ESC: CONCF-1305-ESC - A CHAPEL IN PROVENCE - 06/07-27/07

Concordia is a French non-governmental and non-profit organization for popular education ; Created in 1950, after the second world war, its first goals were to promote peace and tolerance between youngsters from Germany, GB and France, by participating actively to the reconstruction (monuments, infrastructures, housing…). Our motto, “Together, Elsewhere, Differently” is still summarizing Concordia’s today’s goals, which are : - Contributing to social life animation by the participation of french and foreign volunteers to the realization of general interest civil tasks. - Stimulating people and ideas’ circulation by international exchanges in order for everyone to know and understand each other for peace. - Promoting an educative project, supporting people’s active citizenship for a democratic, united and participative society, with an emphasis on european and international mobility for youngsters with fewer opportunities. Concordia’s main activity – at the national or regional scale – is to implement international workcamps for youngsters. When a municipality contacts us, we organize the venue of french and international volunteers in order to realize general interest civil tasks during two or three weeks. In the same time, Concordia is also promoting volunteering in general and making sure about the respect of its values ; in this capacity, we allow hosting organizations to benefit from volunteers help , and we help the volunteers with a strong mentoring during their experience. Even if we have sent two youngsters in Europe in 2020, Concordia Paca’s great beginning with the European Solidarity Corps have been slowed down by the global epidemy and the borders issues. Concordia is acting through several “Délégations” since the association started ; this allows us to take action both close to the territory and at the national scale in order to implement large-scale projects via the national head office in Paris. Thanks to this, we are active members of local, national and international alliances : Concordia Paca is member of the CAMI (international mobility actors in Paca Region) and of the CORAC (workcamps actors in Paca Region), but also member of the CRAJEP and Cotravaux at the national scale. Our international alliances are : CCSVI (from the Unesco) and the Alliance of Voluntary Service Organisations. Our commitments and goals allowed us to get a certification from the French Ministry of Environment since 1978, from the Youth & Sports Ministry since 2005 and from the Civic Service Agency since 2010. Concordia Paca is effective in th whole Paca Region, implementing projects in each department these last years. Our goals and the regional socio-economic context leads us to work mainly towards youngsters with fewer opportunities. This lack of opportunities may come from their social situation (partnerships with children’s homes, MECS, etc.), from their geographical situation (we implement projects in the very rural territories) and/or from their economical situation. In a continuous development since 2016, the Paca delegation wishes to continue its European commitment with ESC projects : either for individual volunteering (hosting and sending) or for volunteering groups (housing and sending), Concordia Paca is intimately convinced that participants, organizations and local communities will benefit from our ESC projects.