Europejski Korpus Solidarności: krótki i długi wolontariat — limity i kolejne kroki

Nika Bunziak prezentuje Wam kolejny odcinek “V” ⏬⏬

Cześć/Hello/Привіт!

With this post we will continue our journey „Let’s talk about V” with answering your questions about VOLUNTEERING under the European Solidarity Corps Program.

The European Solidarity Corps is the new European Union initiative which creates opportunities for young people 18-30 y.o. to volunteer or work in projects in their own country or abroad that benefit communities and people around Europe.

✅ What can a volunteer do?
There are many possible topics to choose from: working with children and youth, sports, social care, environmental protection, art and culture, gender equality, anti-discrimination, animal welfare, media and communication, youth work and many more. Everyone can find something according to his/her interests.
✅ How long does an ESC project last?
ESC projects can be short-term (between 2 weeks and 2 months) or long-term (between 2 months and 12 months). In fact, the majority of projects last no less than 6 months. ESC project can be done only once in a lifetime for a period no longer than 12 months. You can actually participate in one short term ESC project for 2 months and then, in a second long-term project for 10 months (the total duration of these projects cannot exceed 12 months). However, if you decide to choose a long-term ESC first, you cannot do any short-term projects afterwards.
✅ I participated in the European Voluntary Service, can I apply for the European Solidarity Corps?
A participant who has completed a long term volunteering activity (longer than 2 months) funded by the European Voluntary Service is not eligible to participate in another long term volunteering activity funded by the European Solidarity Corps. However, she or he can participate in other activities supported by the Corps such as traineeships, jobs, solidarity projects and volunteering teams. If you completed short-term European Voluntary Service, you still can do long-term European Solidarity Corps p to 12 months.
✅ Do I need any qualifications?
There are no qualification requirements in ESC program, the main criteria is your motivation. However, you should have an intermediate level of English in order to communicate successfully with your colleagues. Some projects may require some qualifications (for example, for a media project, knowledge of special programs for creating video), but they are immediately indicated in the project description.
✅ What is the working language?
Usually the working language is English. However, a hosting organization has to provide you with an online course of the language which is spoken in the country of your volunteering. In Portugal for instance, you would be learning Portuguese, in Spain – Spanish, in Poland – Polish etc. Some hosting organizations provide language classes with teachers, some of then using Online Language Support Platform.
✅ How much will it cost?
It is free of charge! ESC program is funded by the grant of the European Commission. Volunteers participating in ESC volunteering projects will have their round-trip, accommodation, food, visa (if needed) and health insurance fully covered. In addition, they will receive pocket money for their personal needs. The amount of pocket money and money for food is fixed for each country participating in the program.
✅ What are the benefits of being a volunteer?
Volunteering can offer fantastic opportunities to spend time abroad, learn new skills and develop professional competencies, gain confidence and independence, improve language skills, participate in outdoor/indoor activities, contribute to the local host community, develop personal skills and expand one’s worldview. At the end of the program, the learning process is recognized with a Youthpass Certificate.
✅ How can I become an ESC volunteer?
There are three parties involved in every ESC project: a sending (or supporting) organization, a hosting/coordinating organization, and a volunteer. Sometimes there can be four parties if hosting and coordinating organizations are different.
First, you need to find a sending organization that will arrange the sending and help you with information and documents. Your sending organization has to be accredited (has Quality Label) and should be in the database of all accredited ESC organizations that can oficially send volunteers abroad.

#FEIO has this accreditation and is officially allowed to send volunteers and to coordinate volunteering projects.

Then, you have to find a hosting organization that agrees to accept you as a volunteer. In order to find a hosting organization you need to look through the official database of ESC projects (https://europa.eu/youth/solidarity/projects_en). First you need to register on the website and then you can start looking for projects.

You will need to send your CV together with a motivation letter to organizations that you are interested in, but be warned that many of them will not reply back. Therefore, the more requests you send, the higher are your chances of being accepted. However, we strongly encourage you to send your documents only for the projects that you are interested in, as you will spend a lot of time volunteering and it will be your main occupation. Hence, you should be really excited about your project! As I am excited about my project here in Poland.
Say „Yes” to volunteering already today!

#yes4volunteering #ESC #Erasmusplus #FEIO #lets_talk_about_v

prezentuje Wam kolejny odcinek “V” ⏬⏬

Cześć/Hello/Привіт!

With this post we will continue our journey „Let’s talk about V” with answering your questions about VOLUNTEERING under the European Solidarity Corps Program.

The European Solidarity Corps is the new European Union initiative which creates opportunities for young people 18-30 y.o. to volunteer or work in projects in their own country or abroad that benefit communities and people around Europe.

✅ What can a volunteer do?
There are many possible topics to choose from: working with children and youth, sports, social care, environmental protection, art and culture, gender equality, anti-discrimination, animal welfare, media and communication, youth work and many more. Everyone can find something according to his/her interests.
✅ How long does an ESC project last?
ESC projects can be short-term (between 2 weeks and 2 months) or long-term (between 2 months and 12 months). In fact, the majority of projects last no less than 6 months. ESC project can be done only once in a lifetime for a period no longer than 12 months. You can actually participate in one short term ESC project for 2 months and then, in a second long-term project for 10 months (the total duration of these projects cannot exceed 12 months). However, if you decide to choose a long-term ESC first, you cannot do any short-term projects afterwards.
✅ I participated in the European Voluntary Service, can I apply for the European Solidarity Corps?
A participant who has completed a long term volunteering activity (longer than 2 months) funded by the European Voluntary Service is not eligible to participate in another long term volunteering activity funded by the European Solidarity Corps. However, she or he can participate in other activities supported by the Corps such as traineeships, jobs, solidarity projects and volunteering teams. If you completed short-term European Voluntary Service, you still can do long-term European Solidarity Corps p to 12 months.
✅ Do I need any qualifications?
There are no qualification requirements in ESC program, the main criteria is your motivation. However, you should have an intermediate level of English in order to communicate successfully with your colleagues. Some projects may require some qualifications (for example, for a media project, knowledge of special programs for creating video), but they are immediately indicated in the project description.
✅ What is the working language?
Usually the working language is English. However, a hosting organization has to provide you with an online course of the language which is spoken in the country of your volunteering. In Portugal for instance, you would be learning Portuguese, in Spain – Spanish, in Poland – Polish etc. Some hosting organizations provide language classes with teachers, some of then using Online Language Support Platform.
✅ How much will it cost?
It is free of charge! ESC program is funded by the grant of the European Commission. Volunteers participating in ESC volunteering projects will have their round-trip, accommodation, food, visa (if needed) and health insurance fully covered. In addition, they will receive pocket money for their personal needs. The amount of pocket money and money for food is fixed for each country participating in the program.
✅ What are the benefits of being a volunteer?
Volunteering can offer fantastic opportunities to spend time abroad, learn new skills and develop professional competencies, gain confidence and independence, improve language skills, participate in outdoor/indoor activities, contribute to the local host community, develop personal skills and expand one’s worldview. At the end of the program, the learning process is recognized with a Youthpass Certificate.
✅ How can I become an ESC volunteer?
There are three parties involved in every ESC project: a sending (or supporting) organization, a hosting/coordinating organization, and a volunteer. Sometimes there can be four parties if hosting and coordinating organizations are different.
First, you need to find a sending organization that will arrange the sending and help you with information and documents. Your sending organization has to be accredited (has Quality Label) and should be in the database of all accredited ESC organizations that can oficially send volunteers abroad.

#FEIO has this accreditation and is officially allowed to send volunteers and to coordinate volunteering projects.

Then, you have to find a hosting organization that agrees to accept you as a volunteer. In order to find a hosting organization you need to look through the official database of ESC projects (https://europa.eu/youth/solidarity/projects_en). First you need to register on the website and then you can start looking for projects.

You will need to send your CV together with a motivation letter to organizations that you are interested in, but be warned that many of them will not reply back. Therefore, the more requests you send, the higher are your chances of being accepted. However, we strongly encourage you to send your documents only for the projects that you are interested in, as you will spend a lot of time volunteering and it will be your main occupation. Hence, you should be really excited about your project! As I am excited about my project here in Poland.
Say „Yes” to volunteering already today!

#yes4volunteering #ESC #Erasmusplus #FEIO #lets_talk_about_v