The Erasmus+ programme offers young people the chance to make a difference through the European Voluntary Service.

The European Voluntary Service (EVS) gives young people the opportunity to express their personal commitment through full-time voluntary work in a foreign country within or outside the EU.

The EVS aims to develop solidarity, mutual understanding and toleranceamong young people, while contributing to strengthening social cohesion and promoting active citizenship.

An EVS project involves a triangular partnership: a volunteer, a sending organisation, and a host organisation. One of the countries involved in a project must be an EU Member State or an accession country.

Are you aged 17-30 and willing to spend from 2 weeks to 12 months abroad as an EVS Volunteer? Start by having a look at the European Youth Portal for information, volunteering opportunities, and the database of EVS organisations.
Are you an organisation willing to develop an EVS project? The Erasmus+ Programme Guide provides detailed information about the conditions for participating. In most cases, the application for funding and accreditation is submitted via the Erasmus+ National Agencies in each country participating in the programme. The Agencies are the primary information sources for the users of the programme: organisations are invited to contact them for information and advice.

The first step of a prospective volunteer is to find and contact a sending organisation and together with them consult the database of approved hosts.

All volunteers who have completed their EVS project are entitled to a certificate called a Youthpass signed by the Head of the Youth Agency. This certificate validates their period of voluntary service and provides details of the activities in which they were involved. Volunteers from the countries involved also have the possibility to benefit from the Youth initiative action, and get involved in other Community programmes in general.