ESC: SOCIAL VOLUNTEERING IN BAGES COUNTY – CAE

As we have already mentioned in the context section, our organization, as a local public administration, aims to offer support to the town councils of the municipalities in the fields and/or aspects that they require. In the case of the Youth Service, this support is not only offered to administrations but also to entities and associations in the region. In the year 2000 (the beginning of the youth mobility projects promoted from Europe) we asked the region if it would be interesting for them if the Consell Comarcal bet on this type of project. At that time, the answer was affirmative both in terms of administrations and associations. At the moment, we continue to be surethat we must promote international youth mobility projects and, to a greater extent, those that are related to social projects to support solidarity and the strengthening of social ties. These projects offer the young participants and those who they get involved with an enormous possibility of personal growth and, not only that since those associations/institutions that bet on these projects also gain with the involvement of a (or several) young person who brings a different and new look to the projects and methodologies which they work with. Society in general improves as such when there is a network of people who work for cohesion and solidarity among the community and, when this task is carried out through volunteering, the added value is multiplied. The Youth Service, like other areas of the Consell, works on some of its projects with groups of volunteers and in other projects the same professionals assume the volunteer role. With this we want to emphasize that we have a great conviction about the program and about the actions that derive from it. The Solidarity Corps allows us to work under an umbrella that welcomes us in the establishing of the network (at different levels) and, at the same time, offers us a financial, technical and legal framework in which to work on volunteer aspects