Inclusive Volunteering in Social Enterprises Training course

Are you a social enterprise who would like the funding and support of committed volunteers to support your sustainability or growth? Do you have experience working with individuals with special needs such as disability, social issues, special needs, mental challenges or an organisational environment that would welcome young people with such needs? Perhaps you’re experienced with volunteering but need more partners who can host these young people? Or maybe you just want to make a difference to young people’s lives. Then this training course is for you! SALTO Inclusion & Diversity and the UK and Italian National Agencies would like to see more young people with fewer opportunities taking part in volunteering projects. But many hosting projects are not adapted or do not provide the needed extra support for young people (18-30 years) with special needs (e.g. disability, social issues, special needs, mental challenges, etraining course.). Following a 2017 Inclusion & Diversity Strategy Steering Group meeting with representatives of social enterprises and the Social Entrepreneurship, Youth and Vocation Education Forum 2018, hosted in UK as part of the long term Toward’s Collaborative Practice collaboration we identified that the social economy (including organisations such as social enterprises) often has projects or activities that are particularly directed towards people in underprivileged situations. Despite frequently seeking committed volunteers to support sustainability and growth, many organisations remain unaware of European volunteering funding opportunities, requirements and structures. We believe that social enterprises with the necessary support structures in place to support disadvantaged volunteers in their activities could become the perfect hosting place for these young people. Hosting European volunteers gives not only the opportunity to change lives – such as Cinzia (check her story in this link: https://www.erasmusplus.org.uk/stories/cinzia-savonitti) – but the chance to add an international dimension and increase organisational capacity whilst receiving (modest) European funding. We therefore want to bring 'social economy' organisations together with the youth field to explore the possibilities, advantages and concerns of having a European Volunteer in a social enterprise project. A new framework for volunteering activities in the youth field, the European Solidarity Corps (ESC), is expected to be operational by the end of the year. This training course will be a unique opportunity to get acquainted with ESC. General aim: To introduce European volunteering projects to social enterprise organisations; to encourage youth organisations to partner with social enterprises and support quality, sustainable volunteering projects for young people with fewer opportunities. Objectives: - To create bridges between youth work and social economy sector - To get acquainted with the existing opportunities for youth volunteers’ placement, under Erasmus+/ESC - To motivate social enterprises to host and send volunteers with fewer opportunities - To develop social enterprises skills in Erasmus+/ESC project management, specifically on volunteering initiatives - To support partnership building of potential hosting/sending organisations equipped to support young people with fewer opportunities Profile of participants at the course: - Staff members/volunteers of social enterprises and social economy organisations able to work on inclusion or directly with young people with fewer opportunities - Youth workers (grassroots – involved in outreach youth work and directly working with young people with fewer opportunities) - Individuals involved in voluntary or inclusion organisations - International experience is not a must - Able to work in (international) English - From E+: YiA programme countries