European Voluntary Service

EUROPEAN SOLIDARITY PROGRAM (ESC)

(0 312) 458 90 23

Ziya Gökalp Caddesi No:11 Kat 12 Kızılay Ankara

esc@cankaya.bel.tr

Çankaya in Brief

Çankaya is the central district of Ankara. It hosts the administrative organs of the legislative, executive and judiciary, as well as economic and diplomatic institutions. Çankaya, which is also the center of the main cultural and artistic activities of the capital; Çankaya has a texture that reflects the modernization of Turkey and the history of the Republic.

Our municipality offers service to a population of 921.999 (according to 2017 census) of which increases to 2 million population during the day; there are approximately 100 thousand students at 4 state universities and 7 private universities within its borders. Çankaya is like the capital within the capital and the center of education. In addition to educational institutions such as Military Academy, Police Academy, Gülhane Medical Academy, TODAIE, the National Library and TÜBITAK are also within our service boundaries.

Our municipality adopts an understanding that is transparent, accountable, based on participation and citizen satisfaction, taking into consideration public interest and benefit. In addition, Çankaya Municipality carries the mission of increasing the welfare and quality of life of Çankaya residents by providing municipal services within the framework of a friendly and solution-oriented service approach and protects the rights of its employees.

Çankaya Municipality has set the target of effective, widespread and qualified implementation of services for young people within the scope of the Strategic Plan. For this, it has adopted the strategies of opening a Youth Center, establishing a Youth Counseling Unit, organizing cultural events with young people, and cooperating with universities and non-governmental organizations.

Mayor Alper Taşdelen attaches special importance to both youth and EU projects in the New Generation Municipalism Program and encourages local studies in the field of intercultural interaction, international cooperation and EU citizenship.

We support the development of a culture of active citizenship, solidarity and tolerance among European youth and their active role in shaping the future of Europe by enabling volunteering, solidarity and networking activities within the scope of European Union projects. We empower young people by supporting mobility, non-formal education and intercultural dialogue between European countries. Thus, we aim to contribute to the development of a social capital among young people and to encourage their participation in democratic life locally and throughout Europe in accordance with the Lisbon Treaty.

The priorities adopted by the Commission, such as combating youth unemployment, EU citizenship and active participation in policy making, are also in line of effective, widespread and qualified implementation of services for young people included in the Strategic Plan of our Municipality.

Our expectation from the European Solidarity Program (ESC) and Erasmus+ youth projects in general is to help us improve the quality of the services we provide to the people of Çankaya. Recognition of transnational cultures will contribute to the establishment of a culture of peace and tolerance in the society and will provide children, young people and adults with the ability to communicate in a foreign language and with people from other cultures.

The presence of volunteers of Çankaya through these projects will set a precedent for the promotion and dissemination of volunteer work among young people both in our Municipality, Çankaya and in our country. It will encourage volunteer work among young people from Çankaya. In addition to establishing a transnational network of cooperation based on cooperation with European institutions and NGOs, the ESC will also serve to improve our institutional capacity.

In 2015, our Municipality was accredited by the Turkish National Agency as the host, sending and coordinating organization in European Voluntary Service projects, and our first project, the Volunteer Youth Bridge from Europe to Çankaya, was found eligible for a grant. Within the scope of the projects, volunteers from France and Italy have been hosted by Çankaya.

As a result of the projects we have partnered and accepted so far, many of our volunteers have been selected by our project partners to do voluntary service abroad.

As of the end of 2018, the European Voluntary Service (EVS) has been removed from the Erasmus + program and the European Solidarity Program (ESC) has become the main program offering volunteering opportunities for young people within the EU program.

What is the European Solidarity Program (ESC)?

The European Solidarity Corps (ESC) is a part of the ERASMUS+ Program, supported by the European Union and aimed at youth mobility through international projects. ESC brings together young people and institutions to develop solidarity among the European Communities. In this context, it offers young people volunteering, internship and job opportunities and/or the opportunity to run their own projects.

ESC provides opportunities for volunteering, solidarity and networking activities in projects that benefit society. It enables young people to engage in voluntary activities in NGOs or public institutions in different countries. Thanks to the intercultural dimension and informal approach, ESC is a unique opportunity to touch different cultures.

Within the framework of partnership consisting of a volunteer, sending organization and host organization; ESC, which is a commitment contract for a certain period of time, is not an internship program or employment of vocational training, youth employment, language course, study abroad, tourism activity or cheap labor.

ESC is free. Travel expenses, accommodation, food, health insurance and monthly allowance are covered. At the end of the relevant period, ESC volunteers receive a certificate called Youthpass.

Çankaya Municipality has been accredited as a coordinator, sending and host organization with a quality certificate in ESC services.

	ESC 11(NATIONAL)	ESC 11(INTERNATIONAL)	ESC 31
MAIN GOAL	VOLUNTEERING There are two types of activities: individual volunteering and volunteer teams.	VOLUNTEERING They are free events that allow young people (18-30 years old) to help organizations in their day-to-day work.	SOLIDARITY It is a domestic solidarity activity and projects developed and implemented by at least five young people who want to create positive change in local level.
CONTENT	Young people can be a volunteer in projects involving social inclusion, environment, culture and other issues in their home country.	Young people can be volunteer in projects involving social inclusion, environment, culture and other issues in program countries or neighboring partner countries.	The project should have a clear topic that the group of young people would like to explore together and that the project could include daily activities and should involve all participants. Solidarity Projects should address the main challenges within communities, but also clearly highlight the European added value.
PERIOD	The activity period is between 2 months and 12 months. The duration of the activity can start from 2 weeks in projects where young people with limited opportunities participate. The activity period for volunteer teams is between 2 weeks and 2 months.	The activity period is between 2 months and 12 months. The duration of the activity can start from 2 weeks in projects where young people with limited opportunities participate. The activity period for volunteer teams is between 2 weeks and 2 months.	Needs to be initiated, developed and implemented between 2 and 12 months.

What Topics Does It Include?

The European Solidarity Corps gives the applicants the opportunity to progress in different subjects in NGOs or public institutions.

Culture and art
Social domain
Protection of environmental and historical heritage
Media studies
Fight against exclusion
The fight against racism and xenophobia
Health
Solidarity economies
Sport
Cultural diversity
The future of Europe and similar issues

We can offer a wide range of activities for young volunteers between the ages of 18-30;

Related to artistic and cultural activities
Tolerant from other cultures to international exchanges.
Willing to spend time with children, victims of violence, environmental issues

Who Can Apply for ESC?

To apply for the ESC, the following conditions must be met:

Young people between the ages of 18-30. In exceptional cases, it can also be applied at the age of 17.
The volunteer must reside either in one of the participating countries or in one of the other partner countries.
There are no minimum requirements in education, experience or qualification.

Which Countries?

The list of countries running the ESC Project is as follows:

Countries Included in the Program: 27 EU countries and the United Kingdom, countries included in the European Economic Area (Iceland, Norway, North Macedonia, Liechtenstein) and Turkey.

Partner countries neighboring Europe: South East Europe (Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Serbia), Eastern Europe and the Caucasus (Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Moldova, Russia, Ukraine).

Partner countries around the Mediterranean: Algeria, Egypt, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco, Palestine, Syria, Tunisia.

How to Apply?

Contact the sending organization of your choice and schedule an appointment with them to get to know each other and define future steps.
https://europa.eu/youth/volunteering/organisations_en
For all activities of the European Solidarity Program young people are required to register on the European Youth Portal ( https://europa.eu/youth/home_en ). Young people can search for volunteering opportunities suitable for them on the portal. Young people can register on the portal at the age of 17, but cannot start any project until the age of 18. The projects of the European Solidarity Program cover the 18-30 age group. Young people who are members of the European Youth Portal will be given a 10-digit Participant Reference Number (PRN) code through the system. This code will be used by the applicant at the stage of filling out the application form, selecting participants, and in the final report stage in the European Solidarity Program projects that young people want to take part in.
Browse the database, find one or more than one places you prefer to apply. Applying for more than one project is preferable to being accepted.
Preparing an application: Every application needs the following documents.
- A motivation letter and CV in Europass Format
- You can find a lot of information on how to write a CV and motivation letter in the section on documents.
- Collect the documents and send them to the sending organisation, which allows you to contact the host organisations.

Necessary documents

- ERASMUS+ Program guide

https://ec.europa.eu/programmes/erasmus-plus/sites/default/files/2021-erasmusplus-programme-guide_v2_en.pdf

- Europass CV

CV preparation instructions:

https://europa.eu/europass/en/create-europass-cv

-CIGNA Health Insurance:

CIGNA is currently the insurance company that provides health care and insurance to ESC volunteers.

CIGNA website: https://www.cignahealthbenefits.com/en

- ERASMUS+ Online Language Help : http://erasmusplusols.eu/

- Youthpass

Youthpass step by step: https://www.youthpass.eu/en/publications