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Eurodesk

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Eurodesk Network AISBL
Formation1990
TypeINGO
0464801531
Legal statusAISBL
PurposeEducational
HeadquartersBrussels, Belgium
Location
  • Rue aux Fleurs 32, Brussels 1000, BELGIUM
Coordinates50°51′12″N 4°21′11″E / 50.853318°N 4.352931°E / 50.853318; 4.352931
Region served
Europe, Iceland, Republic of Macedonia, Norway Turkey and Ukraine (35 countries)
Official languages
English [1], Languages of the European Union, Macedonian language, Turkish language, Icelandic language, Norwegian language, Ukrainian language
President
Reinhard Schwalbach
Main organ
Eurodesk Executive Committee (5 members)
Parent organization
Eurodesk Brussels Link
Volunteers
1000+ organisations in Europe
Websiteeurodesk.eu
Formerly called
Eurodesk Network

Eurodesk is an international non-profit association created in 1990. It is a European network of European and national information centers for young people and those involved with them.[2] It offers youth information and international learning opportunities and is an organisation supported by the Erasmus+ programme (2014–2020).[3] In 2004, Eurodesk – with the help of its financier European Commission - launched the European Youth Portal.[4] From 2007 to 2013, Eurodesk was part of the Youth in Action programme. In 2014, Eurodesk became a support structure of Erasmus+ programme nowdays being present in 35 countries.

Since then, Eurodesk organises its annual information campaign Time to Move [5] every October. Every year via the campaign, around 200 000 young people get to know about international studying, volunteering and traineeship opportunities. The format of the campaign has been the same ever since it was launched in 2014: making young people aware of the possibilities they can grab abroad, in an entertaining way.

Among the activities, visitors could find some not so traditional information events such as concerts, mountain-hiking, biking or slam poetry evenings but also some casual sessions like lectures in school, international evenings at local cafés or information stands at fairs. All activities are run by trained Eurodesk information experts, always ready to have a discussion and help young people to find the international project most suitable for their needs. In 2017, over the course of one month around 230 youth organisations joined forces and organised 822 events in 22 countries.

The campaign specifically targeted young people from non-city environment, who do not usually have access to youth information and NEETs, who would benefit from a mobility experience. Time to Move not only offered them useful information about international opportunities but also made them aware of local Eurodesk information points as guidance spots, should they feel the need to have a discussion about their future projects.


History

In the late 1980s, European information was very difficult to find in most EU Member States. Eurodesk began life in March 1990 as a small regional project to service the youth work field in Scotland. The basic idea was simple: to gather in one place all the European information relevant to young people and youth workers, and present it in an easily understandable way. In addition, it was recognised that a strategy of raising the youth field’s awareness of European issues would also be necessary if maximum use was to be made of the European information available. Funding was obtained from the European Union, central and local government in Scotland and sponsorship from a technical company (Apple Europe). The Eurodesk service was launched in Edinburgh in March 1990. The success of the service was almost immediate with the numbers of users and the demand for services growing rapidly in a short space of time.

The early Eurodesk service was clearly shaped by the real needs of the field. This client-orientated approach to information has been an important factor in the continuing development of Eurodesk. After some months, despite there being no further advertising, the use of the Eurodesk service was growing rapidly. One of the features of this growth was that more than 40% of all enquiries to Eurodesk were from outside Scotland.

This unprecedented demand, especially from outside Scotland, led to a cooperation strategy, whereby selected partner organisations in the other 3 provinces of the United Kingdom (England, Northern Ireland and Wales) agreed to deliver identical services to young people and youth workers in their areas. This approach had implications for the quality of information and services delivered to the public, effective information management, efficient communication and development of appropriate training. From 1991 to 1994 the delivery of Eurodesk services was run in the UK as a network activity across the 4 provinces, with the network coordination based in Edinburgh.

In 1994, at the request of the European Commission, a presentation of the UK model was made in Brussels to representatives of youth ministries from 7 Member States. The result of this meeting was a pilot project to examine the feasibility of whether the Eurodesk model was flexible enough to be developed in other countries, where different situations, structures and information environments existed. By June 1995, 7 national Eurodesk units had been successfully established in Denmark, France, Ireland, Luxembourg the Netherlands, Portugal, and Spain. Eurodesk in Edinburgh was asked to coordinate the extension of this model of European information management to the rest of the European Union Member States, and, eventually, to all the countries participating as full partners in the EU’s YOUTH programme. After this successful pilot phase, the Commission requested the setting up of a European network of Eurodesk services throughout the EU Member States in order to consolidate this service to the youth field in 1995.

In 1996, a full-time research and coordination unit - the Eurodesk Brussels Link - was established in Brussels to support the national partners in providing their services to the public. In 1998, an International Association (Eurodesk AISBL) was created under Belgian Law by the Eurodesk national partners to give a legal status to the Brussels office, thereby allowing it to receive financial support directly from the European Commission, rather than indirectly through one of the national partners. In 2004, Eurodesk network was designated as one of the support structures under the EU’s Youth programme. This decision altered the mechanism for the European Commission’s funding of the Eurodesk network and offered a greater stability to the funding process for national partners and for the Eurodesk Brussels Link. Eurodesk worked with the European Commission and launched the European Youth Portal. The upcoming years brought many new initiatives (the SYTYKIA, the HYHO, the Right2Move and the Time to Move campaign or the Eurodesk Awards), as Eurodesk was seeking to extend its outreach and inform many more young people.

In 2007, the legal basis for the Commission’s Youth in Action programme (2007-2013) identified Eurodesk as one of the permanent support structures for the Programme. In March 2012, the European Commission invited the Eurodesk Network to contribute to the redevelopment of the European Youth Portal. Eurodesk Brussels Link was already working closely with the European Commission on these aspects. In 2013, the cooperation with the European Commission is renewed within the legal basis for the Commission’s Erasmus+ programme (2014-2020) which identifies Eurodesk as a support structure for the Erasmus+ Programme. The development is continuous ever since.

In 2014, Republic of Macedonia joined the network followed by Ukraine in 2018 which became the 35th country in which Eurodesk is hosted.

Mission and services

In addition to Eurodesk Brussels Link, there are 37 Eurodesk national coordinating offices in which national coordinators work together to carry out Eurodesk's mission at national level. National coordinators provide support to multipliers to organise their events, as well as channel youth information to them. At national level, the coordinators manage the European Youth Portal, and organise national events and campaigns. National coordinators release publications and communication materials whenever it is appropriate.Some national coordinators communicate regularly to young people through events, some do not. This depends on the national structure they work in. In any case, national coordinators answer the enquiries received from young people from the same country.

Eurodesk federates more than 1000 local youth information providers, so-called “multipliers” that are regional or local organisations working with young people, delivering youth information to them and advising them on mobility opportunities. Multipliers can be youth centres, associations, municipalities etc. but despite their variety, the core of their mission as Eurodesk multipliers is the same. Eurodesk partners can be found and contacted via Eurodesk Map) [6]


To ensure the quality of services in all the 35 Eurodesk countries, Eurodesk offers its members quality training and support, and access to youth information services and tools. Eurodesk multipliers carry out Eurodesk’s mission which is ‘to raise awareness among young people on learning mobility opportunities and encourage them to become active citizens.’ [7] The Eurodesk network provides young people with support and information about actual mobility opportunities in the 35 countries where it operates via the website or tools such as the Eurodesk Opportunity Finder [8]]. Opportunities are divided into five categories: Learning, Volunteering, Internships, Trainings and Grants.

In schools, Eurodesk is activating through Euroclasses [9]] which are an addition to other informational activities offered by Eurodesk (responding to queries, databases, newsletters and publications). The classes are carried out by Eurodesk multipliers and revolve around topics such as studying, volunteering, working abroad, and active citizenship. Each class lasts 45 minutes and uses diverse methods: brainstorming, individual-pair-group work and interactive mini-lectures. Their goals are to show young people the opportunities resulting from the European Union membership; to introduce the practical dimension of the EU’s principle of free movement of persons; to present the EU funds for youth and to acquaint young people with the basic goals of the EU youth policy.

The most important principle of the Euroclasses is that they are impartial and purely informational. They are not about convincing, putting pressure or making judgements. They are offered as 'informational products', communicated in an accessible and attractive way. It is a space to share basic knowledge, broaden horizons, invite reflection and encourage to look for further information.

Eurodesk is also involved in policy-making issuing several publication, including position papers, surveys, reports and guidelines. Every year, Eurodesk issues an Eurodesk Annual Overview [10] of its achievements that is available to the public.

Coordination of Eurodesk

Eurodesk is administered by an Executive Committee (EEC) consisting of at least 5 and at most 7 Executive Committee members, of whom one is the President.

The EEC is the governing body of the network with a mandate to plan the direction which the organisation should take, and the activities and campaigns it should carry out both at European and at national level. The members of the EEC also have a role in building partnerships with other organisations, whenever it is in the benefit of Eurodesk.

Eurodesk Brussels Link (EBL) is the coordinating body of the network and also the managing body of the Eurodesk brand. Its role is to give support in carrying out the mission of Eurodesk in the different countries and facilitate communication about the the ongoing projects both internally and to the public. EBL therefore regularly issues publications and initiates and coordinates European level campaigns and activities that are then carried out in the 35 Eurodesk countries.[11]

EBL also provides first-hand European information on youth mobility as well as tools for training, information management, quality assessment and communication to the Eurodesk officers in the various countries. It also supports the European Commission in developing and maintaining the European Youth Portal, regularly editing European contents, assessing the quality of Eurodesk national centres and giving them technical support. In 2018, Eurodesk launched EMA (Eurodesk Mobility Advisor) [12] a Facebook Messenger bot that provides 24/7 information. EMA guides the users through a series of questions in order to be able to provide them with the information they are looking for. It gives them useful links where they can explore opportunities or deepen their knowledge about anything they wish to know. At the same time, the bot also supports hybrid human interaction and connects the users to Eurodesk officers so they can practically give them tailor-made information, counselling and specialised support.

Eurodesk was also included as an implementation body of the European Solidarity Corps initiative and mentioned in the programme guide[13]


References

  1. ^ Statutes are both in English and French. Local languages are used by countries and local sections.
  2. ^ "Partners and networks". ec.europa.eu. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |1= (help)
  3. ^ "Erasmus+ Programme Guide" (PDF). ec.europa.eu/programmes/erasmus-plus. European Commission. p. 22.
  4. ^ "European Youth Portal | European Youth Portal". europa.eu/youth. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |1= (help)
  5. ^ "Time to Move Campaign". timetomove.info.
  6. ^ "Eurodesk map & contact". map.eurodesk.eu.
  7. ^ "Eurodesk - About us". eurodesk.eu/about.
  8. ^ "Eurodesk Opportunity Finder - Programme database". programmes.eurodesk.eu.
  9. ^ "Eurodesk Euroclasses". eurodesk.eu.
  10. ^ "Eurodesk - Annual overviews". {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |1= (help)
  11. ^ "Eurodesk coverage in 2018" (PDF). eurodesk.eu.
  12. ^ "Eurodesk chatbot presented at the EU-CoE youth partnership symposium". ema.eurodesk.eu.
  13. ^ "European Commission: European Solidarity Corps Guide". ec.europa.eu/youth/library/.