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ERIAC WELCOME ITS FIRST EUROPEAN SOLIDARITY CORPS (ESC) VOLUNTEER

 

The European Solidarity Corps brings together young people to build a more inclusive society, supporting vulnerable people and responding to societal challenges. It offers an inspiring and empowering experience for young people who want to help, learn and develop. In the European Solidarity Corps programme, young people aged 18 to 30 years can have cross-border volunteering opportunities with solidarity projects.

 

In late 2020, ERIAC has begun its first European Solidarity Corps project entitled „European Youth for European Roma Culture”. Through its activities, developed during a total of 15 volunteering months, this  project will engage young Roma interested in volunteering in the fields of European culture and arts, proiding them with a unique opportunity to work with the established European Roma Institute for Arts and Culture – ERIAC in Berlin.

 

The general objective of the project is to engage three European Young people: Roma and/or non-Roma, in the diverse work of ERIAC in Berlin, through which they can learn about Roma culture, identities, artists and their vast representations in Europe. Taking an active role in the organisation of the various ERIAC events – exhibitions, performances, seminars, workshops and trainings – will engage the young volunteers in achieving a positive societal change, namely: youth participation and active citizenship, challenging exclusion, discrimination and antigypsyism through the means of spreading awareness of the rich European Roma culture and arts.

 

This project also equips the young volunteers with skills and knowledge in the project management cycle, which they later can utilize in future community engagement or on the labour market. Volunteers, Roma or non-Roma, will build connections with young people and artists of different minority backgrounds from all over Europe, and develop a sense of community and unity building solidarity internationally. By being involved in the diverse activities of ERIAC, both volunteers and other participants will strengthen democracy and citizenship in Europe, including accession countries and the UK.

 

The first volunteer Nataliia Tomenko already started her volunteering experience at the ERIAC working remotely, due to the current situation of the Covid-19 quarantine restrictions, from the beginning of February 2021. Nataliia is working on social inclusion, cultural promotion of Roma, Roma culture, and arts, with a special focus on the emancipation of Roma through the means of arts and culture. She is engaged in day to day tasks in administration and programming using her background in graphic design and academic research.

 

To know more information about Nataliia’s background you can browse the page Team of ERIAC.