European Volunteering and Integration through Cultural Experience

ended

The EU-VOICE project aims to support the integration of Third Country Nationals (TCN) and to promote exchanges between TCNs and host-country nationals through a 25-days volunteering experience in the cultural sector for 320 people, mainly TCNs, in 5 EU countries affected by high migration rates (IT,GR,IE,UK,AT). The frame of such volunteering experience is provided by the European Year of Cultural Heritage which is a good opportunity to reinforce a sense of belonging to a common European space. The project is in line with the EU’s Action Plan on the Integration of Third-Country Nationals (7/06/2016) that promotes an inclusive and prosperous society through the integration of 20 million non-EU nationals residing legally in the EU and according to many studies volunteering contributes significantly to social inclusion. The project develops a multidisciplinary approach as a result of the exchange of best practices and tools related to social inclusion of the target group tested by the partnership, as well as other EU materials on migrant volunteering in the cultural sector. The short-term beneficiaries are partner organisations’ staff and volunteers (around 46.000 people), who will benefit from EU methodologies and tools to prepare TCN for a volunteering period in the cultural sector. The project activities (workshops to promote volunteering, seminars on active EU citizenship, training to prepare for volunteering and a 25-days Cultural Volunteering Experience) will involve min. 320 direct medium-term beneficiaires (of whom 70% TCN and 30% women to ensure gender mainstreaming). Thanks to a series of Valorisation activities (Documentary Film on project experience, Volunteer Caravan of dissemination events in partner and other EU countries, local TV and Radio programmes) other TCN will be empowered and local population will be more aware on intercultural issues and volunteering (long-term beneficiaries).