How to prioritise solidarity?

The focus of this training is to empower and motivate young people to remain actively engaged in their communities by deepening their understanding of key horizontal priorities within the framework of the European Solidarity Corps. Through sharing experiences, exploring innovative approaches, and showcasing good practices, participants will learn how to meaningfully incorporate these priorities into current or future Solidarity Projects*. The goal is to enhance the impact and long-term value of their initiatives, while also raising awareness of further opportunities available to them beyond the project itself.

Activity format:

• Online preparatory workshop, (25th November, at 14.00 CET)
• Self-paced preparation, up to 4 hours *
• Residential training, 8th - 12th December 2025 (the training program starts on Monday with dinner and runs by Friday until lunch )

*Self-paced preparation means that you can organize your own time and go through the preparation materials at your own pace, up to a total of 4 hours estimated. The materials will be available online, and you can access them whenever it suits you best.

Purpose of the activity: To empower and motivate young people to create and implement Solidarity Projects and continue engaging actively in their communities—through a deeper understanding of horizontal priorities, and the opportunities available to them even after the Solidarity Project ends.

Activity objectives:

• To deepen understanding of the horizontal priorities - inclusion and diversity; environmental sustainability and climate goals, digital transformation and participation in democratic life - and the ways they strengthen solidarity actions;
• To exchange experiences, explore good practices and innovative ideas on how to meaningfully include horizontal priorities in preparation and implementation of solidarity projects;
• To empower participants in managing Solidarity Projects, while paying attention to specific processes, such as planning, implementation, learning, reflection, monitoring and evaluation;
• To motivate participants to follow up on their actions and to create long lasting impact;
• To explore opportunities for further engagement in the community, including mechanisms for support and funding of different youth initiatives

Main target group: young people (from age of 18 to 30) who are already involved in implementing Solidarity Projects within the European Solidarity Corps programme and would like to further strengthen the quality and impact of their activities by integrating the programme’s horizontal priorities. The training is open to both non-formal groups and young people active within organisations.

Practicalities: We will be staying and working in Hotel Dubrovnik, located in the centre of Zagreb, Croatia. If you are selected to participate, you will receive an email with an Info-pack containing more information about travel arrangements, accommodation, the program, etc.
The first day of training, December 8th, is reserved for participants' arrival before dinner at 7 PM, and departure is planned for December 12th after lunch.

This training is for 25 participants from European Solidarity Corps programme countries and is intended for young people who are already implementing Solidarity Projects and want to enhance their impact by better integrating the programme’s priorities.

*European Solidarity Corps Solidarity Project is a non-profit solidarity activity initiated, developed and implemented by young people themselves for a period from 2 to 12 months. It gives a group of minimum five young persons the chance to express solidarity by taking responsibility and committing themselves to bring positive change in their local community. The project should have a clearly identified topic which the group of young people wish to explore together and which has to be translated into the concrete daily activities of the project and involve all the members of the group. Solidarity Projects should address key challenges within the communities, where relevant including those identified jointly in the border regions and it should also present European added value. Participation in a solidarity project is an important non-formal learning experience through which young people can boost their personal, educational, social and civic development.