SVE – Sharing Volunteerism’s Experiences

Joint was founded in December 2003 and it’s an association that promotes social activities for youngsters between 14 and 30. The mission of the organization consists of providing non-formal education opportunities for young people. The association has offices with fulltime staff in Milano and other volunteer spread around Italy. currently Joint can count on 8 workers and about thirty volunteers. We organize, along with the youngsters right from the planning stage, many different kinds of activities for young people, involving as many as possible, and trying always to involve others that have never participated before. Our main activities are: training courses for high school students’ representatives; Youth Exchanges, training courses and European Voluntary Service within the Youth in Action programme and now within Erasmus Plus programme; and events in local communities on different themes. Our aim is to help youngsters develop their transversal competences (life skills) by using non-formal learning tools. We try to educate youngsters to a peaceful cohabitation with people coming from different cultures, countries and social conditions by giving them the opportunity to confront themselves with others, coming from different countries, in an intercultural environment which stimulates the development of a conscience about the complexity of our society. Youngsters find themselves in a perfect environment to socialize with other people from different countries and get to know different cultures and tradition. In a Europe that is continuously expanding it’s important for us to use these kinds of opportunities to promote a European identity amongst young people and stimulate them to an active and responsible citizenship. Over the last three years we’ve organized and participated to many youth exchanges and training courses, within the Youth Programme of the European Commission, in many countries across Europe and have been able to improve the competences of our staff which now is very well prepared in organizing events hosted in Italy as well as preparing groups to go abroad.