The primary aim of our project was to make the ESC voluntary service accessible for young migrants and refugees in Europe. In order to achieve this aim we wanted to create a strong network of ESC hosting organisations in Leipzig. By means of a vivid cooperation with our partner organisation in Bologna, we were aiming to enable an active exchange of volunteers between the cities of Leipzig and Bologna (Regional Mobility Hubs) and guarantee a well-concepted support system for our volunteers which would provide guidance throughout all the steps of the voluntary service. Initially, we also wanted to prepare the accreditation of our organisation Salam e. V. as ESC hosting organisation. Another important goal for both our associations (Salam and Universo Interculturale) was capacity-building of our teams by on the one hand exchanging and peer-learning from one another, given the fact that both teams work in very different local environments and under different national circumstances; on the other hand by benefiting from professional coaching, training and workshops based on the teams’ needs.
We applied for the project since we as a relatively new migrant association saw our chance to implement some powerful networks in Leipzig but also Europe. We saw the need for more opportunities of many young migrants within the EU. On the other hand we knew about the ESC and its possibilities to discover new countries and cultures. Through the project we wanted to make the ESC more known and use it as a mobility tool for migrants from Bologna (Italy). Since we already had a connection to our partner Associazione Interculturale Universo, the project was the perfect chance to strengthen our network and to create new opportunities for people (especially migrants) from Bologna to come to Leipzig for ESC volunteering. We wanted to address the need of young migrants to do something meaningful and to be part of European communities, especially through benefiting from the ESC programme. On the other hand, we also saw a need for supporting young organisations like ours who were suitable and willing to host ESC volunteers with refugee backgrounds. The necessary steps can be a burden for associations whose work is mainly based on the individual effort of members of a small team. To develop and carry out guidance measures seemed worthwhile.