarity Corps participants could be selected and invited to join a wide range of projects, such as helping to prevent natural disasters or rebuild afterwards, assisting in centres for asylum seekers, or addressing different social issues in communities.
European Solidarity Corps
Projects supported by the European Solidarity Corps can last from two to twelve months. They will usually be located within the European Union Member States.
More than only volunteering
Since its launch in December 2016, the European Solidarity Corps has attracted more than 161,000 young people. They have expressed their interest to help in solidarity action across Europe. More than 20,000 people have already started their activities in projects dealing with various topics. Among the most popular are: environment, culture, social services, helping refugees, migrants, children or the elderly. The European Solidarity Corps is more than only volunteering. It also creates opportunities for young people to develop their skills. Also to increase their future labour market prospects via a job or a traineeship.
Inclusion is one of the most common topics tackled by European Solidarity Corps projects but not the only one. Other topics are youth work, climate change, community development, citizenship, education and culture. Tens of thousands more opportunities are coming in the following months and years in these fields. Moreover, one in three of the activities funded by the European Solidarity Corps are reserved for participants with fewer opportunities who face obstacles such as disabilities, educational difficulties, or economic, social or geographical obstacles.
Latvia – Greece – Sweden – Lithuania
For instance, in Latvia, a project entitled “A special place for special people” promotes the integration of young people with disabilities into the labour market by employing them and involving them in all the activities of a social enterprise café in Riga. In Greece, volunteers help protect the forest of Xylokastro and Derveni by taking care of watering and planting trees, as well as cleaning the forest paths. And in Sweden, through the project “Climate Awareness”, volunteers learn about climate change and biodiversity by helping in the organic garden and ecovillage and participating in outreach activities. As an example of a project initiated by volunteers themselves, in Lithuania, five participants from a centre for disabled young people set up their own Solidarity Coffee project, enabling them to form new friendships and build personal connections with the wider community.
THE EUROPEAN SOLIDARITY CORPS BEYOND 2020
EU Commission’s proposal counts €1.26 billion for the Solidarity Corps in the next EU budget. At least 350,000 other young people will be able to participate in a solidarity activity between 2021 and 2027.
EUSolidarityCorps call – set to create 7,000 volunteering, work, traineeship and solidarity opportunities – is open now!
Application deadline: 1 October 2019.
❗️❗️Attention: groups of young people can apply to run a solidarity project themselves.
