9.6 Intercontinental youth work and development cooperation
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Intercontinental youth work cooperation
Programs to support the presence of Spaniards in international organizations and the European Union:
There are a series of programs from the Spanish Agency of International Cooperation for Development (Agencia Española de Cooperación Internacional para el Desarrollo (AECID)) with which we seek the participation of Spaniards in different areas of cooperation, promotion of peace, sustainability, human rights, among other matters of similar importance.
United Nations Young Volunteers: (Jóvenes Voluntarios de las Naciones Unidas) AECID is associated with the United Nations Volunteers (UNV) program for the promotion of peace and development in more than 50 countries worldwide. Since the Agency collaborates actively with the United Nations Young Volunteers and in its last call (for the period of 2016), 13 young Spaniards were summoned to cover places as volunteers in sectors like Human Rights, climate change, sustainable development policies; and in different countries around the world like Ecuador, the Philippines, Gambia, Kenya and others.
Among the main requirements to be able to access the call, it is necessary to be between 23 and 29, with a full university degree and a high command of the English language (in addition to other languages spoken in the destination countries).
Program of Young Professional Officers: (Programa de Oficiales Profesionales Jóvenes) directed at young professionals under 32 years of age, who have a university degree and masters and who are interested in starting a professional career within the United Nations system. Priority areas of work are human rights and democratic participation, poverty alleviation, crisis prevention and reconstruction assistance, environmental and natural resources management, information and communication technology for development, HIV/AIDS, gender equality, population and development.
Young Professionals Program in European Union delegations: (Programa de Jóvenes Profesionales en Delegaciones de la European Union (JPD)): It aims to allow young professionals in the EU Member States to acquire first-hand experience on the work of the EU delegations accredited to third world countries and the main international organizations and a knowledge of their role in the implementation of the EU's foreign relations policy, including the common foreign and security policy, as well as deepening their knowledge of the framework of the EU in this area. The requirements are to be a university graduate with a postgraduate degree or equivalent in fields related to the delegations of the EU as the rule of law, justice, cooperation and development, among others. In addition, candidates should speak English, French, and other requirements such as prior professional experience, interest in delegations' tasks, etc.
European Voluntary Service
See Chapter 4. For the 2020 guide, consult Erasmus + Program Guide.
Development cooperation activities
INJUVE Volunteering Fields Program: (Programa Campos de Voluntariado del INJUVE):
Through the so-called Fields of Volunteering, the Youth Institute (INJUVE) offers annually to young people between 18 and 30 years the possibility to volunteer in projects in different countries of the world. In 2019 the call offers 646 young Spaniards the chance to volunteer for 15 days during the months of July and August in 28 countries and 49 internationals organizations. The main objective of the program is to strengthen intercultural learning, personal development and the reinforcement of cooperative values.
The INJUVE coordinates the placements in international work fields with the Autonomous Regions through its youth agencies and foreign volunteer organizations participating in the program, although it is expected to stop exercising that competence in the near future.
The Autonomous Regions' Youth Cooperation Program:
Some Autonomous Regions are launching programs to promote the cooperation of young people in different sectors. Some of the existing programs are:
Asturian Youth Cooperation Program: (Programa Juventud Asturiana Cooperante):
Assembled by the Ministry of Presidency and Citizen Participation in the Principality of Asturias, its main objective is to involve the young people of Asturias (Principado de Asturias) in the reality of the cooperation and development, through professional training and improvement in the area of cooperation and development.
It offers a temporary stay in a cooperation project selected by the Asturian Agency for Cooperation Development. Young people between 22 and 31 years old, who are registered in the municipality of the Autonomous Community of the Principality of Asturias, at least 1 year prior to the publication of the call can participate. The budget of the program gathers 30,000€.
Extremadura Youth Cooperation Program: (Programa Jóvenes Cooperantes Extremeñ@s):
The Youth Institute of Extremadura (Instituto de la Juventud de Extremadura, IJEX), in collaboration with the Extremadura Agency for International Cooperation for the development of the Coucnil of Extremadura (Agencia Extremeña de Cooperación Internacional para el Desarrollo de la Junta de Extremadura, AEXCID), carries out the program that aims to form and educate young people of Extremadura in international development cooperation. It is articulated through actions of awareness and of theoretical and practical training aimed at young people aged between 18 and 35. Through this program, the agency finances projects that allow the participation of young people in projects of international cooperation for development or the education for development that that is carried out out by organizations registered in the Register of Non-Governmental Organizations for development of the Autonomous Community of Extremadura. The highest amount given by each young member included in the training program to the entity is 10,000 euros.