19/12/2011

What is EVS?

European Voluntary Service (EVS) is part of European Commission's Youth Programme "Youth in Action" (Action 2). EVS supports transnational voluntary service of young people and aims to encouraging young people into taking part in voluntary activities abroad. EVS aspires to develop solidarity and promote tolerance among young people, primarily to reinforce social cohesion in the European Union. It promotes active citizenship and enhances mutual understanding among young people.

European Voluntary Service is a “learning” service: throughout non-formal learning experiences young volunteers improve and/or acquire competences for their personal, educational and professional development as well as for their social integration. The learning elements consist of a mutually agreed definition of the expected learning outcomes, processes and methods, the certification of the acquired competences, the participation of the volunteer in the EVS training cycle and the continued provision of task-related, linguistic and personal support, including a crisis prevention and management mechanism.

"EVS aspires to develop solidarity and promote tolerance among young people"

These general objectives shall notably be achieved by:

- supporting young people’s participation in various forms of voluntary activities, both within and outside the European Union;

- giving young people the opportunity to express their personal commitment through voluntary activities at European and international level;

- involving young people in actions fostering solidarity between citizens of the European Union;

- involving young volunteers in a non-profit-making unpaid activity for the benefit of the general public in a country other than his or her country of residence.

European Voluntary Service also helps to achieve the common objectives on youth voluntary activities at European level, which were adopted by the EU Council of Ministers on 15 November 2004.