Archive for the ‘Tips & Info’ Category

The European Year of Volunteering 2011 (EYV) is a celebration of the commitment of millions of people in Europe who work in their communities during their free time without being paid. Their efforts and those of the many thousands of volunteering organisations make a huge difference to our lives in countless ways. The year is also a challenge to those Europeans who do not volunteer, to let them know that they can also make a difference. The launch conference of the EYV 2011 by the European Commission will take place in Budapest (Hungary) on 8 January 2011. Find out more about:

• The goals and benefits of EYV 2011.
• The updated calendar of the EYV 2011
• The call for proposals for flagship projects in the framework of the EYV 2011.

Check also out the European Year of Volunteering 2011 Alliance website and the European Commission website about the European Year. Both homepages are developing continuously and soon you will be able to find partners or volunteers for your projects or advertise activities for instance.

The EU is celebrating the 15th anniversary of its Leonardo da Vinci programme, which helps to fund thousands of vocational education and training courses across Europe. Since 1995 the EU has helped more than 600 000 young people to go on training placements abroad. The European Commission is currently investing €240 million a year through Leonardo da Vinci to support the mobility of trainees, apprentices and trainers and the modernisation of vocational education and training in 31 countries.

Androulla Vassiliou, the European Commissioner for Education, Culture, Multilingualism and Youth, said: “Vocational education and training gives students the kind of skills that are increasingly sought after on the labour market. The Leonardo da Vinci programme offers them more by helping to fund work placements abroad. This experience boosts their language abilities and other broad skills like team-working and adaptability, which makes them more employable and enhances their personal development. In the long-term this contributes to building a better-qualified workforce and to making Europe more competitive.”

Public consultation on the future of the programme
Leonardo da Vinci is part of the Lifelong Learning Programme, and also includes three other programmes supporting mobility: Erasmus (for higher education students), Comenius (schools) and Grundtvig (adult education). Do you want to give your opinion on EU policies and influence their direction? The Commission has launched a public consultation on the Lifelong Learning Programme after 2014.

Read about how to apply for projects funded by the Leonardo da Vinci Programme.

The EURES network is an easy way to find information on jobs and learning opportunities throughout Europe. On the portal you can find job vacancies in 31 European countries and information about living and working abroad and much more. EURES has a human network of more than 700 EURES advisers that are in daily contact with jobseeker and employers across Europe. “The purpose of EURES is to provide information, advice and recruitment/placement (job-matching) services for the benefit of workers and employers as well as any citizen wishing to benefit from the principle of the free movement of persons.”

European Job Days
Every year, EURES teams throughout the EU organize hundreds of ‘European Job Days’ – the perfect place to recruit, to meet employers, to discuss your plans with a EURES Adviser or to find out more about how the EU can help you.

1.  On MyEVS.net you will find many experiences, stories and photos of EVS volunteers in the world. You can read their stories, have a look at their pictures, add comments and much more.

2.  Read the best stories from the 1^st edition of the Scrpitamanent contest. Scriptamanent is an international writing competition open to young people who have done voluntary experience abroad. Download the book with stories full of EVS adventures.

3.  A few weeks ago we wrote a post about Ioana, an EVS volunteer from Romania who’s writing a blog about her EVS experiences in Belgium at the Joetz office in Brussels. Now, you can also follow Laura, an EVS volunteer from Spain writing about her EVS experiences in Belgium.

4.  Thinking about doing your EVS in Greece? Then first read some thoughts of EVS volunteers on the EDRA blog of the Greek NGO Social Cooperative Activities for Minority Groups – EDRA.

5.  EVS Magazine ContAct, a magazine from NGO Continious Action, full of interesting stories about experiences, adventures and thoughts of EVS volunteers.

On this blog you can also read more EVS experience reports in the blog category ‘EVS Experiences”.  Do you also want to share your experiences with us? Please, contact anita@noborders.eu

WiserEarth helps the global movement of people and organizations working toward social justice and sustainability movement. On WiserEarth you can: discover, connect, share knowledge, collaborate and build alliances.

Thinking about doing your EVS? Here you can find the answers to 10 frequently asked questions on EVS.

1.  What is EVS?
EVS stands for European Voluntary Service and offers young people the fantastic opportunity to volunteer abroad with no costs for a period of two to twelve months. Volunteering through EVS provides young people with an intercultural learning experience, encouraging social integration and increasing employability.

2.  What is the age limit to participate in EVS?
The EVS is open to young people between 18 and 30 years. This means that volunteers have to be between 18 and 30 years old at the beginning of their voluntary activity.

3.  In which countries can EVS projects take place?
The European Voluntary Service concerns all 27 countries of the European Union, the EFTA countries (Iceland, Norway, Liechtenstein) and pre-accession countries (Bulgary, Romania, Turkey). Read the rest of this entry »

European Youth Information and Counselling Agency (ERYICA) announced the publication of the booklet ‘Good Practice in Youth Information’, produced within the ‘Better Youth Information for New Times’ -project. The publication is a collection of good practices in Youth Information work with focus on the three thematic areas: ‘youth participation’, ‘peer-to-peer’ and ‘reaching out’. The booklet aims at advertising youth information practices at a European level highlighting those that are of a particularly innovative nature, which thus can serve as an inspiration for possible future projects and collaborations. Are you curious to the booklet? Please download here the full version.

In September, the European Commission will adopt ‘Youth on the Move’, an initiative that aims to promote the mobility of students and trainees and to improve the employment situation of young people. ‘Youth on the Move’ will encourage EU countries to work together to give young people in Europe better opportunities to make the best of their skills. The Commission’s upcoming proposal is a contribution to Europe 2020, the EU’s reform strategy for the coming decade to develop an economy that is based on knowledge and innovation. Young people have an important role to play in this but they need more support in order to unleash their full potential. ‘Youth on the Move’ provides this support by contributing to better education, training and access to labour market.

Commissioner Androulla Vassiliou will hold a press conference dedicated to ‘Youth on the Move’ on September 15. She is also keen to have an open dialogue about these important matters with the main people concerned. Their interest, opinions, experiences and participation is of course key to the success of the initiative and to achieving the Europe 2020 goals. She will therefore host a webstreamed debate with European youth on 17 September 2010. During this debate, the Commissioner will answer questions from a live audience, as well as from remote participants who choose to send in questions, either beforehand or in real time. More details about this event will soon be available on Commissioner Vassiliou’s website.

1. Making friends:
EVS brings like-minded people together in a common setting where they’ll all be working towards a common goal.
2. Networking:
You can also network with others who might be in a position to help you turn your voluntary work  into a paid career you’ll enjoy.
3. CV improvement:
Employers recognize the value that voluntary work adds to a CV in terms.
4. Decision making:
Sometimes you need a little help in determining what kind of job or career path you wish to follow. EVS helps to decide the type of work you might prefer.
5. Building self-confidence:
EVS is a useful way to increase your self-esteem and confidence.  

And last, but not least…You make a difference that far outweigh any form of financial reward.

This year the European Union made its World Expo debut at the 2010 Shanghai World Expo. The EU’s pavilion is based around the theme of ‘Intelligent Europe’, containing 4 parts respectively titled ‘Building Europe’, ‘Open Europe’, ‘Green Europe’ and ‘Living Europe’. On the web site EU @ Shanghai 2010 you can visit the EU virtual pavilion, play the game ‘Discovering Europe’ or read more about the European Union by topic.

The World Expo 2010 will be held from 1 May to 31 October 2010 and is expected to attract 70 million visitors.