European Voluntary Service

EVS - an intercultural experience -

EVS is a program within the Youth Program of the European Commission. This program covers major expenses of your stay in a foreign country in exchange for volunteer work. EVS may be regarded as the “Erasmus” of volunteering.

Unlike Erasmus, EVS follows the concept of non-formal education. Non-formal Education follows the belief that the best way to experience another culture isby learning another language and improving yourself by working actively in another country. In an EVS you will work with local people in the non-profit field, preferably in the countries’ language. Activities vary heavily: from social work to designing the program of a radio station up to researching wild species in the nature; the catalogue of EVS projects offers a wide variety of tasks.

What does EVS provide?

In a nutshell, EVS is a grant for volunteering. The European Commission will cover the accommodation, language courses, a decent insurance and above all seminars with other European volunteers. The European Voluntary Service will probably not cover all your expenses, but it certainly provides significant help in integrating you in the country of choice.

Where can I do an EVS?

The common European Voluntary Service takes up 6 to 12 months. Just as the word “European” in European Voluntary Service reveals, one can do an EVS in any European country. The probability to find an EVS varies from country to country.

There are higher requests for some countries (Spain, France, Great Britan), whereas others are easier to obtain (Finland, Bulgaria). If one is interested in a simpler, easy process of application and acceptance to maximize the experience, it is recommendable to choose a less popular country. This not only facilitates the application, but also maximizes the learning possibilities and often leads to great adventures and discoveries.

How to make an EVS?

Advantages are obvious, but there are many drawbacks: the application procedure is long and confusing.

1. The first step lies in searching for a suitable hosting organization – project in the EVS-Databank. When you found a suitable project, you must submit an application. Be warned, most project leaders are busy and therefore seldom reply, but do not lose your motivation and keep writing. In most cases you will have a positive reply after the 10th or 15th application.
2. Second, consult a home (sending) organization in your country.  The home organization is an NGO in your country that shall support you throughout your EVS experience. They will write a contract, monitor your service and provide training before and after your EVS.
3. Third, sign a cooperation contract between your home (sending) organization and the hosting project organization and send it to the National Agency of the desired country. What follows next is a cruel and long waiting time. It takes approximately 3 months until you receive a reply from the National Agency with either your confirmation or denial; but be positive: in most cases a confirmation enters your letterbox, so that in a short time period you will take up to the land of your choice.

Experiences

Here are some testimonials from people who have participated in the EVS in the Netherlands. Ruben and Liisa work for the Dutch NGO Loesje in Arnhem. We asked them to give a small in view in their EVS life:

Ruben (Spain): “Although in the beginning a big question mark was put over this new chapter in my life, my experience so far is nothing but awesome. My fears were mainly about the adaptation to a new country or not feeling useful in my project. After my first month here I’m really sure about one thing: when you have great people around, the problems get so small that you don’t care about them anymore. And for me that is what my EVS is about, great people and great moments that will be a part of me for the rest of my life… and loads of cookies.”

Liisa(Estonia): “A lot of people whom I have met during this rather short time have been amazed that I had the courage to come here. Personally I didn’t even think about fear before I came here. I’m here to learn how to live experiences from the unknown and so far it has been a great flow to go with: people, love, inspiration and joy of life around me. Late night conversations with a person you’ve never met before pleasantly make much of the unknown more known. This is the time of my life”

Usefull links

The EVS Databank: from social work to designing the program of a radio station up to researching wild species in the nature; the catalogue of EVS projects offers a wide variety of tasks.

The EVS site of the European commision: Thorough description of the European Voluntary Service

20 years youth programs: A informative, slight dry video on the Youth projects offered by the Commission

Article written by Nikolas Papageorgiou & Christina Opris