The European Commission has opened the first vacancies for its EU Aid Volunteers initiative, meant to bring together volunteers and organisations from different countries to provide practical support to humanitarian aid projects worldwide.

The European Commission has opened the first vacancies for its EU Aid Volunteers initiative. More other positions will follow over the course of the summer.

The new initiative is meant to bring together volunteers and organisations from different countries, as so to provide practical support to humanitarian aid projects and contribute to the support of the local capacity and resilience of communities affected by disasters.

“I am very pleased to announce that we will soon see our EU Aid volunteers on the ground, working together with local communities to better prepare for disasters,” said Christos Stylianides, European Commissioner for Humanitarian aid and Crisis management, “The EU Aid Volunteers initiative puts European solidarity into action to help people affected by disasters worldwide.”

Indeed, the first volunteers will be deployed worldwide in disaster-affected regions at the end of 2016, following thorough training.

The EU Aid Volunteers Initiative: volunteers from various countries to support humanitarian projects worldwide

The EU Aid Volunteers Initiative brings together volunteers and organisations from different countries to be deployed to humanitarian projects worldwide. A list of EU Aid Volunteers vacancies is provided in the European Commission website.

Nevertheless, they will not be placed in acute emergency situations. Their main task is to work with local communities in order to provide practical support to humanitarian projects.

The initiative, open to EU citizens from the age of 18, offers opportunities for junior and senior volunteers with diverse qualifications and skills in various areas, including political science, engineering, economics, social sciences, accounting and education.

Training, accommodation and travel costs of EU Aid Volunteers will be covered by the EU. They may also have the possibility to undertake additional training in a European humanitarian organisation before deployment.

EU Funds, a networking platform and 4,000 volunteers across the world

In the mind of the European Commission, 4,000 people will be assigned temporarily to humanitarian organisations in order to support projects worldwide from 2016 to 2020. More 10,000 opportunities will be also made available for online volunteers to provide support.

Soon, a EU Aid Volunteers networking platform will be launched to support the creation of partnerships and collaboration between projects, to house the online volunteering activities and to allow EU Aid Volunteers to share their stories from the field.

Managed by the Commission’s Education, Audio-visual and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA), the EU Aid Volunteers initiative also provides for funding opportunities.

On one hand, funds will be made available for projects submitted by consortia of EU-based and non-EU based organisations intended to strengthen the capacity of non-EU based organisations in preparing and responding to humanitarian crises as well as in improving their volunteer management. On the other, the initiative will also provide funding for actions that will reinforce the technical capacity of EU-based organisations to comply with the standards and procedures that are required to participate in the EU Aid Volunteers initiative.

For more information on the rules and procedures for participating organisations, consult the EU Aid Volunteers page.