This project “AFS intercultural learning experience for life: volunteer work at a local project and integration into the local community” aimed to develop solidarity and promote tolerance among people with different cultural backgrounds. This was achieved by providing opportunities for intercultural dialogue, intercultural learning and integration in the local community. We did this by offering the volunteers the opportunity of working in a community service project. The volunteers were inserted into a multicultural environment in which they carry out several different tasks, always accompanied by staff members. This allowed them to learn and improve a multitude of skills, to nurture in them a sense of European citizenship and European values, and to provide them with a professional experience that ease their transition into the labor market. Plus, given the fact that they will contact regularly with people from different countries (by meeting other volunteers e.g.), it is also helpful for the volunteers as they are urged into learning and speaking foreign languages, thus promoting multilingualism, in accordance with the objectives of the Erasmus+ programme. The organizations benefited from the collaboration of the volunteers, with focus on the different working methods that each person brings to the workplace. This stimulated a learning process for both parties, in which one gain from the experience of the other and vice-versa. Also, through discussion and evaluation, the various actions, initiatives and processes were analyzed in order to optimize the overall quality of the project. Lastly, the local community benefited from interaction with foreign volunteers, which is key to promoting values such as tolerance, freedom, pluralism and intercultural and interreligious acceptance, among others. We projected to involve 22 youngsters over 2 years, but several mobilities were shortened, mainly due to the covid-pandemic. As a consequence, we were able to send 29 volunteers over 3 years. Each volunteer had an individual activity at one of the hosting projects. The local projects focussed on themes like education, media, agriculture, sustainability, animal care, health care, cultural heritage, intercultural education, child care and minorities. We had 2 participants that started their project in 2018 (of which 1 stayed until June 2019), 11 in 2019 (3 of which stayed until 2020) & 16 in 2020 (of which 4 stayed until 2021) in this project. By living in a host family, participants hosted in Belgium saw the differences in habits, personalities and opinions which made them think about their own habits, personality and opinions. The participants confronted their family with their own personalities, habits and culture, which maybe they did not really question before. In this way the benefits were on both sides: the family who they are living with, but also for the participants: there is - on both sides - an ever growing awareness of how a society has an impact on our daily life. With this knowledge competences to confront issues raised by persons coming from different starting situations was greatly improved. Because of the so-called 360° intercultural learning experience it was a life changing experience for the volunteer. The gain in understanding and awareness of different cultural, sociological, linguistic and economic situations made the volunteer more enthousiast about Europe and its values. It empowered him / her in terms of self-esteem and boosted his / her engagement towards a more open and democratic society. It is in the mission of AFS to build a more peaceful world and we strongly believe in the improvement of these competences by working as a volunteer and by living in a host family. Through the whole experience the Global Competence Certificate was guiding the participant on a personal level.The GCC is a combination of online learning and live training. By leveraging technology, we increase our reach to learners across the globe. The program brings the content of intercultural learning through a modular, blended, and experiential learning approach. It ensures that all participants receive a standard curriculum, which they can take online and at their own pace. This curriculum serves as the basis for further individual and group reflection and experimentation during live training components. Through forums in the online component, learners can connect with peers from around the world and begin reflecting on intercultural issues before they embark on their intercultural experience. The content of the online modules helps each participant reflect on his or her own cultural identity and supports participants as they learn about others, manage their emotions, and build meaningful relationships across differences.

Aim and the specific objectives of the ProjectTo develop intercultural sensitivity, and awareness, learning to look at, analyze and resolve problems from the perspective of cultural differences;To encourage cross-cultural dialogue;To promote non-for learning, opportunities of Erasmus+ program, including EVS, to tell about Youthpass.Project activities1 APV2 Main activities:Team building & icebreaking activities, indoor & outdoor gamesPresentation of Erasmus+ & YouthpassInt. exchange on different culturesReflection groupsSession on Youthpass, Final evolution & brainstorming, follow-up projects, future communication activitiesOUTCOME OF THE PROJECT The project reached the following results:•multicultural communication among the youngsters; •promotion of the idea of tolerance;•rural and urban youngsters, as well as Participants with fewer opportunities were encouraged to work together, practicing non-formal learning methods;•E+ was actively promoted, encouraging the youth for follow-up projects & promoting the outcome of the project and E+ in their communities.

"The strategic EVS project ""Discovering Europe - Learning Intercultural Core Competences"" enabled 6 young people to participate in a one-year EVS with the aim (Key action 1 mobility activity), on the one hand, to convey European values such as understanding democracy, openness and tolerance, participation and civic engagement. On the other hand, through the pedagogical accompaniment during the EVS and through additional educational offers, the participants acquired personal and labor market relevant key competences, such as intercultural understanding, project management and self-organization.The six European volunteers from the partner countries Spain, Italy and Turkey experienced cooperation in an open and pluralistic society in Germany learned to deal with their contradictions and were guided to their own civic engagement. In addition, the young people were able to acquire personal and labor-market-related skills and develop a career perspective for themselves.As sending organisations, partners have come together who have placed their emphasis on vocational preparation, further training of young people as well as on the acquisition of intercultural competence. The projects in Germany are active in intercultural education and also in the field of early childhood (and school) education."

1)Background and context of projectThe project “Changing Lives: Service to Others and Self-Leadership” was developed by Time for God (hereafter TfG) to increase accessibility to the existing TfG programme for volunteers with limited opportunities (primarily financial). EVS volunteers in this project were, therefore, part of a wider cohort undertaking the TfG programme: a 10-12 month placement in a UK volunteering project, supported by ongoing training and pastoral care provided by TfG. The volunteers who undertook this EVS project were invited (along with all volunteers on the TfG programme) to develop their skills, knowledge and experience through a combination of voluntary service and training. They were also invited to attend additional training events provided by an external provider (EIL), as well as to benefit from other elements of the EVS year (such as access to European Youthcards and Youthpass Certification).2)Objectives of the projectThe 7 objectives of this EVS project (see Section 2) were each designed to develop an aspect of the volunteers’ experience, knowledge, spirituality, involvement in society, work experience, inter-cultural experience and inter-cultural dialogue. 3)Number and profile of participantsThe 17 volunteers who undertook this project were recruited by 7 partner Sending Organisations (hereafter SOs), representing 5 countries (Ukraine, Germany, Hungary, Spain and Poland). The 17 volunteers served at 7 Receiving Organisations (hereafter ROs), 6 of which were in England, 1 in Scotland. 16 of the final project volunteer cohort served for the expected 10-12 month duration, 1 of the final cohort served for 7 months. The cohort was weighted towards females (with only 1 of the 17 volunteers being male). All 17 of the volunteers would have been unable to take part on a TfG year without EVS funding, due to economic disadvantage. Further information about individual volunteers’ backgrounds is presented in Section 7. 4)Description of activitiesAs the 17 volunteers were spread across 7 ROs, the range of activities undertaken by this cohort varied depending on the aims of their placement. Section 6 details the ROs, but in summary:-4 volunteers were placed at Church Army Marylebone (working with homeless women)-3 volunteers were placed at House of Light Catholic Care (working with people with learning disabilities)-4 volunteers were placed at The Lodge Trust CIO (working with people with learning disabilities)-2 volunteers were placed at Morley Community Church Trust (working with children, youth and the elderly)-1 volunteer was placed at Yeldall Christian Centres (working with men recovering from addictions)-2 volunteers were placed at Edinburgh Bethany House (working with homeless and vulnerable people)-1 volunteer was placed at Emmanuel United Reformed Church (working with the church community)To support the volunteers in carrying out these duties, and in their achieving the objectives of the project, each volunteer received support and training from:-Their SOs – who provided training before and after their EVS year, and ongoing support during the EVS year.-Their ROs – who provided specific training for their placement duties, ongoing supervision to facilitate volunteers’ reflection, and, in some cases, a “TfG-friend” (a person familiar with, but not employed by, the project to act as an additional pastoral support).-EIL – an external training provider who provided On Arrival and Mid-Term training sessions.-TfG – who provided an ongoing programme of training and reflection, and dedicated pastoral support and reflection for each volunteer.5)Results and impactTo gauge the results and impact of this project, volunteers were invited to complete two summative evaluations on their EVS year:-Participant Report-YouthpassSimilarly, ROs were invited to complete an end of year survey to gauge the impact of the project on their organisations.The impact on individual volunteers and ROs is considered in Section 8, but the sweep of evidence shows that this project has met its objectives. The TfG programme, of which this EVS project is part, significantly and positively impacted both volunteers and ROs. Two of the participating volunteers have even opted to undertake further (non-EVS) volunteering with their ROs, and all partner organisations look forward to future collaboration in EVS projects. This EVS project has also highlighted the need, with multiple partners, for all parties to clearly understand, and rigorously adhere to, EVS principles. Staffing changes (among other factors) can result in “blind-spots” over EVS principles, potentially resulting in some elements of a volunteer’s service being sub-par to EVS expectations. This is a valuable lesson, showing the importance of the Co-ordinating Organisation in communicating and “policing” the terms of the Volunteering Agreements among partner organisations and volunteers.

This project is a multi-measure framework including five job-shadowing activities that involved 8 professional youth workers working in the field of long-term youth exchanges. The project focused on peer learning for implementing at local/national level a common European approach to European and Active Citizenship (EAC) education within long term youth exchanges. The project built on the outcomes of three previous Youth in Action trainings targeting volunteers and aimed at developing a common European educational framework to include European and Active Citizenship content in long-term youth exchanges. These job shadowings involving professional youth workers were needed in order to include EAC content in exchange programmes in a systemic way. The project involved 6 organisations based in 5 different countries - Belgium, Germany, Sweden, Hungary and the Russian Federation. The applicant is the European umbrella organisation to which the other 5 belong and this partnership construction ensured the overall European approach while adapting the EAC educational framework to local and national realities. The job shadowing activities were reciprocal and took place in all countries involved.In particular, through these job shadowings, participating youth workers have :1) learnt from each other how their organisations are adapting the common approach to the different local/organisational realities, while keeping the overview on the common approach through the coordination of the project by EFIL; 2) experienced how European and Active citizenship are practically conveyed in a long-term youth exchange by taking part to themselves to youth seminars placed at different phases of the exchange (preparation pre-departure, exchange, re-entry/follow up) and volunteer trainings;3) used the newly acquired awareness on European and Active Citizenship (EAC) and the best practices on the implementation of the common framework to better promote the exchange programme with EAC content (EFIL’s European Citizenship Trimester Programme-ECTP) to participants and the communities engaged in the exchange, and coordinate better the volunteers’ expertise on this topic.Participants learned through peer coaching, continuous reflection on learning and monitoring of implementation of action plans, sharing of practices, hands-on coaching and training young exchange participants and volunteers on the EAC topic.The project have impacted the youth workers’ professional and personal development, their organisations and the overall EFIL network comprising 28 European countries, the quality of EAC content in the exchange programmes offered to about 6000 Europeans every year, the visibility of European and Active Citizenship in the local communities of inbound and outbound exchange participants.