EVS is part of the YOUTH programme, a European Union programme that promotes the mobility of young people through international activities with a non-formal education dimension such as youth exchanges, voluntary services, youth initiatives and training of youth workers.

Voluntary service activities can take place, for example, in the field of the environment, arts and culture, activities with children, young people or the elderly, heritage, or sports and leisure.

Volunteers will participate in activities that comply with the following general principles.

• take place in a country other than where the volunteer lives,
• be non-profit-making and unpaid,
• bring an added value to the local community,
• not involve job substitution,
• last for a limited period (maximum 12 months).

The vast majority of voluntary service projects are on a one-to-one basis, i.e. a volunteer goes from one country to another.

EVS is one of the opportunities for young people to get actively involved in European project work. An EVS project gains from intercultural experience, it builds on a trans-national partnership between youth organisations and the volunteer. It promotes local project that is based on everybody’s commitment.

A win-win activity: EVS projects are characterized by a good balance between service to the hosting local community and learning opportunities for the volunteer. Both community and volunteer equally gain from the project activities.

An intercultural experience: a reciprocal learning process, where everybody would gain from getting to know each other’s culture.

You want to become an EVS volunteer you should be between 18 and 25 years old, willing to dedicate 6 to 12 months of your time contributing to a local a project and gaining personal development, and if you are enthusiastic and full of dynamism, you are the right candidate.

You are interested in EVS but due to your situation or background, 6 months are too much of a challenge?

You might want to try the EVS short-term projects. This is open exclusively to "young people with less opportunities" and aims at giving them access to the YOUTH programme, and to EVS in particular. Projects have a duration from 3 weeks to 6 months, they involve individual or small groups of

volunteers. EVS short-term projects are part of the "Inclusion Strategy", a specific priority within the YOUTH programme.

One of the countries involved in an EVS project must be an EU Member State.

The willingness of close co-operation between these three is crucial for a successful experience.

A commitment: the partners involved in an EVS project expect from each other that they dedicate time and energy to the successful realisation of the project.

A local project: the host organisation is a non-profit organization or local community, creating an EVS hosting project that benefits to the local community, within its area of intervention.

The EVS Action is open to all young people who are legally resident in a Programme country or in an eligible third country and are, in principle, aged between 18 and 25. Certain exceptions regarding the upper age-limit are allowed for young people with less opportunities, if justified, and are judged on a case-by-case basis. Participation fees are not allowed. Volunteers’ travel costs, insurance, food, accommodation and a small allowance are covered by the grant from the YOUTH programme.

Volunteers give their time and efforts for a project benefiting the local community in exchange for an opportunity to practice their skills, acquire cultural and social skills, and build for their future. During their voluntary service, volunteers are responsible for the practical tasks assigned to them and have a general obligation to contribute to the host organisation and community.

The European Voluntary Service takes place in all countries involved in the YOUTH programme:

This includes the Member States of the European Union (the 15 countries that are members of the European Union), the EFTA/EEA countries (the three countries which are members of the European Free Trade Association and of the European Economic Area) and pre-accession countries (12 of the candidate countries which have applied for European Union membership and participate fully in all YOUTH Actions). Together they form the so-called Programme Countries.

European Voluntary Service involves a sending partner known as the "sending organisation".

The sending organisation is responsible for arranging the following:

The preparation required includes helping the volunteer to find and contact a host

organisation. In addition, volunteers need to be prepared for their stay abroad according to their individual needs (including possible visa requirements etc.). The sending organisation is obliged to make sure that the volunteer attends a pre-departure training session.

The sending organisation should keep in contact with the volunteer and with the host organisation during the project in order to avoid crises. It will also help organize follow-up after the volunteer’s return.

Volunteers should receive help with reintegrating into their home community. The sending organisation should give volunteers an opportunity to exchange and share their

experiences and must also support them, e.g. by providing information about other possibilities within the YOUTH programme (especially Action 3 - Future Capital) and by helping them into further education, training or employment.

The sending organisation has a shared responsibility with the host organisation to

arrange a visa for the volunteer. It is also the responsibility of the sending organisation to make sure that the volunteer’s contact details are sent to the insurance company contracted by the European Commission.

The basis for European Voluntary Service is the existence of a number of places where volunteers can do their voluntary service. These are called "host organisations".

European Voluntary Service brings together a large number of different organisations, projects, local authorities and other initiatives. Their contribution to European Voluntary Service is essential. By welcoming a volunteer, a host organisation will bring new ideas and intercultural elements into its regular activities. It could also have an interesting exchange of experience with the sending organisation through the volunteer.

The host organisation is responsible for arranging the following:

Volunteers’ tasks should reflect their individual abilities and desires. Persons who are familiar with those tasks should guide them. The host organisation is also responsible for sending the volunteer to the mid-term meeting.

To avoid and overcome any difficulties, either in volunteers’ personal lives or in their

activities in the host organisation, sufficient personal support should be provided for

volunteers. They should be given opportunities to integrate into the local community, to meet other young people, to socialise, to participate in leisure activities, etc. Contacts with other EVS volunteers should be encouraged whenever possible.

Each host organisation must identify a mentor who is directly responsible for training, personal support and language training for the volunteer and to whom the volunteer can turn in case of problems. The mentor should not be the volunteer’s supervisor or another person involved in the volunteer's project.

Language skills have long-term benefits in addition to helping the volunteer to integrate

into the host culture. The host organisation is responsible for arranging language learning opportunities.

The host organisation has to provide suitable accommodation for the volunteer.

The host organisation is responsible for providing meals, or a food allowance, for the volunteer.

The host organisation must provide means of local transport for the volunteer.

The host organisation must pay an allowance to the volunteer on a weekly or monthly basis (the amount is included in the grant from the YOUTH programme).

The host organisation has a shared responsibility with the sending organisation to

arrange a visa for the volunteer.

As EVS involves young volunteers staying in another country for long periods of time, it is of

the utmost importance for adequate levels of training to be provided for them at all stages of the project.

It is the responsibility of the National Agencies to ensure that volunteers receive adequate pre-departure and on-arrival training and attend mid-term evaluation meetings. All volunteers must participate in these training sessions.

Pre-departure training gives volunteers an opportunity to talk about their expectations, develop their motivation and obtain information on their host country. They may also be able to meet and speak to ex-volunteers. Pre-departure training is compulsory for all volunteers.

The objective of on-arrival training, which takes place upon arrival in the host country, is to introduce volunteers to their host country and their host environment, and to help them get to know each other. In some cases, on-arrival training might be organised by the host organisations themselves (minimum 5 EVS volunteers) in line with the guidelines provided by the European Commission.

Mid-term meetings provide volunteers with an opportunity to evaluate their experience so far, in addition to meeting other volunteers from different projects throughout the host country. It should be noted that volunteers are obliged to attend these sessions.