ERASMUSPLUS

European Solidarity Corps – Information in English

With Eastpackers, you can have a volunteering experience abroad for free. We finance this with a subsidy from the EU (Erasmus+), hence you will not have to pay to participate. In fact, you even get pocket money every month!

This EU program is called 'European Solidarity Corps' and it is a unique opportunity for anyone between 18 and 30 to gain experience abroad. The projects usually last between 5 and 12 months and you can volunteer with one of the 7000 approved organizations spread across all EU Member States and the EU's neighboring countries, including North Africa, the Balkans, Caucasus, Russia and the Middle-East.

Volunteering with the European Solidarity Corps includes:
– Free trip
– Free accommodation
– Free language course
– Free additional health insurance
– Free trainings (3)
– A personal mentor who is always there for you;
+ pocket money
+ compensation for food/drinks
+ reimbursement of any visa costs and vaccination costs

You can find a project in four different ways:

1 Sign up via the ESC website. Here you can leave your details and wishes. The organizations that are looking for volunteers can then contact you if you fit the profile they are looking for.

2. Go to the portal with all organizations that currently have an open vacancy. These are hundreds of organizations that are looking for volunteers for a specific date. These vacancies contain some contact details to apply.

3. Visit the website of our partners who have an open position. These organizations often work exclusively with Eastpackers and offer high quality guidance and an enriching learning experience. The placement can be quite fast with them.

4. Have a look at the large European database in which all organizations participating in ESC projects can be found. This is a database with more than 7000 organizations - not all of them currently have an open vacancy. So you first have to get in touch with them to ask if they have room for you and send an open application.

How to start?

The ESC offers many possibilities. It is sometimes difficult to get an overview of all the options available. The program is also quite popular because of the good financial conditions it offers, so it can be a challenge to find a project yourself.

Eastpackers will help you with this. You will have an intake interview, a personal mentor and a placement guarantee from us. We will help you until you find a project that suits you. We will then arrange your trip, insurance and preparatory training. During your project, we will also keep in touch with you so that you would always get help and support when needed.

You can only join the European Solidarity Corps if you are sent (and accompanied) by an organization from your own country. This way, the European Union guarantees the quality of the program.

Register first via the Eastpackers registration form

 

Experiences

Do you want to know how some of the volunteers sent abroad by Eastpackers experienced their ESC time? Read their testimonials here.

Frequently Asked Questions

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