On 27 June EU institutions confirmed the agreement to move the European Solidarity Corps (ESC) out of its pilot phase and make it a fully-fledged activity of the European Union. A very important step for an ever more engaged European citizenship!
The ESC was created to help young people between 18 and 30 to participate in a range of solidarity activities in different fields (environment, culture, social services, helping refugees, migrants, children or the elderly) as a tangible expression of European values. The aim of the ESC is to contribute to addressing unmet societal needs, while enhancing young people’s personal, educational, social, civic and professional development.
This agreement will enable 100.000 Europeans participate in ESC activities by 2020.
You can join…
Are you looking forward to join the European Solidarity Corps? Check out all you need on the ESC portal
…and maximise the impact of your experience!
Have you taken part in a project as a member of the European Solidarity Corps? Are you engaged in one right now? Get to garagErasmus online platform! You can find people who are making an international experience in the same place as you are or have been involved in the same project as yours and could give you some hints on how to have a more positive impact. You can also write down your thoughts and share your experience for the next ESC generations.
Background
The proposal for the European Solidarity Corps was presented by the Commission as a part of the broader set of initiatives called “Investing in Europe’s Youth” launched on 7 December 2016. The ESC builds on the experience of the European Voluntary Service (EVS), which has provided volunteering opportunities for young people for 20 years, as well as policies and programmes such as the Youth Guarantee and the “Your First Eures Job”.Since its launch in December 2016 eight different EU-wide ESC programmes have been mobilised to offer volunteering, traineeship or job opportunities in solidarity-related sectors to young people across the EU. So far almost 60.000 young people have registered and almost 5.000 of them started a placement.
After a successful phasing in of the project, clear rules and an appropriate budget were needed.
For details of the agreement and its future development, visit: http://bit.ly/EUupgradesESC
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