Pick a winner (on the right side of the blog) before 31 March 2010!

AEGEE-Baki, European Students Forum Baku Public Union is a non-political, secular and non-commercial youth organization from Azerbaijan. The goal of AEGEE Baki is to promote, support and broaden up the international cooperation, democracy, human rights, tolerance, European integration and European standards on education. Considering Azerbaijan as a part of Europe, AEGEE-Baki is encouraging relations, cooperation and integration between young people of Azerbaijan and Europe. AEGEE is one of the biggest interdisciplinary student associations in Europe; it is represented by 15.000 students, active in 241 academic cities, in 40 countries all around Europe, which presents an amazing culture variety. Within the framework of the main fields of action, AEGEE-Baki members organize a wide variety of activities, including several international projects. Read the rest of this entry »

The EUROPRIX Multimedia Awards are Europe’s contest for young professionals and students who work on innovative projects in the field of e-contents and design, using whichever multimedia channel or platforms. Projects can be submitted in 9 categories and one special award. Are you working on an outstanding, innovative and creative project? Please visit the award website for further information or check out the Europrix winners and nominees 2009 on the Europrix YouTube Videochannel. Registration will start in April.

On 18 March 2010 the Young European Federalists (JEF) are organizing a pan-European street action, to protest against and raise awareness about the last remaining dictatorship on the European continent. Lukashenko, the undemocratically elected president of Belarus in 2006, has oppressed human freedoms ever since. JEF is calling for young people throughout Europe to not leave the Belarusian citizens behind and act now! The street action is very simple: take to the streets on the evening of 18 March, put clothes around the mouths of famous statues to symbolically gag them, take pictures of your action and send them a.s.a.p. to Belarus@jef.eu. By collecting the pictures from young people all over the world, JEF wants to make an important statement that will be heard loud and clear by the EU Institutions and officials, the dictatorial regime and the population in Belarus. For more information on how to organize your event and for useful tools to help you gain support and media attention, please download the action pack on the JEF website. Registration deadline: 14 March 2010.

The European Commission launched an information campaign in all EU countries about the gender pay gap. The gender pay gap is the average difference between men’s and women’s hourly earnings within the economy as a whole. Across Europe women earn on average around 18% less than men and in some countries the gender pay gap is widening. Find out more.

When applying to an EVS project, you need to submit both CV and a motivation letter. Your motivation letter is needed to discover your personality and interest in the project. Here are some tips to keep in mind when writing a motivation letter. First of all, every good letter has a basic structure built on a few sections. For example: Read the rest of this entry »

The aim of the study on Volunteering in the European Union was to help the Commission consider ways in which the voluntary sector could be further promoted at EU level and extent to which volunteering could help the EU in achieving its wider strategic objectives set out. To read the full report, visit the European Commission website.

The European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights invites young people between the age of 18 and 30 years old from all EU countries to participate in the International Video Competition 2010. The challenge is to create a video answering the following questions: What are your fundamental rights? Do you know how to protect your fundamental rights? The 3 best entries will each win a 5 day trip for 2 people to Vienna, from 6 to 10 May 2010, with transportation and accommodation included. Your video may not be longer than 2 minutes and the language of the video must be English, German, French, Spanish or Italian. How to submit? Fill in the submission form including a link to your video before the deadline of 2 April 2010. Do you need further information and details about the competition rules? Please visit the FRA website.

Association of Young Azerbaijani Friends of Europe (AYAFE) is looking for 2 EVS volunteers for a long-term project in Azerbaijan. The aim of the project is to work against social exclusion of children and adolescents in IDP (Internally Displaced People) communities. The main task of the volunteers will be to organise various social and cultural activities for children and young people with IDP. During the summer, the volunteers will also be involved in the organisation and coordination of the International Youth Camp in cooperation with AYAFE. Are you interested? Please contact Hamid Gasimov (ayafe@box.az) for further details about the project.

Are you thinking about setting up your own business or are you already a successful entrepreneur? If so, Erasmus for Young Entrepreneurs could be for you! The Erasmus for Young Entrepreneurs exchange programme offers an excellent opportunity for new entrepreneurs to acquire relevant skills for managing a small or medium-sized enterprise (SME). The new entrepreneurs will learn how to manage an SME as well as getting familiar with the business environment in another EU country by working with an experienced entrepreneur. New entrepreneurs can choose to stay between 1 to 6 months with an experienced entrepreneur. During that period, they are expected to acquire relevant start-up and SME management knowledge in areas like financial and operational management, development of innovative products and services, successful sales and marketing practices, European commercial law and the single European market. More information about the programme and application, can be found on the website.