Support to young volunteers 

The Law related to Volunteers’ rights

To ensure that volunteering remains accessible to all, the Law related to the Volunteers’ rights (la loi sur le droit des volontaires) has provided the possibility of a compensation.  Volunteers are either reimbursed for their expenses on presentation of supporting documents (invoice, receipt, train ticket, etc.) or with lump-sum reimbursement. In the first case, there is no maximum limit.  In the latter, there is no need to provide documentary evidence of actual expenditure (maximum: €40.67 per day and €1,626.77 per year (amounts valid from 1 January to 31 December 2023).

The decree related to youth organisations

The decree related to youth organisations provides a special support for initiatives aimed at specific target groups (décret relatif aux organisations de jeunesse, pp 13). This support is addressed to the associations and not to the volunteers themselves. In 2023, 14 Youth organisations have benefited from this special support. In order to be eligible to this special support, these 14 youth organisations must, as part of their four-year action plan, draw up and implement a programme of  specific actions aimed at groups such as : 

• working-class people ;
• people with disabilities or victims of discrimination ;
• or which must enable young people to do voluntary work both outside and within the youth organisation.

Community buidling

The International Youth Office (Bureau International Jeunesse) promotes the Europeers activities organised by the other National Agencies to their ESC organisations and E+ beneficiaries and support the participation of young people in these activities.

Tackling societal challenges

The French-speaking Community has taken part in the ‘Mindchangers Project,’ a European initiative designed to strengthen the capacity of local authorities and civil society organizations to develop projects and activities that actively engage young people with major contemporary challenges, such as climate change and migration.

Funded by the European Commission’s DEAR programme, it supported local initiatives and Europe-wide awareness campaigns between October 2020 and September 2024, with its conclusion celebrated at the end of September 2024

The project was launched by Regione Piemonte in partnership with Consorzio Ong Piemontesi (IT) and involved Baden-Württemberg and SEZ (DE), RESACOOP (FR), La Rioja and CONGDCAR (ES), Fédération Wallonie-Bruxelles (BE), University of Craiova (RO).