Throughout the European Union there are initiatives to involve young persons in volunteering and community service. Many schools have programs set up to assist those students interested in community service. Partners from Belgium, Hungary, Portugal, Spain and Turkey have come together to learn from one another about how to improve these activities. Of course, it is not only educators and administrators that are involved for students from each partner school will also participate in the 28 month project, which is funded by the European Union under the guise of the Erasmus+ framework. The goal of which is for partners schools to learn about each other’s volunteering and community service work, including EVS (European Volunteer Service) and VC (Volunteer Corps). Specifically, to increase and improve their own programs, which will in turn increase students awareness of and willingness to participate in EVS and VC.
At project meetings there will be two distinct, yet related types of meetings; TPMs (Transnational Partner Meeting) and Exchanges of Students. These will be held in each country with Turkey being the exception as only a TPM will be held there. A these project meetings each partner brings a GP (Good Practice) to the table. Participants will learn more about each other’s GPs and hands on experiences is gained in the actual community service. This peer-to-peer learning enables all participants to learn in the most conducive manner possible.