Eupa Annual Volunteering Event 2018: Enhancing volunteering through solidarity projects

On Friday, 6 July the European Union Programmes Agency held its annual Volunteering Event, entitled Enhancing Volunteering through Solidarity Projects, at San Anton Palace. The event, under the patronage of Marie-Louise Coleiro Preca, President of Malta, convened together young people from Malta and Europe who had participated in voluntary placement projects funded by the European Commission under the Erasmus+ Programme, dealing with topics including the environment, culture, social services, refugees, children and the elderly.

Representatives of 20 voluntary organisations attended the event. The first part was addressed by President Coleiro Preca, parliamentary secretary Aaron Farrugia MP and Joseph Schembri, Eupa’s CEO.

Introducing the event, Schembri highlighted the agency’s role facilitating youths’ engagement in voluntary projects benefitting from Erasmus+, that is currently fully transitioning to the European Solidarity Corps.

He explained how the Solidarity Corps not only provides a volunteering framework for youths across Europe, but also creates opportunities for them to improve their skills and labour market prospects.

In fact, by autumn the first calls for an even wider range of traineeships and volunteering projects will be made possible by the Solidarity Corps’ €341.5m budget for 20182020. This illustrates the EC’s efforts to increase the utilisation of funds allocated to the voluntary strand of the Solidarity Corps, especially in Malta and other countries performing very well where employment figures are concerned.

In their address, both President Coleiro Preca and parliamentary secretary Farrugia highlighted their personal involvement, since their youth, in the voluntary sector and how this enabled them to better appreciate not just the social realities that they got in touch with, but also the crucial role which the EC played in mobilising youths to participate. Such a centralised role by the EC enabled hosting organisations to consolidate their success made possible through the guidance they receive from national agencies to achieve accreditation and quality certification as part of the vetting process related to the voluntary projects concerned.

President Coleiro Preca highlighted that “[i]t is important for all the young people of Europe to work together, to make real difference in their own lives, in the lives of their peers and communities, and across Europe” and that the Solidarity Corps provided the ideal framework for youths to “working in synergy across Europe to bring the necessary respect and appreciation for each other and for our diversity”.

Members of a discussion panel representing the participating volunteering organisations and moderated by Marvic Ann Debono, Programme manager and head of Youth Sector at the Eupa, elaborated upon their experiences in the voluntary sector. Panel participants included Sergey Begun (Ċentru Tbexbix), Emer Earley (Inspire Foundation), Svitlana Falenda (Emergency Response & Rescue Corps), Beatriz Costa (Migrant Offshore Aid Station), Abraham Azzopardi (PRISMS) and Keith Cachia (Move).

Concluding the event, in the adjacent San Anton Gardens, members of the participating voluntary organisations had the opportunity to join the Corps through the European Youth Portal by accessing the following link: https://europa.eu/youth/solidarity_en