ESC: Youth Educ(Action) in Voluntared

Escuela Diocesana de Educadores de Juventud (Voluntared), is a non-profit association and a diocesan social action entity based in Burgos and established in 1998 on 3 fundamental pillars: 1. Social Intervention The association develops and manages socio-educational, voluntary and civic participation projects and programmes. Voluntared also acts as an intermediary between entities and job seekers, developing guidance, training and information programmes. The association also promotes social participation and voluntary action to support volunteering organisations in order to improve the management and dynamism of their actions. One part of this action is carried out by the "Volunteering Office", through a complete package of actions (awareness, intermediation, promotion, training, support) and another part is managed by Voluntared itself, which works in a network with associations and bodies in the city. Voluntared actively participates in the promotion of the associative movement in Burgos, collaborating in its consolidation and structuring of the third sector and strengthening its capacity for dialogue and social impact. This commitment is translated into a permanent advisory and resource function and active participation in networks of associations. 2. Training Voluntared is committed to socio-educational action and in particular to the promotion of youth associations and the development of educational programmes for free time. This action is mainly carried out through its "Leisure Time School". Part of the association's educational action is also its "Vocational Training Centre for Employment", through which various certificates of professionalism are issued (social field, socio-cultural and community services, environmental management and information and communication management). 3. Infrastructure, resources and youth hostels The association has various resources and structures for the development of its own projects or those of third parties. Voluntared has a specialised Documentation Centre, a Youth Information Point and an infrastructure network that currently consists of three youth hostels and three houses. Since our constitution, we have recognised social participation and youth as fundamental pillars of our work, trying to train and qualify ourselves through non-formal education and participation in socio-educational projects and programmes. The objectives of the association are the following: - To promote and defend equal opportunities and full citizenship for people and groups, paying special attention to the inclusion of the most disadvantaged groups, through the development of social, educational and cultural intervention programmes that contribute to the promotion of a participatory and supportive society; - Studies in the field of socio-cultural animation, non-formal education and leisure, social services, the environment and education for sustainability - Proposing, offering and managing projects and services in the field of Social, Cultural and Educational Services and, in particular, Socio-cultural Animation and Education for the Leisure Time for associations, public and/or private bodies, with special attention to the following areas of intervention: youth information, management of children's and young people's facilities, expression and animation services, management of cultural facilities, management of hostels and other infrastructures, etc; - Working on the promotion and inclusion of the most disadvantaged groups, paying special attention to children, adolescents and young people, the elderly, women, ex-drug addicts, the immigrant population, the disabled and the homeless; - The promotion of employment and social and labour integration of people with difficulties in accessing the labour market, promoting, if necessary, the creation of labour integration companies. Our action is addressed to the whole population of Burgos and its province, in order to promote and consolidate a social network based on solidarity and active participation of citizens.