European System for Recognition And Validation Of Non-formal & Informal Youth Learning Deriving From Voluntary Civil Service Erasmus Project

Project Title

European System for Recognition And Validation Of Non-formal & Informal Youth Learning Deriving From Voluntary Civil Service

Project Key Action

This project related with these key action: Cooperation for innovation and the exchange of good practices

Project Action Type

This project related with this action type : Strategic Partnerships for youth

Project Call Year

This project’s Call Year is 2014

Project Topics

This project is related with these Project Topics: Overcoming skills mismatches (basic/transversal); Youth (Participation, Youth Work, Youth Policy) ; Recognition (non-formal and informal learning/credits)

Project Summary

The research performed by the EURAVON projects evidenced that each and every day millions of people around the world give of their time and energy to make a difference through volunteering. The survey participants confirmed that the volunteering is a pathway to integration and employment and a key factor for improving their social cohesion.Above all, volunteering translates the fundamental values of justice, solidarity, inclusion and citizenship. Volunteers help shape the society and provide the impetus for the social and economic development. Volunteering produces a wide array of impacts on the volunteers themselves, on the beneficiaries of their activities, on the organizations through which at least some of the activity is carried out, and on the quality of life more generally in the societies in which the volunteers operate. The importance of volunteering for the EU’s economy, society and individuals has long been acknowledged by EU policy makers. 92 to 94 million adults are involved in volunteering in the EU (23% of all Europeans over 18 years old). Today you may be the person with the ability to help, but tomorrow you may be the recipient of someone else’s volunteer effort. Volunteering is prioritized field of the EU Commission which supports an appropriate volunteering dimension, promoting notably cross-border volunteering.

By recognition and validation of volunteers’ skills the EURAVON project supports the Council Decision (2010/37/EC) states volunteering is a core expression of civic participation and democracy, putting European values such as solidarity & non-discrimination into action and contributing to the harmonious development of our societies. EURAVON’s volunteering topic is an important creator of human and social capital, a pathway to integration and employment and a key factor for improving social cohesion.

During its duration the EURAVON project has addressed the development, implementation, seeking accreditation and EU mainstreaming of methodology and EURAVON tool for recognition, validation and certification non-formal and informal learning deriving from voluntary civil services’ experience of youth (16-29 years old). As an outcome this system provide a thoroughly tested and piloted “Declaration of competencies” by 258 EU citizens who have participated in the piloting phase of the project.

The EURAVON partnership has developed the following intellectual outputs (IO):
IO1: Consolidated survey findings report identifying the volunteers’ training needs and gaps in recognition and assessment of their competencies;
IO2: EURAVON system for recognition, validation and certification non-formal and informal learning deriving from volunteering of youth;
IO3: Guide for elaboration of the monitoring in the voluntary civil service
IO4: Toolkit for enhancement of key and transversal competencies
IO5: Usability report presenting results from testing in Bulgaria, Cyprus, The Netherlands and Turkey.
IO6: Project website & e-learning platform

An EURAVON’s enhanced key competencies modules have been produced. It supports the improvement of the access of youth’ volunteers to the knowledge society as well as the promotion of their active citizenship. The mutual benefits of volunteering which stem from the migration of non-member state country Volunteers (by involvement of Turkey as initiator of such project) to the EU were taken into account by the EURAVON partnership. In this context EURAVON confirmed its close connection with the EU Council Resolution on a renewed framework for European cooperation in the youth field (2010-2018) – EU Youth Strategy and fully supports the Pathways 2.0 towards recognition of non-formal learning/education and of youth work in Europe. Recognition of the volunteering activities which EURAVON provides enhanced the motivation to the current and potential volunteers to involve into the volunteering activities (see IO5) in Turkey, Bulgaria, The Netherlands and Cyprus. This recognition prompt to help the volunteers in their careers advancement. Additionally, this EURAVON recognition of the volunteering activities gives them a feeling that society recognized their civic services and volunteers feel themselves socially more inclusive.

EU Grant (Eur)

Funding of the project from EU: 251452,67 Eur

Project Coordinator

YILDIRIM BEYAZIT UNIVERSITESI & Country: TR

Project Partners

• Uluslarasi Bilim, Inovasyon, Teknoloji ve Egitimi Destekleme Dernegi
• IDRYMA KOINONIKOPOLITIKON MELETON
• Calisma ve Sosyal Guvenlik Egitim ve Arastirma Merkezi
• INTERPROJECTS
• EDOS Foundation
• MARIE CURIE ASSOCIATION – MCA