"The EVS project ""Home for Hope"" implied an EVS framework envisioning a volunteer-centred program for personal and professional development within the Homes for Hope shelters, established by ""Hope For Children"". The shelters are accommodating more than 45 minors who have suffered abuse and/or exploitation and provide interdisciplinary and holistic services aiming to guarantee integration in the host country, seek durable solutions deemed necessary depending on the child’s circumstances and provide legal, social and psychological support and educational activities.Context & Background: The present program enabled the volunteers to be exposed and engaged in an intercultural learning experience within a non-formal education setting by developing an individual learner’s plan (with personal and professional).Objectives: The project aimed to foster mutual understanding between young people from different countries; develop their transferable skills as solidarity and promote acceptance among young people, develop key transferable skills to the participants; promote participation amongst youth and develop an understanding of the European/international pressing social issues amongst youth.The main theme of the project was “Vulnerable Children” as well as the issues that surround unaccompanied minors such as social exclusion and discrimination. The volunteers worked closely and in collaboration with the staff of the shelter and supported their work, as well had the opportunity to take initiative to organize extra activities to promote participation amongst this group.Duration: The EVS project lasted for 12 months and 5 volunteers (there were 6 volunteers in total but one Italian volunteer stayed only 4 months and then came a second one for 6 months) were selected for the project from France and Italy.Work approach: Based on the principle that an engaged and motivated volunteer has a stronger potential to influence and creates an impact on the target groups and the society, the volunteers through their active involvement in various aspects of the shelter and a participatory methodology implemented by the staff team, frequent mentoring and supervision, as well as national and in-house trainings, developed key transferable skills (communication, initiative and decision making, teamwork, leadership). Their responsibilities included: facility tasks as daily provision of care for the minors including nutrition, hygiene, clothing, training/education, entertainment; assisting the staff in the effective protection of the minors, performing activities for integration into the host country, cultural activities and support with their homework as well as creative organisation of extracurricular activities such as games, sports, and excursions as well as taking initiative and creating workshops with a learning complementary value."

In order to inject a European dynamic into the PACA region, six young Europeans (Sweden, Poland, Germany, Greece) were welcomed for a period of 6 to 11 months in four associations: Euroscope (Embrun), Cinambule ( Cabrières-d'Avignon), the Avi Sourire and Eurocircle (Marseille). These associations set up projects for a variety of audiences but united on their difficulty to access information: a rural audience for Cinambule and Embrun, a public with a disability for the Avi Sourire, and an audience with less opportunities within Eurocircle. Thus, this project aimed to connect the structures and the citizens with the international, to inform on Europe and to promote the intercultural dialogue between the various actors of the project by integrating young European volunteers to the local life. Followed by their host tutors, the volunteers took part in various activities: interventions in schools, help with the organization of a festival, search for partners, communication on social networks, sports activities, or promotion of European citizenship. These activities were mostly aimed at a young audience, creating opportunities to promote international mobility and to provide a dynamic and attractive image of Europe. They cut across three main areas of action that join those of our association: sport with Avi Sourire, culture with Cinambule and Eurocircle Marseille (citizenship center) and international mobility with Eurocircle Marseille (professional training center). The project also aimed to promote the socio-professional integration of participants and their employability. The OECD figures at nearly 20% the unemployment rate of young people (between 15 and 24 years) in the European Union in 2016, which amounts to 24.6% for France alone ... and 47.4% in Greece; this mobility project and those accompanying it aim to mobilize young people, to give them confidence or self-confidence, to increase their autonomy, to make them discover a new field of activity and new ways of learning to through a non-formal education system. Thus, all the volunteers invested in this project came out of their studies or an internship, and were looking for a first international experience to acquire linguistic skills, to discover the associative environment, and put into practice their knowledge. Fabienne, a German volunteer welcomed at Eurocircle, was hired by the association at the end of her mission. IntegrAction is also part of a political context of rising identity retreats in the EU, and particularly in our region. With this project, we wanted to promote intercultural dialogue, bringing people together, and fight against discrimination and exclusion. It is therefore through the project to promote the active participation of young people, to give them the desire to engage in their country upon their return from project, especially at the local level, and to make them real ambassadors intercultural dialogue by inviting them to participate in as many local events as possible, and by allowing them to meet other young people, French or foreigners. This project has undergone some changes, in terms of reception and sending structures. These changes have also given rise to reflections on the method for supporting volunteers within Eurocircle itself, which has led to innovations that are still going on. The follow-up and accompaniment of the volunteers evolve permanently, according to the return made by the volunteers and their structures on their needs and their expectations for the future.

Sustainable Living Lab is an experiential learning project which immerses participants in a multi-cultural environment focused on living in community, daily yoga and meditation, performing practical tasks associated with living sustainably, and serving the wider community. The project is located at Ananda Gaorii Ashram, Farm and Learning Center, a 13 hectare organic farm and seminar facility in the Danish countryside about an hour from Copenhagen. Ananda Gaorii normally has around 20 to 30 residents, including staff, guests and volunteers from Europe and other countries. Ananda Gaorii hosts regular workshops, classes, retreats and trainings in the areas of yoga and meditation, health, permaculture and a wide range of subjects related to building sustainable and harmonious communities. It can accommodate up to 60 people indoors and up to a few hundred during the warmer months when camping is possible. Ananda Gaorii also has a commercial organic bakery which delivers bread and cakes to Copenhagen and the local area. Objectives of the project: Providing long term residents and participants (including the EVS volunteers) with non-formal learning experiences to strengthen their community living skills, deepen their personal growth, give them tools to improve their physical and mental health, broaden their vision and give them an opportunity to learn the values and competencies related to living sustainably and managing an active project; To offer short term learning experiences to those who attend the classes, retreats, workshops and trainings offered at Ananda Gaorii or who simply visit Ananda Gaorii to see what we are doing. This includes learning visits from local schools and high schools; To benefit the local community by organising activities which help build a more resilient community; To improve the organisational competencies of ourselves and our partners; To strengthen our engagement and cooperation with other organisations sharing similar goals; To improve the utility, comfort and educational value of our facilities for the benefit of future guests and participants; To improve the productive and educational value of our garden in line with the principles of permaculture; To promote volunteering. Activities of the project: planning and organising the daily life of the community; learning and practicing yoga and meditation including an option to learn how to teach basic yoga classes; building, maintenance, renovation and interior design of the project facilities; developing the garden, growing food and selling our produce at the local market; developing systems for recycling and efficient use of resources; creating small projects for generating income or improving the daily life of the community; hosting and promoting workshops, retreats and classes; looking after the project's website and social media; guiding and coordinating short term volunteers; hosting experiential learning visits from local schools and folk high schools; exploring the local region; music and learning evenings; swimming at the beach. Between ten to twenty short and long term volunteers were normally present on the project so the duties and responsibilities will be shared amongst all according to individual abilities, interests and the needs of the moment. Six volunteers were selected with skills and talents matching the activities of the project. All of the volunteers except one had completed their university and had some volunteering experience. Some had practical skills such as gardening and construction and others had people skills such as psychology, teaching yoga and speaking Arabic. Results and impacts of the project: Each of the volunteers increased their physical, mental and spiritual well-being, became more aware personally, socially and environmentally, and developed a broader variety of skill sets and self-confidence. Four of the volunteers completed their yoga teacher training and became teachers and for other volunteers and the local community. During the activity several hundred people passed through the project as course participants, visitors and volunteers, learning more about yoga and meditation, healthy living, living in community, growing food, and living sustainably. A major summer event was held focusing on social and economic alternatives addressing the causes of the current environmental, economic and social crises. Visits from local schools and folk high schools were hosted. A new generation of volunteers learned how to grow food organically, manage the garden, feed the community and sell our products successfully at the local market. Volunteers created and maintained a fleet of 20 bikes for the community by repairing old abandoned bikes. As an organisation our management skills and procedures developed greatly during this ten months as we learned to deal with the difficulties and challenges that inevitably arise in a large community consisting mostly of young volunteers.

"Four EVS volunteers, two Russians, one French and one German, the three youngerones at first volunteer experience, all for 6 months were engaged with ""Legambiente Trani"", Southof Italy, all four working together full time with a weekly calendar, improving their socio-cultural values spreading and sharing essential lifestyles to face environmental ongoing changes and to spread the use of alternative energy sources and the reuse of natural resources as a way for the mitigation and the adjustment of climate changes politics. The basic objective was to acquire and share environmental issues and then spread them through practical and informative activities with students, young people, prisoners, migrants and local communities. Trough awareness-raising and informational campaigns about recycling and through practical intervention of environmental safeguard, monitoring of green areas and urban vegetable gardens, coastal areas and rescue of sea turtles, detection of abusive landfills and discovering tours of the landscaping and cultural heritage the local community was actively involved, along the commitments of the local administration and local police, stimulated by the presence of european volunteers. A process of social and personal growth has been created by allowing volunteers to get specific knowledge about the organic and synergistic farming, techniques concerning the intercultural and forum-theatre, the environmental communication and “ecological reading” and the active listening moving them into ""communicators"" of a path of sustainable future. Green areas recovered through volunteers’ work become natural places for the citizens in order to meet and gather for social activities, strengthening social relationships as stimulate an educational community. The intimacy coming and the awareness-raising campaigns held in schools strengthed the participation of the local governance thanks to a greater bond of the general public, seen as an essential chance to appreciate more the multicultural diversity and to manage it with success and promoting social peace. The presence of volunteers EVS has allowed to establish agreements with schools, local administration and penitentiary administration for future volunteering activities in the defense of the environment. Plus, disseminating activity in local centers for migrants (in particular young girls) has aleft a sign of permanent cooperation agreement on intercultural issues. Three of the volunteer EVS have decided to come back to Italy and meet up during the summer and, with the support of Legambiente, develop an inter-associative way to continue the activities of spreading environmental issues."

"Active throughout the department, the Francas de Dordogne supports different children’s, youth’s, leaders’ and organisations’ projects. Dordogne is a rural and aging department, with an unequally distributed service offer on the department, children are gradually confronted with some issues related to interculturalism and young people often have difficulties to access to information in all areas of life (including the European mobility opportunities).The project ""Interculturalism in rural territory, in Francas de Dordogne"" aims to:> Encourage active participation of a young German girl with a project around interculturalism and the activities of the host organization (Community Education Association defending the values of citizenship for young people)> Allow not only to a volunteer to discover the French and Périgord culture, but also to present her own German culture> Enable young people to compare the existing voluntary systems in different countries, to exchange with other volunteers /unpaid (local) about the reasons to be involved, and to bring a reflection on volunteering with a more wide European vision > Encourage team cohesion through a questioning of existing practices and support for voluntary> Make children, youth (European and French), the team of the association, affiliated structures, elected officials, and more generally, the local population, more aware of the interest of the intercultural discovery and learning in a European dimension> Introduce Europe and especially Germany in a rural area of the public who has less opportunity> Illustrate what the EVS device is, having a concrete example (the volunteer) to provide access to information and inspire Périgord young people to get involved This project offered to a German volunteer, after Bachelor, the opportunity to discover daily life in the Dordogne, to be with youth, in information sessions in high schools, youth information centers and local missions; and children, through social and cultural activities, play and / or sports in connection with her original country. The mission started in September 2017 for 12 months. The volunteer had the time to integrate into the local community and within the organisation. She also discovered and understood how the different projects in France which take place on the school years. 12 months also gave her the opportunity to develop the best and thoroughly the project and its activities. The volunteer took initiatives and decisions about her actions. Contacts with local youth (in linguistic “Café” for example) promoted communication and integration of the young volunteer in the French community. Children and youth discovered another culture and made some of them want to live an experience abroad or to get involved in an international dimension project. Evolving in a Community Education Association, the German volunteer had the chance to practice and learn by doing, through non-formal education methods that are used daily in the Francas team. Then, she participated in a training course for youth leader (BAFA), led by our organization. This helped her to know better the work in les Francas, to know local young people and to learn to organize activities for children and youn people (group management, knowledge about childhood, leadership…) By allowing the young volunteer to develop skills and acquire knowledge in a non-formal way, EVS offered to the German girl a rich cultural experience. As for the departmental association of Francas de Dordogne, it shared the actions performed by the volunteer with its local, regional, national and European partners, in order to create, to lots of people, desire to get involved in the European Voluntary Service."