Federal Minister Bogner-Strauß: European Solidarity Corps promotes involvement of young people

Juliane Bogner‑Strauß and President of EU Parliament Antonio Tajani sign legal act

“Young people want to show their solidarity. The European Solidarity Corps offers them a great opportunity to get involved in charitable projects in their own country or abroad”,

said Juliane Bogner‑Strauß, Federal Minister for Women, Families and Youth, at the signing of the legal act for the European Solidarity Corps with the President of the European Parliament Antonio Tajani.

The European Solidarity Corps allows young people between the ages of 18 and 30 to gain up to 12 months’ hands-on experience in European organisations that are geared towards benefitting society. According to Bogner‑Strauß, the main emphasis is on supporting social activities in fields such as education, youth work, health, environmental protection and civil protection. A total funding budget of 375.6 million euros has been set aside to support projects throughout Europe from 2018 to 2020.

In the interests of ensuring a clear distinction between voluntary work and professional activities, it is important “to prevent participating organisations from making young people carry out unpaid work that should, in fact, be executed by qualified workers”, the Federal Minister stressed.

Voluntary activities are limited to 12 months, while work placements can last for between 2 and 6 months. In order to take part in the programme, organisations require a “quality label”, which is subject to regular checks and can also be withdrawn from the organisations. The deadline to apply for project funding from the European Solidarity Corps is 16 October 2018, and the budget (for applications from Austria) currently stands at roughly 1.1 million euros. Applications can be submitted online using the form at www.solidaritaetskorps.at