Free Abroad with Free European Union Projects
As you know, we are gradually turning into a country of freedom(!). Our country is becoming a country of freedom, where everyone’s freedom to interfere with everyone can be experienced at an endless level.. We are a country where those who say ‘No, I’ll let them in’ live freely, aren’t we? Or let’s put it this way, let’s say whoever wants to let them in, and the majority of the people voluntarily renounce this freedom.
It was a violation of human rights, it was a democratic problem, it was always a story.. We have become the land of freedoms!
And while we are so free, will this single-toothed civilization called Evropa survive? Meanwhile, the European Union is making long and short-term projects and programs for young people, where young people can meet a lot, travel for free, improve themselves, improve their foreign language, and young people travel here and there.. But unfortunately, as we are busy with ‘tasting freedom’ as a country, young people in our country cannot explore these programs enough.
We saw that everyone was writing ‘how to find cheap air tickets‘, so we said. What kind of projects does the European Union have for young people? How to participate in these projects? How can you visit the European Union while covering all your expenses in these projects? What is ‘European Voluntary Service’? Let’s write it down, everything will come for free, not the plane ticket, and at the same time, you can add abroad experience to your experiences, life will be better and so on..
Free International with European Union Youth Projects
What are European Union Projects?
This time I (Asia) took the helm, at the university European Union Projects I wanted to talk about how I discovered by chance, how I traveled to 20 countries for 4 years without spending any money thanks to these projects, and similar projects where you can volunteer and improve your language and travel without spending any money.. Because when you are at university, not everyone can afford to go abroad just for sightseeing, and even if it does, sometimes no one comes with you.. In this type of projects, all your expenses (airplane, accommodation, food and beverage) are covered by the European Union (or similar institutions), you meet many young people from different countries and improve your language, and the subjects of these projects are generally ‘human rights, entrepreneurship, prejudices’. you have a global vision, because there are social issues. The benefits of avocado are countless, I can say the same for these projects!
My Story of European Union Projects
My projects story started like this; At the age of 19, I received an e-mail from an association, which I did not know when I signed up for the e-mail list, with the theme ‘Apply to our Romania Project, if you are selected, all your expenses will be covered by the European Union and you will spend 1 week with young people in Romania’. Then I found it in a small town in Romania (my mother didn’t want to send me because she didn’t understand what the projects were by the way, she thought they would make me play in gypsy porn and I skip the crisis part). As a matter of fact, I had a lot of fun in the European Project on ‘Human Rights’, which I went to without understanding what this was, and after I returned, I found other platforms to apply for the projects and continued to apply, to more projects and I became a member of an association that deals with these issues professionally in Turkey.. Over time, all my friends got involved in these projects and we started traveling together.. For the last 2 years, we went on a project together almost every month, and now looking back, I realize that when you were young, you had another fun.. So I said why not write this.
First of all, I must say that young people may not realize the opportunities as these are not advertised so much in our country, but there are always seminars, training courses and short-term exchange projects for young people throughout Europe.. You can participate in all of them by following the relevant websites and applying well.. In these seminars, all your expenses, including your accommodation, flight ticket and food and beverage, are paid.. Moreover, you do not need to have a perfect English or be an expert in any subject to attend these seminars.. Just ask to join and apply and that’s it.. In the projects I have participated in so far, I have met so many people who have had their first overseas experience thanks to the projects… Unfortunately, while there are enough young people to beat everyone in our country, as a result of being a citizen of a ‘country of extreme freedom’, young people are not aware of them…
So What Is This Erasmus Plus Youth Program
Ahem, if we define it seriously first, Erasmus Plus Youth Program is the European Union’s high funding fund every year. It is the official name of the program that the associations make using this budget. In this article, we will talk about ‘Youth Exchange‘, ‘Training Course’ and ‘European Volunteer Service‘, ie ‘European Volunteer Service’.
In fact, Erasmus Plus Youth Exchange (Youth E xchange) and Erasmus Plus Training Course are basically the same thing.. Both types of projects take between 5 and 20 days, and what is done in the project is almost the same.. Only if you are not the group leader in the Youth Exchange, there is an age limit of 30, while there is no such age limit in the Training Course.. The duration of the European Voluntary Service varies between 2-10 months, and we will mention it separately below.
I think I can start with Erasmus Plus Youth Exchange and Erasmus Plus Training Course now
These projects emerge as follows; Imagine that a non-governmental organization in Serbia wants to prepare a project with the theme of “Unemployment in Europe” and gather 100 young people from 10 different countries in Belgrade and realize this project.. It applies to the EU Commission, its project is approved, it is funded by the commission, and it starts looking for participants to realize the project.. While doing this, it usually informs other associations in its partner countries or puts a project application form on its website.. You also send your application from the social media pages of these associations and if you are selected, you will be a participant in the project.. During the project, no money comes out of your pocket other than your personal expenses, and your flight ticket, hotel accommodation, 3 meals and visa expenses are covered by the ‘project’. they tell you how much your plane ticket will be covered, you buy your plane ticket according to this amount and they pay you back the ticket money during the project or deposit it into your bank account.. The hotel where the project will be built is already ready and during the project there are morning-lunch-dinner meals.. You don’t pay for any of these. In fact, there are trips to other places during the project, and these are covered within the scope of the project.
So what exactly is done in these projects?
In fact, the projects are all about the coming together of young groups from different countries and helping each other. based on knowing their culture. Each project has a main theme, let’s say ‘Youth Unemployment in Europe’, all the participants come together and produce various presentations, videos and ideas on this topic during the day.. Nothing is forced, everything is based on volunteering and having fun. At the end of the project, a short film, a presentation or an exhibition is usually made using the works of the participants.. In the evenings, there are usually cultural nights and corresponding parties (as a matter of fact).
They already send you the ‘infopack’ of the project before you go, and in this infopack, everything from the hotel where the project will be held to the daily schedule is written.. You don’t have to think, ‘What are we going to do now, it’s in wild hands’.
Of course, this is the main theme of the ‘European Union Erasmus Plus Projects’ I mentioned above, but apart from that, it organizes funded projects, and also invites participants around a subject. There are also seminars and projects of other organizations that you go to with all your expenses covered.. All you have to do is find the internet platforms where you can be informed about these projects.
How to Apply for European Union Projects?
As I said, there are dozens of ways to apply. I will try to write without mixing.
Need List:
1-) You!
2-) Your Motivation Letter and CV. (It would be great if it was prepared in Europass format, we will come to the details below)
3-) Very little English, enough not to get lost by asking for a way or something.. (never an IELTS or something)
4-) And find the platforms where the projects are announced and apply! This is how it works;
Actually, hundreds of Erasmus Plus projects are taking place at the same time and there is no single platform where you can apply for projects.. The two most frequently used sites to apply for projects are National Agency and SALTO‘s own sites. On these two sites, the National Agency and Salto constantly announce new projects and you can apply by following the links.. But of course, the number of applications made to the projects announced on these two sites is also high and your chance of being selected decreases a little.
The National Agency constantly announces youth projects on its website, you can follow and apply here.. There is also SALTO, its website may seem confusing at first, but don’t give up, you can always apply for projects by becoming a member of SALTO, and that is here;
Erasmus Plus Projects and Associations
Another Also, following the social media pages of associations that were established specifically to deal with Erasmus Plus Projects in Turkey, that write projects, have project partners abroad and send participants from Turkey to their partners’ projects, and apply for their project announcements.. During the application, associations may ask you to become a member of the association first.. It’s okay to be a member of the association, but there are some cunning associations that ask you for 100 Euros as a condition of sending you to the project and say, ‘What the heck, we’re sending you to the project for free’.. Do not give, sir, if possible, even warn those who do.
The easiest way to follow the project announcements of these associations is to follow their Facebook pages.. On Facebook, ‘Erasmus+ TR’, ‘Erasmus Plus Projects’, ‘Erasmus Plus Information Repository’ and ‘EVS Turkey’, facebook pages where associations looking for participants in projects constantly post ‘posts for participant announcements’, and here you can reach both projects and associations.
Additional note: If you find SALTO and National Agency’s website confusing, don’t bother with these two.. Open Facebook, type ‘Erasmus Plus Projects’ in the search section, there will be dozens of pages about it. Follow those pages. On those pages, associations that constantly organize EU Projects advertise that they are looking for participants.. All you have to do is follow these ads and when you see a suitable participant ad, contact them on Facebook or via the e-mail given in the ad.. You contact them, they will surely reply.
https://www.youthop.com/ and http://www.mladiinfo.eu/category/trainings-conferences/ are two companies dedicated to recruiting participants in seminars and projects around the world. The site and I have been following your posts for years.
What you need to do to apply for these projects is to have a ready CV and motivation letter and to fill the application forms well.. It would be great if your CV is in Europass CV format and you can easily create it if you follow the link on this site.
As you can see, everything is that simple.. You apply for the participant postings on Facebook, if you are selected, they inform you, if there are other Turkish participants going to the same project from Turkey, they introduce you and all you have to do is buy your ticket and wait for the project.
Additional note: Especially Salto’ Most of the time, when applying for projects, they may ask you to be a member of a youth association.. If you don’t know any association and you need one, I can suggest an association that I know well, but since I’m not a member of the association, I didn’t want to write its name here, you can always send an e-mail for information
I can make an addition here;
When you are selected for the project, they send you the ‘infopack’ of the project and it says here how much your flight ticket should cost.. Let’s say that the project you have chosen is in Madrid and you want to visit other cities while you are ready.. Most of the time, you can buy your plane ticket 2 days before the start of the project or 2 days after the end of the project.. So you have two days to tour before the project starts.. In this case, you can buy your flight ticket two days in advance and travel as you wish for 2 days.. Of course, do not forget that in this case, you will pay for the 2-day accommodation out of your pocket!
Or you can research the flight ticket a little more, choose long connecting flights, and travel between the transits.. For example, we chose a connecting flight to Moscow while we were going to a project in Armenia, and we had a nice tour, as we had a 24-hour transfer time in Moscow.. People become conformist as they get older, they don’t do these kinds of things, but when they are young, it feels good (no, I didn’t say for myself, we are still young, we will never forgive if there is a transfer break)!
For Those Who Want Longer Volunteering;
European Voluntary Service:
European Voluntary Service:
We can summarize European Voluntary Service as follows. Again, within the scope of a long-term project, it is an activity that you go from here through a sending organization, the host association on the opposite side welcomes you and allows you to take part in a social project within 2-12 months.
Think of it this way, you are here. Let’s say you went to a project in Spain – Madrid, your round trip flight ticket to Madrid, accommodation during the project, visa-insurance expenses and food expenses are covered.. On top of that, you get a predetermined pocket money every month throughout the project, and on top of that, you get basic language training in that country!
So what do you need to do European Voluntary Service (EVS)?
Let’s tell you what is needed, you just have to want to do EVS, that’s all! In fact, everything is that easy and effortless.. Only this program of the European Union is not known enough in Turkey and just because of this, people do not use it when they have such an opportunity.
There are two basic things to do; the first is to be between the ages of 17-30 and the second is not to have done EVS before. EVS between 2 months and 12 months are called long-term EVS and everyone has a chance to do EVS only once.. Projects up to 2 months are called Short Term EVS and if you have done Short Term EVS before, you can also do a Long Term EVS on top of it.. In other words, you can do EVS for 2 months and then for 1 year, but once you have done EVS for more than 2 months, you cannot do EVS again..
As for English proficiency; You are never asked for a TOEFL or an IELTS to do EVS. Because EVS is not a job position or a master’s degree abroad, and it is a program created entirely to support the participation of young people in voluntary activities.. In fact, asking for IELTS would have eliminated most young people from the very beginning, as it is to support young people who have never been abroad before, to show them a way, to include them in a social responsibility project.. Of course, talking a little bit would be good for you to feel comfortable and meet your basic needs when you first join the project, but you always have the freedom to say ‘I’m a Turkish person breh, sign and sign a deal’!
Application Process:
As you can see, we have set our minds on getting you EVS! You know, Freedom, Democratic Turkey or something!
Let’s make a list of needs right away;
1-) You! You will pass as ‘EVS volunteer’ in Gavurland. And of course, your motivation letter and CV that you will prepare for the application.
2-) Host organization: It can be any association, foundation, EU office and similar organization that you will carry out this volunteering activity abroad.
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3-) Sending Organization: This is what you need to find. Because this is the organization that will arrange the necessary procedures for you to participate in an EVS project abroad (we get into the details below).
4-) National Agency: This is the organization that manages the budget in the countries on behalf of the European Commission and provides the grant for your project.
5-) Mentor: During your EVS, your host organization appoints a ‘mentor’ to support you and this mentor takes care of all your problems.. Think of it like a kind of ‘life coach’. The EU wasn’t going to leave you out in the wild, was it?
How to Apply for European Union Projects?
1-) First of all, you will need to find a ‘Sending Organization’ for yourself so that it can send it to you.. There are two ways to do this;
– If you are not already a member of a Non-Governmental Organization; You can find the sending organization closest to you by entering the search menu http://europa.eu/youth/volunteering/evs-organisation_en from the following link, contact them via e-mail, say that you want to do EVS (EVS in English), and if you already have an EVS You can ask if they have projects. Let’s be honest here, there is very little chance that an association you find randomly on the internet is an EVS project that you want to send participants to at that moment.. That’s why we’re going to the second option right away.
– We said that there are hundreds of associations dealing with this business.. You follow their Social Media pages and Facebook pages. Since we do not want to give the name of the association here, we can write the Facebook pages of these associations.. The most popular of these Facebook pages are; You can think of it as @EuropeanGonulluHizmeti, @aghevs, EVS Turkey and many more Facebook pages that you can access from these pages.. In addition, the Project Board is a page where you can access all kinds of volunteer project announcements, and the website of the National Agency is naturally the best first-hand source you can read about EVS.
2-) Let’s say from the project announcements on Facebook that you want to participate. You have found a project and it asks you to send your motivation letter and CV for application.. We said that you can prepare your CV in Europass CV format from this site, all that remains is to prepare your Motivation Letter.
The National Agency has summarized very well how to write a Motivation Letter for an ideal European Voluntary Service application on its website.. That’s why you can click on this link and have a look.
As we said, everything is that simple! First you decide to do EVS, then you find an association looking for participants on the internet, and you prepare your CV-Motivation Letter and apply! If you are elected, they will notify you and all that remains is to prepare your suitcase.. Of course, let’s also say that some projects may be looking for participants for a project that is ‘urgent’ and will start right next month, while other projects may be looking for participants for a project 6 months later.. Therefore, the sooner you apply, the better.
How will EVS and other EU Projects contribute to you?
To give an ‘official’ answer to this first, and then the youth As someone who officially ‘dedicated’ my years to projects, I wanted to write it down. It is very insufficient to prepare us for life.
If you want to go abroad for a while after graduation, schools and even workplaces abroad, rather than your grade point average, are based on what you do during your university life and how you develop yourself socially. interested. He wonders if you have foreign friends, what you have experienced in a foreign country, do you have any prejudices, have you ever escaped from your own shell and your ‘comfort-zone’… At this point, having participated in such projects before is a savior the moment you apply abroad. plays a role and you can feel very comfortable explaining the benefits of being involved in ‘social projects abroad’! Apart from that, of course, it is at least as important as the first thing I said, to have an improved English, to be able to communicate with everyone more easily, and to learn other cultures.
Thanks to these projects that I discovered purely by chance, I participated in projects for about 4 years alone and then by seducing my friends, and besides the European countries I always wanted to go to, I saw how beautiful places are, in fact, the countries that would probably not be on my travel list if it were not for projects such as Moldova, Romania and Armenia.. At the same time, we visited not only the capitals but also the small cities of these countries, and now I can easily say that the peoples of the world are brothers.. Thanks to the projects, I have no prejudices against these countries that I have been able to travel to, and the people I met in the projects later became my closest friends..
In a trip you go by giving money; You cannot see how an Armenian who has never met an Azerbaijani before because of the problems between their countries breaks their prejudices and becomes a close friend.. In the same way, you cannot cross the Georgian border on foot with your closest friends and do something like a Propaganda movie, “Look, brother Mahdi, I put my foot in it”.. Or I don’t know, maybe you love Skopje when you go on a tour, but you may not be able to meet a Turkish speaking Macedonian uncle in a village in Macedonia.. In other words, the dynamics of the relationships that people establish in constrained environments is another..
As a matter of fact, there are many things I want to write about in projects, but that’s it for now!
Loves !
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We haven’t forgotten those who are considering a Master’s Degree Abroad! Our post on Graduate Schools in Europe – Application Guide to Schools.
