Does your organisation/institution from Western Balkans plan to apply for Quality Label within the European Solidarity Corps programme this year? Do you wish to get hands-on support on how to prepare a Quality Label application? Then this online training might be for you!
Introduction
After a successful training course on writing Erasmus+ KA2 Capacity Building Youth, Contact Points of SALTO SEE in the Western Balkans together with MOVIT from Slovenia, are implementing an online training course for supporting the development of the Quality Label for European Solidarity Corps.
For almost 25 years, the Erasmus+ programme and the European Solidarity Corps (ESC programme), as well as the preceding generations of European youth programmes, have offered diverse opportunities for youth cooperation and youth work development involving organisations, youth workers and young people from Programme and neighbouring partner countries (officially called third countries not associated with the programmes). This training course will focus on how to develop Quality Label for organisations/institutions to participate in the ESC Programme.
The Quality Label is an organisation’s entry ticket for the EU ESC Programme. It certifies that an organisation participating in the ESC Programme is able to ensure the necessary framework conditions for young people to take part in solidarity activities in compliance with the principles and objectives of the ESC Programme and further requirements necessary to ensure quality. Interested organisations can apply for Quality Label at any time.
For the organisations established in Western Balkans countries, SALTO South East Europe Resource centre (SALTO SEE) is carrying out the process of awarding the ESC Quality Label.
If your organisation/institution is based in Montenegro, Albania, Serbia, Kosovo*, or Bosnia and Herzegovina, working in the field of youth and/or volunteering and wishing to be involved into ESC Volunteering Projects as a supporting or receiving organisation we invite you to join our training course, which will take place online on 17 – 18 September, 2026.
Training objectives and content
This two-day intensive online training course aims to enhance participants’ understanding of the ESC Programme, its values, principles and priorities, with a particular focus on volunteering activities and the role of Quality Label organisations. The training will equip participants with practical information, tools and hands-on support necessary to prepare and submit a high-quality ESC Quality Label application, taking into account the specific context of organisations/institutions from the Western Balkans.
The specific objectives are:
- Understand the ESC programme, its values, principles, and priorities, with a specific focus on volunteering activities and the role of Quality Label organisations,
- Analyse organisational readiness for the Quality Label by reflecting on internal capacities, youth work experience, safeguarding policies, and support structures for volunteers
- Explain the purpose, structure, and types of the ESC Quality Label, including the different roles (supporting, receiving, lead) and their responsibilities,
- Gain hands-on experience in completing the Quality Label application form, with a focus on essential elements such as creating: support measures for the hosted/sent volunteer, understanding the roles inside the organisation (supervisor/mentor), how to identify activities that you offer to volunteers and ensuring volunteering-learning balance,
- Interpret the Quality Label award criteria and understand how SALTO SEE assess applications
- To find out which support measures are available for organisations that want to apply for QL (such as Contact Point Network, SALTO SEE and, ETC partnerships events etc.),
- To explore examples of good practices of active ESC QL organisations in the Western Balkans.
Participants
The course mainly targets participants from:
- Organisations and institutions from Montenegro, Albania, Serbia, Kosovo* and Bosnia and Herzegovina (third countries not associated with the programme in the Western Balkans).
- Organisations and institutions with prior experience with youth work and/or local volunteering projects that are motivated to add international dimension to their local on-going activities by obtaining Quality Label in the near future.
- Organisations and institutions that have in the past been accredited for European Voluntary Service are also encouraged to apply.
We strongly recommend that participants read the SALTO SEE page on ESC Quality Label before applying to this training course.
Application link & deadline: apply here, by Monday 7th of September 2026, 17h00 CET.
More Information
- About European Solidarity Corps
- About SALTO SEE Contact Points in the Western Balkans
- About SALTO SEE
Contact person: Andrej Troha, Programme officer for the European Solidarity Corps, at andrej.troha@movit.si