Volunteering Teams in High Priority Areas (VTHPA)

WHAT ARE THE OBJECTIVES?

Activities by Volunteering Teams in High-Priority Areas will aim to:

• address clearly defined unmet societal challenges in the area of “relief for persons fleeing armed conflicts and other victims of natural or man-made disasters” and/ or “fostering positive learning experiences and outcomes for young people with fewer opportunities”; promote solidarity across the participating countries; enable the young people to gain skills and competences which are useful for their personal, educational, social and professional development;

• provide tangible benefits to the communities within which the activities are carried out;

• ensure a direct contact between the participant and the beneficiaries of the solidarity-related activities, to enable the participant to gain skills that are useful for their educational and social development;

• reach out to young people with fewer opportunities, including refugees, asylum seekers and migrants;

• promote diversity, intercultural and inter-religious dialogue - and the EU values of human dignity, freedom, equality and respect for human rights, including the rights of persons belonging to minorities - as well as projects enhancing media literacy, critical thinking and a sense of initiative among young people;

• reinforce the capacities and international scope of the participating organisations;

• raise young volunteers’ awareness and understanding of other cultures and countries, offering them the opportunity to build networks of international contacts, to actively participate in society and to develop a sense of European citizenship and identity.

WHAT ARE VOLUNTEERING TEAMS IN HIGH PRIORITY AREAS?

Volunteering Teams in High Priority areas are large scale, high impact projects supporting voluntary activities carried out by young people from at least two different countries coming together to express solidarity by implementing short-term interventions that address common European challenges in policy areas defined each year at EU level.

WHAT ARE THE PRIORITIES OF 2025 CALL FOR THIS ACTION?

RELIEF FOR PERSONS FLEEING ARMED CONFLICTS AND OTHER VICTIMS OF NATURAL OR MAN-MADE DISASTERS

The Corps can add significant value by contributing to the provision of relief and assistance to those whose lives, livelihoods and communities have been disrupted by the natural or man-made disasters, including armed conflicts. The importance of solidarity among individuals and communities, within or across borders, has become even more apparent with the Russian invasion of Ukraine and the resulting big inflow of displaced people into the EU, frequent occurrences of extreme weather events (e.g. floods and forest fires) as well as large-scale seismic events in certain countries. It is crucial to use the Corps’ potential to implement community-based activities that foster sustained empathy and solidarity among young people and also facilitate exchange and cooperation between people from different backgrounds.

FOSTERING POSITIVE LEARNING EXPERIENCES AND OUTCOMES FOR YOUNG PEOPLE WITH FEWER OPPORTUNITIES

The Corps can provide significant value by assisting children and young people from disadvantaged backgrounds or otherwise vulnerable groups with the attainment of adequate learning achievements. The European Year of Youth and the European Year of Skills have fostered the efforts in reaching out to all young people, including those with fewer opportunities.

PROMOTING WASTE MANAGEMENT AND RECYCLING SOLUTIONS

The Corps can provide significant value by promoting activities intended to raise awareness about environmental issues and stress the importance of waste segregation and recycling techniques. Involving local communities should be a priority in order to build positive and sustainable habits and ensure their longevity, which in turn would result in stronger community bonds, the sense of togetherness and shared responsibility. This priority is particularly relevant in the context of the municipal and packaging waste targets for 2025 introduced by the Waste Framework Directive 2008/98/EC.