Special participants One of the most important priorities of the YOUTH program is to give access to the activities within the Program to young people with less opportunities. Whilst this target group is by no means restricted from taking part in long term EVS projects, its access to EVS is facilitated by the possibility of short-term voluntary service projects. The duration of a short-term EVS project should be between 3 weeks and six months. If the project involves a young person with less opportunities, it is recommended that applicants envisage an advance planning visit to the host country and include it in the application. This visit should not take place until the application is approved and would normally last two days (travel excluded).

For short-term voluntary projects simultaneously hosting more than four volunteers in the same host organization, a special agreement has to be entered into with the National Agency and approved by the European Commission.

What are the specific criteria?

The criteria for this type of project are the same as for long-term activities (see section D.3), with a special emphasis on the following elements concerning the support provided to the volunteer:

•  Sending organizations should provide preparation tailored to the volunteer's specific needs.
•  Host organizations should provide a high level of personal support during the volunteer's stay.
•  Sending and host organizations should provide a coherent and solid educational content geared to
  the volunteer's individual ability and needs.
•  Sending organizations should provide follow-up guaranteeing a worthwhile experience.