Which volunteering activities can you do? There are projects in many fields, like:
• education and training (e.g.: working in a kindergarten, as an assistant to teachers, …)
• citizenship and democratic participation (e.g.: Youth Ambassador of European Values, …)
• environment and nature conservation (e.g.: working on a farm, gardening, caring of animals, …)
• migration (e.g.: working in a migration center, …)
• culture (e.g.: working in a museum, in a library, at a radio station, …)
• humanitarian aid and many other areas (e.g.: working with disabled people, elderly, …)
For how long can you volunteer abroad? There are short-term and long-term projects and they can last from 1 week up to 1 year – choose your project wisely, you can do a long-term project only once!
What about accommodation and other expenses? Your accommodation and food will be paid and sometimes you will also get pocket and transport money, but that depends on the project.
What else is good to know? There will be trainings organised by the National Agency and there you will meet other ESC volunteers.
How can you apply? First of all, you need to go to the official website (Link: https://youth.europa.eu/solidarity_en) and create a profile, then you can have a look at all the projects. You can also look for a sending organization in your city (often Youth Centers) which will help you during the whole applying process. When you find an interesting project, you have to apply and when the organisation is interested in you aswell, they´ll do an interview with you. Don´t be discouraged if you don´t get an answer immediately – often you have to apply to many projects!
Now, go and apply and help to make the world a better place! :)
Klara and Lena