European Solidarity Corps
The European Solidarity Corps
The European Solidarity Corps (ESC) forms part of European youth development. It is aimed at young people between the ages of 18 - 35 from varying social backgrounds and with different limitations. The objective is to particularly support young people who have fewer opportunities to access EU funding programmes in comparison to their peers. Under the programme, a variety of creative projects with a cultural focus can be funded. In this regard, cultural projects should feature civil society or political components and facilitate young people’s engagement and contribution to positive social change.
Contact
Here you can find the contact points for the ESC in Germany and Austria. Use the filter to find your local contact!
Overview
The European Solidarity Corps programme provides funding for young people’s projects that address challenges in society and that seek solutions to these problems in a creative way. Cultural projects can especially be realised in the 2nd action area, 'Solidarity Projects'. The Solidarity Projects are primarily intended to give young people with fewer opportunities the chance to pursue their own project ideas. As such, funding can also be applied for without having the backing of an organisation.
The ESC’s thematic priorities
- Inclusion and diversity
- Sustainability, climate and environmental protection
- Involvement in democratic life
- Digital transformation
- Prevention and assistance in the health sector
There are two ways in which these priorities can be reflected by the projects. On the one hand, the priorities can make up the main focus of the project in terms of content and, on the other hand, the priorities should be taken into account in the implementation of the project.
As far as content is concerned, the activities can to a large extent be designed freely, as long as the projects address at least one of the above-mentioned priorities. The priorities of 'Inclusion and Diversity, Sustainability, Environmental and Climate Protection and Digital Transformation', for example, are well suited for cultural projects. The following questions may prove helpful in the project conception:
- What are the social challenges we can identify?
- Where is positive social change needed?
- How can our project contribute to solving these challenges in society?
- Which cultural and creative forms of expression do we wish to develop in our project?
In the previous programme period, the following projects from the cultural received funding from the European Solidarity Corps:
- A theatre group that has staged a play on the subject of inclusion of people with disabilities, which considers the issue of inclusion in the composition of the group as well as in the allocation of the parts.
- An urban gardening project with neighbours from an adjacent refugee shelter (strengthening cultural exchange and sustainability in the city)
- A photography project focusing on 'European identity in my city'
- A poetry slam series 'Poetry against the Right' dealing with the topic of hostility towards democracy
- Rubbish collection campaigns accompanied by upcycling workshops 'From Rubbish to Art' and a touring exhibition of the best pieces of art
- Groups of young people with at least 5 members between the ages of 18 and 30
- Group members must live in one of the countries eligible for funding and the project must also be carried out in that country
No additional European partners are necessary with regard to Solidarity Projects.
You can find further information on eligible countries here.
Im Programm Europäisches Solidaritätskorps werden Projekte junger Menschen gefördert, die gesellschaftliche Herausforderungen adressieren und auf kreative Weise Lösungen für diese Probleme finden. Kulturelle Projekte können insbesondere im ‚2. Aktionsbereich Solidaritätsprojekte‘ umgesetzt werden. In den Solidaritätsprojekten sollen vor allem junge Menschen mit geringeren Chancen die Möglichkeiten erhalten, eigene Projektideen umzusetzen. Die Förderung kann deswegen auch ohne die Unterstützung einer Organisation beantragt werden.
The ESC’s thematic priorities
- Inclusion and diversity
- Sustainability, climate and environmental protection
- Involvement in democratic life
- Digital transformation
- Prevention and assistance in the health sector
There are two ways in which these priorities can be reflected by the projects. On the one hand, the priorities can make up the main focus of the project in terms of content and, on the other hand, the priorities should be taken into account in the implementation of the project.
Inhaltlich können die Aktivitäten weitgehend frei gestaltet werden, solange die Projekte wenigstens eine der oben genannten Prioritäten aufgreifen. Für kulturelle Projekte bieten sich etwa die Prioritäten ‚Inklusion und Diversität, Nachhaltigkeit, Umwelt- und Klimaschutz und Digitaler Wandel‘ an. Bei der Projekt-Konzeption können folgende Fragen hilfreich sein:
- What are the social challenges we can identify?
- Where is positive social change needed?
- How can our project contribute to solving these challenges in society?
- Which cultural and creative forms of expression do we wish to develop in our project?
In the previous programme period, the following projects from the cultural received funding from the European Solidarity Corps:
- A theatre group that has staged a play on the subject of inclusion of people with disabilities, which considers the issue of inclusion in the composition of the group as well as in the allocation of the parts.
- An urban gardening project with neighbours from an adjacent refugee shelter (strengthening cultural exchange and sustainability in the city)
- A photography project focusing on 'European identity in my city'
- A poetry slam series 'Poetry against the Right' dealing with the topic of hostility towards democracy
- Rubbish collection campaigns accompanied by upcycling workshops 'From Rubbish to Art' and a touring exhibition of the best pieces of art
- Groups of young people with at least 5 members between the ages of 18 and 30
- Group members must live in one of the countries eligible for funding and the project must also be carried out in that country
No additional European partners are necessary with regard to Solidarity Projects.
You can find further information on eligible countries here.
Funded projects
Funded projects
Here you can find cultural projects funded by different EU programmes.
Open calls
Solidarity Projects
Germany
Deadline: 04.10.2022 (12:00 PM CET)
Solidarity Projects
Austria
Deadline: 04.10.2022 (12:00 PM CET)
