Young Volunteers Contributing to Combating Poverty and Social Exclusion

EVS project in EU ( Austria, Finland, Hungary, Iceland, Italy, Poland, Slovakia, Spain ) , African (Ghana, Nigeria, South Africa, Uganda), Asian (India, Indonesia, Nepal, Philippines ) and  Latin American (Colombia, Honduras, Mexico) countries.

20 long-term volunteer placements from August 2010 to May 2011

This reciprocal volunteer exchange project, which is dedicated to the European Year for Combating Poverty and Social Exclusion 2010, engages 12 young people from 10 EU countries in voluntary service projects dealing with poverty alleviation and inclusion in 4 African, 4 Asian and 3 Latin American countries as well as 9 volunteers from partner countries in similar projects in 8 European countries. The volunteers work and live  in a variety of  local host organisations such as shelters for street children, orphanages, micro-credit associations, soup kitchens, vocational training centres working with vulnerable groups, disabled care centres as well as migrant institutions, providing access to basic services as well as participating in advocacy activities of organisations and networks involved in combating poverty and social exclusion. By participating in this reciprocal EVS project, the volunteers will get a better understanding of cultural values and social practices in other countries which will have a  long-term impact on their personal development. The host communities will benefit from the time, energy and practical ideas brought by the volunteers, as well as their personal skills and a different cultural perspective.

Project Documentation

As part of their final report, the volunteers filmed part of their experience abroad. Below you can see nine examples of those short films. Enjoy!