On March 21, a conference on the topic of Youth Volunteering and European Mobility, was held at the EU House in Ljubljana, Slovenia, organized by the collective for a European Civic Service with the collaboration of Slovenska Filantropija.

The main aim was to raise awareness about the youth movement and use the civic service model to open the door for European mobility for all young people. 

It featured a roundtable discussion with speakers from several NGOs, both locally and internationally. The panel reviewed a variety of youth-related themes, and propose activities for youth in order to inspire similar projects, as well as discussing obstacles and issues that may exist in their local communities.

Opening the round table was Ms Tjaša Arko, representing the Slovenska Filantropja, who spoke about the benefits and necessity of volunteer programs such as the European Solidarity Corps. She stated how young people begin volunteering throughout their transitions from studies to working life.

The second speaker was Mr Jan Peloza, the managing director of Impact Hub of Ljubljana, and the former co-founder of No Excuse Slovenia: Brez izgovora Slovenija. He emphasized the importance of the youth sector in Slovenia and the challenges that young people face here since it is much more difficult to establish an NGO nowadays due to the lack of support and funding.

Ms Anja Mrvalak, who represents the student association of Koroska, addressed the difficulties her student association faces, including the challenges of engaging young people to get active and involved in her town, due to it being a rural location, thus, providing fewer opportunities.

Moreover, Ms Teresa Zabolitzki, a member of the Collectif pour un service civique European, spoke about her previous experience as an ESC volunteer and her current collaboration with the organization.

Finally, Mr Henk Persyn, the Project Manager of volunteering in Zavod Manipura, discussed the significance of allowing volunteers with fewer opportunities to participate in these short-term ESC, as well as the importance of going abroad, as it opens up young people and allowing them to benefit from this network by meeting new people.

For more information, check the facebook page of Collectif pour un service civique européen