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Focus: European Developments
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European Solidarity Corps – Ongoing Negotiations The legislative proposal aiming at the creation of a legal basis for the European Solidarity Corps, the latest European Commission’s initiative in the field of youth and solidarity is still being negotiated by the EU institutions.
The European Solidarity Corps was first announced in September 2016. The legislative proposal was published by the European Commission on 30 May 2017. The European Commission is proposing a total budget of EUR 340 million for the period between 2018 and 2020. Three fourths of the resources would be redeployed from existing programmes, most notably, Erasmus+. 80% of the funds would be dedicated to volunteering placements in solidarity projects while 20% to traineeship and job placements. The aim is to enable 100,000 young Europeans to take part by the end of 2020 through the following envisaged activities:
- Solidarity placements (volunteering activities up to 12 months, traineeship placements for 2–6 months, job placements for 2–12 months). They would replace the European Voluntary Service activities which were so far implemented through Erasmus and which will fall under the geographical scope of the ESC (i.e. EU Member states at first)
- Volunteering teams (10-40 young volunteers from different countries for 2 weeks to 2 months)
- Solidarity projects (at least five participants to set up solidarity projects at the local level on their own initiative, 2 to 12 months)
While the aim was to implement the European Solidarity Corps in early 2018, the proposal is still being examined by the European Parliament and Council of the EU. The Council of the EU agreed on a general position in November 2017. The European Parliament is expected to publish its draft report soon: the EMPL Committee already adopted an opinion, and the responsible CULT Committee is finalising its report. Interinstitutional negotiations between the EP and Council of the EU are expected to begin soon, in order to adopt the legislative proposal in its first reading. |
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2018 Erasmus+ Annual Work Programme publishedThe work programme outlines the structure and funding of Erasmus+ for 2018 and highlights the link between the policies as well as changes from 2017.
Despite an increase from €2.5 billion in 2017 to €2.7 billion in 2018, the Erasmus+ budget leaves its youth strand with €210 million in 2018, instead of €232 million in the 2017 budget. This is explained by the impact of the European Solidarity Corps initiative: from 2018 onward, European Voluntary Service (EVS) activities will no longer be implemented through Erasmus+, but will be implemented as volunteering placements under the European Solidarity Corps.
However, because of the delay in the adoption of the European Solifarity Corps' own legal basis, this change will be implemented later on. Rounds 1 and 2 in 2018 will therefore still fund EVS projects (See this Corrigendum).
Other activities under the youth strand of Erasmus+ (Mobility of youth workers, Strategic partnerships for youth) will remain unchanged. The full Annual Work Programme is available here. |
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Erasmus+ Generation Declaration: 30 proposals on the future of Erasmus+ Concluding the Erasmus+ 30th anniversary campaign, representatives of the Erasmus+ Generation presented the Erasmus+ Generation Declaration to EU decision makers in Brussels at the end of last year.
The document contains 30 concrete proposals that reflect the Erasmus+ Generation's vision and priorities for the future of the programme beyond 2020 in six key areas: societal challenges, skills gap, civic engagement, inclusion, global dimension and simplification.
The proposals are based on the ideas poured into the Erasmus+ Generation Online Meeting Point, where thousands of former Erasmus+ participants were active in 2017. |
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Public consultation on EU funds in the area of values and mobility The European Commission has launched a new public consultation on EU funds in the area of values and mobility.
The consultation, open until 8 March, aims at preparing the next generation of financial programmes for the post-2020 Multiannual Financial Framework. All citizens and organisations having an interest are welcome to respond to this consultation, especially when involved in the following issues:
- learning mobility
- education and training apart from mobility
- volunteering, humanitarian aid, solidarity
- youth work
- citizenship and values
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Erasmus+ evaluated as one of the most successful EU programmesThe mid-term evaluation of Erasmus+ and its predecessor programmes rated Erasmus+ as very beneficial to participants not only in terms of transition to employment but also regarding the feeling of being an EU citizen.
The Commission proposes in its report to step up learning mobility, in particular among school pupils, vocational education and training participants and youth, and to make the successor programme of Erasmus+ even more inclusive by reaching out to more vulnerable learners and smaller organisations. |
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YES Forum’s activities and members’ activities
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Save the date! Next Annual Event in Athens, between 13-15 June
New year, new location! In 2018, YES Forum's Annual Event will be organised in collaboration with YES Forum member and partner organisations Nostos and IEKEP in Athens.
The 2018 General Assembly itself will be organised on 14 June. Among many other issues to be discussed, YES Forum members and partners will review the latest activities of the network, the progress made towards achieving its Strategy 2020, welcome new member organisations, and prepare the future of the network.
An additional programme, related to European mobility through volunteering, will also be open for all interested participants on 13 and 15 June. Invitations will be sent later on this year; in the meantime, please Save the Dates!
You can also find an overview of YES Forum’s activities in 2018 and their planned dates here. |
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YES Forum’s 2018 Agenda - Upcoming events and activitiesOnce again, 2018 will be a busy year for the YES Forum and its network! To help our members planning their participation in our events this year, we published our 2018 Agenda here.
Check it out to make sure you don’t miss any of the upcoming YES Forum opportunities! |
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DIVE 1st Training on inclusion and diversity in pan-European youth networks On 13-18 February, the YES Forum participated in the first training organised in the framework of the DIVE project (“Diversity in Pan-European Networks”) in Sofia, Bulgaria.
To support three major pan-European youth networks – JEF Europe (Young European Federalists), ESN (Erasmus Students Network) and AEGEE (European Students’ Forum) – in their efforts to become more inclusive towards youngsters with fewer opportunities, YES Forum and its member organisation Internationaler Bund sent two participants to share their expertise and good practices on inclusion and diversity.
For more details, please click here. |
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New project: YES to Volunteering!The latest YES Forum project proposal, “YES to Volunteering” (YeToVo!) has been approved by the German Erasmus+ National Agency for youth! From early 2018 to mid-2020, this Strategic EVS will support the development of the exchange of international volunteers within the YES Forum network but also with new partners.
Project partners will focus on youngsters with fewer opportunities to open volunteering and international mobility to a wider and more diverse audience, as disadvantaged youngsters are, still to this day, underrepresented in such initiatives.
In parallel, the project will also organise several Staff Trainings to ensure the quality of the EVS activities which will be implemented, and help newcomers in the field of EVS and volunteering in their preparation to send and/or host their first volunteers!
For more details about the project, please click here. |
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Calls for Proposals, Conferences and Training
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Erasmus+ - Corrigendum to the 2018 Programme Guide, Calls and Important changesThe European Commission published a corrigendum to the Erasmus+ 2018 Programme Guide, including important changes regarding deadlines and eligible activities.
The Corrigendum, in particular:
- Reintroduces European Voluntary Service activities between organisations from EU Member States among the activities funded through Rounds 1 & 2. Originally, a transitional period was planned during which volunteering activities between EU Member States would be supported by the European Solidarity Corps in the form of "volunteering placements". The transitional period will start later this year, if the European Solidarity Corps legal basis is adopted before Round 3.
- Modified the deadlines of Round 1. The 2018 Erasmus+ deadline for activities in the field of youth are now: 15 February, 26 April, 4 October.
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2018 Rights, Equality and Citizenship Work ProgrammeThe European Commission adopted the 2018 Rights, Equality and Citizenship Work Programme, giving green light for several funding initiatives.
The Rights, Equality and Citizenship Programme defends the rights and freedoms that people are entitled to under EU law with a total budget of EUR 439.5 million over the period 2014-2020. In 2018 the Commission will continue to support activities and actions developed by NGOs, grass-root organisations, universities, public authorities and other organisations, with calls in the field of promoting:
- non-discrimination combating racism, xenophobia, homophobia and other forms of intolerance
- gender equality and gender mainstreaming
- prevention of violence against children, young people, women and other groups at risk
- the rights of the child
- EU citizenship rights
The detailed calls for proposals in the abovementioned fields will be published on the Participant Portal. The 2018 REC Work Programme is available here and provides more detailed about the planned deadlines. |
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8th European Conference for Social Work ResearchIn 2018, the European Social Work Research Association will organise its 8th European Conference in Edinburgh from 18 to 20 April. Social work practitioners are of course invited!
The conference will focus on “Social Work in Transition: Challenges for Social Work Research in a Changing Local and Global World”. Registrations will open soon: more information on the Conference Website. |
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Win up to 50,000 EUR in the Social Innovation Tournament 2018The Social Innovation Tournament rewards and sponsors European entrepreneurs whose primary purpose is to generate a social, ethical or environmental impact.
The applications are welcomed, among other groups, from young entrepreneurs and NGOs and local government entities. Winning projects will be awarded a 1st and 2nd Prize of 50,000 EUR and 20,000 EUR. Projects should focus on sustainable development, with special emphasis on circular economy, e.g. related to combating unemployment, marginalisation of disadvantaged communities, promoting access to education care or ways to employ new processes.
Deadline for submission of proposals: 6th March 2018. |
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European Training Calendar – Check it out! Each year, hundreds of trainings for youth workers are organised to strengthen the European youth field: have a look at these opportunities!
The SALTO-YOUTH Platform provides a full calendar of all training opportunities covering the next months. You can sort training opportunities by dates, location, theme ... and maybe find the perfect training for you or your organisation! |
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Increase the Erasmus+ budget: sign the petition! ERASMUS + touches only a very limited section of the EU’s population. Only 4 million people (around 0.8% of EU citizens) are expected to benefit from Erasmus+ in the 2014-2020 period. Indeed, the funding for the programme amounts to only 1,4% of the overall EU budget for this period.
The Lifelong Learning Platform, European Youth Forum and Eurodesk, have launched the Erasmusx10 campaign in order to call for a more ambitious programme. By increasing the Erasmus+ budget they would allow more individuals to benefit from a mobility experience, therefore improving their life prospects with higher employability chances and stronger social and civic participation.
Sign the petition here. |
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T-Kit 8: Social Inclusion – EU-CoE Youth PartnershipThe EU-CoE Youth Partnership released a new edition of their T-Kits on Social Inclusion!
The training kits are thematic publications written by experienced youth trainers for youth and social workers. The latest edition focuses on social inclusion and analyses its key obstacles and drivers, while providing many good practices to inspire youth workers. |
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Leading the way: New resources showcase the very best of Erasmus+ and the Lifelong Learning ProgrammeFive new collections of excellent results stemming from various projects funded by Erasmus+ and its predecessor, the Lifelong Learning Programme, have just been published.
These five collections present a brief summary of EU-funded projects selected on the base of the strength of their accomplishments or innovations and highlight their main outputs. Each collection focuses on key areas of education:
- Digital competence
- Basic skills
- Citizenship
- Language learning
- Tackling early school leaving
They can be used by anyone interested in this topic e.g. to develop new ideas and material, whether in the context of an EU-funded project or not. |
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Liaisons - manual for the prevention of youth violent extremism through youth informationThe European youth information and counselling agency (ERYICA) published a handbook regarding pedagogical issues for the prevention of youth violent extremism though youth information.
The handbook (written in French) can be found here. |
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Online resources for careleavers"Leaving care in Europe” is a website for young careleavers providing information about planning their leave. They list e.g. informational meetings and trainings in various European countries as well as researches about the topic. |
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