Strengthening European Volunteering

SNAC Volunteering uses its mandate within the ESC programme to work on the pillars of the position paper (Continuing a solidarity-based programme, EU volunteer status, quality charter and capacity building) with the vision to create better conditions for youth volunteering in Europe

Objectives:

• Increasing the knowledge about the European Solidarity Corps Programme and its impact
• Supporting the knowledge exchange around European volunteering and solidarity
• Advocating for better conditions for ESC volunteering
• Increasing the visibility of ESC-volunteering
• Fostering the collaboration among stakeholders and strengthening the community(ies) of practice

Position paper Better Conditions for Youth Volunteering

Read and download the Position paper (PDF)

Research Outcomes:

Download the research "Mapping Study of European Civic Engagement Frameworks and Their Links with Youth Volunteering" (PDF)

Download the research "Exploration of the complementarity and synergies of the European Solidarity Corps
programme to other EU youth programmes" (PDF)

Download the explanatory report "Mapping and Analysis of Research on Youth Volunteering in Europe" (PDF)

Background and Needs

With the new programme generation starting 2021, the European Solidarity Corps programme has undergone a shift towards a pure volunteering scheme for local and international volunteering.

The SNAC has grown from the need to explore questions together as a network of National Agencies: What does the shift to volunteering imply for the community of practice? What are the new trends? What are the risks? How can we improve the conditions for different strands of the ESC (Individual, Teams, Solidarity Projects) and look deeper into complementarity of national and EU volunteering? What is needed to strengthen European volunteering?

Embedded in European Policy

In 2020, an Expert Group on the Mobility of Young Volunteers and Cross-Border, involving SALTO ESC, developed a Background Paper to support the European Commission in reviewing the 2008 Council Recommendation on the mobility of young volunteers.

In April 2022 a COUNCIL RECOMMENDATION on the mobility of young volunteers across the European Union was adopted. SNAC Volunteering aims to support the implementation of this document.

Since 2024 is the year to publish the midterm evaluation of the implementation of the European Solidarity Corps programme SNAC Volunteering is an active partner in this endeavor as well as a platform to discuss the development of the programme for the upcoming programme periode 2028-2034.

The main areas of activity of SNAC Volunteering are: 

• Analysis (including research and publications)
• Visibility & Advocacy to improve the conditions for volunteering in the European Solidarity Corps programme (including communication work and online events)
• Knowledge exchange (including networking events)

Coordination by SALTO European Solidarity Corps in close cooperation with the partnership of: