ESC: For Italian Volunteers: International Volunteering in Poland

Our Association operates in the field of youth mobility since 2007, while some professionals who are working in the association already work for many years on European projects regarding youth, mobility, equal opportunity, entrepreneurship and labour market. From the start of its activities Porta Nuova Europa provides information and guidance activities at local level addressed to young people and third sector organizations about mobility opportunities in the field of training and education, employment and volunteering offered by the programs of the European Community. We carry out the following activities: • Information, awareness and guidance activities, offering information about European Programs regarding culture, training and education, mobility and voluntary service • training activities within the framework of the European Programs regarding the same fields • development and coordination of European projects in the field of formal and non-formal education, culture, active citizenship and youth • support in European partner research and coordination of transnational activities • participation in and development of projects and initiatives at local, national and European level. Our target group is composed by youngsters (school- or university graduates, students, unemployed …) on one hand and third sector organizations and their operators on the other hand. The association is part of a local network of schools, vocational training centers, youth information centers and various nonprofit organizations. We also collaborate with the University of Pavia and various local public institutions. Since March 2010, our Association is accredited as Sending and Coordination Organisation for projects of European Voluntary Service / European Solidarity Corps. Since December 2013, our Association is member of the Italian Euroguidance network. Euroguidance is a European network of national resource and information centers for guidance and operate in about 35 countries. Since its establishment, Porta Nuova Europa has coordinated and participated in several European projects, mainly within the framework of Youth in Action, Lifelong Learning, Erasmus+ and European Solidarity Corps Programs and principally regarding volunteering and mobility topics (European Volunteering Service – EVS/ European Solidarity Corps – ESC, job-shadowing, training courses, partnership projects, VET mobility projects, ….). Under the Youth in Action programme (2007- 2013) and the Erasmus + Programme (2014 – 2020), Porta Nuova Europa was also partner in a Job Shadowings, Youth Exchanges and Strategic Partnership projects. Porta Nuova Europa has coordinated and has been involved in European projects that have had a common goal: the exchange of good practices between European organizations and their operators / staff with the final objective to improve the quality of the accompaniment of the young people. This projects have enabled the organization’s staff to acquire (new) skills in development and management of European projects that are principally related to the guidance and support of young people towards European mobility. Concerning the European Solidarity Corps, in the last years, we mainly worked as a sending / supporting organisation, accompanying about 50 / 60 volunteers per year and carrying out the following activities: - information activities among local youngsters about the EVS/ESC program through web, social networks and information meetings/ webinars - guidance activities supporting youngsters in defining their personal and professional learning objectives - recruiting and selection activities in order to safeguard a good matching between candidates and hosting organizations. - predeparture meetings in order to prepare the volunteer on new cultural, practical and social aspects to coop with in the destination country - monitoring activities during the EVS/ESC project, through regular contact via mail, WhatsApp messages and skype/zoom online meetings with the volunteers and hosting organizations - follow-up activities involving the volunteers in running EVS/ESC activities such as information meetings, future projects, writing articles, testimonial of experiences.