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European Voluntary Service (EVS)

The European Voluntary Service (EVS) is part of the “Youth in action” programme devised by the European Commission, the European parliament and the member states of the European Union, managed by [The Agence française->http://www.jeunesseenaction.fr/], located in Paris at the INJEP.

With the EVS, voluntary service can be experienced in a structure [in another PEJA-eligible European country PEJA->http://www.mfe.org/index.php/Thematiques/Stages-Volontariat/Service-volontaire-europeen-SVE] (European Youth in Action Programme).

Read the [European voluntary service charter ->http://ec.europa.eu/youth/documents/evs-charter_en.pdf] (English). It highlights the role of EVS sending, host and coordination organisations together with the main principles and quality standards of the EVS. Each EVS project promoter respects the provisions of this charter.

Who ?

  • Young people aged 18 to 30, In certain cases, from age 17.
  • Must be legally resident in one of the countries participating in the programme or in one of the partner countries. The EVS must be outside the country of residence.
  • No training, experience, qualifications or language knowledge are required.

Why ?

The interest for the host partner :

  • Enables them to receive aid for the local development of non-lucrative activities,
  • Encourages the building of new partnerships.

The interest for the volunteer

  • Gets to know another culture,
  • Acquires skills that are useful to his personal, educational and professional development

How ?

What fields are covered ?

Art and culture, social, environment and heritage protection, media and information for young people, combating exclusions, racism and xenophobia, health, economies of solidarity, sport, cultural diversity, the future of Europe, etc.

Some types of project :

  • An individual or group project in a non-profit organisation.
  • Volunteer activities useful to the host community.
  • Each volunteer activity can be subject to an Activity Contract drawn up between the volunteers, a sending organisation, a local host organisation and possibly a coordinating organisation.

For how long ?

From 2 to 12 months

What are the steps involved ?

[How to send a subsidy application ->http://www.jeunesseenaction.fr/uploads/fiche%202012/Fiche%20Action%202%202012.pdf]

How much does it cost ?

The PEJA subsidy covers part of the costs of the project (transport, accommodation, meals, training, support, language lessons, tutoring, etc.) paid to the coordinating organisation, together with pocket money and social protection of volunteers.
The organisations have to contribute to covering this volunteer service with other sources of finance (self-financing and co-financing).