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EU programmes
Since January 2014, the National Agency for Youth (ANG) is the implementing body in Italy of the youth chapter of the ERASMUS + Program. Since December 2018, the Agency also manages the European Solidarity Corps (ESC) programme. The European Voluntary Service (EVS) ended in October 2018, however some EVS projects are still on-going (KA125 and KA135 in the framework of Erasmus+).
The ESC programme offers young people - in the age group 18-30 - jobs, traineeships and volunteering opportunities, in their own country or abroad.
The Italian National Agency for Youth monitors the number of incoming participants and their country of origin, as well as the number of outgoing participants and the topic of their activities through the European platforms and software.
In the period 2014-2019, the number of incoming participants for projects approved by the Agency was 2,958 (out of which 2,264 financed by Erasmus+ and 694 by ESC). During the same period, the number of outgoing participants was 746 (618 for Erasmus+ and 128 for ESC).
The Italian Government finances the Universal Civic Service programme managed by the Department for Youth Policies and the Universal Civic Service. The programme offers volunteering opportunities both in Italy and abroad. (see para 2.4)
Legal framework applying to foreign visitors
There is no specific legal framework for young people participating in volunteering activities in the above mentioned programmes. However, for the EVS and ESC programmes, the Italian National Agency for Youth made an agreement with the Italian Ministry for Foreign Affairs aimed at facilitating the access in Italy of incoming volunteers from non-Schengen countries. The Agency communicates the name of the incoming volunteer to the Italian consulate and requests the visa to enter Italy.