Excellencies, ladies and gentlemen,

It is an honour and an interesting opportunity for me to address this webinar today. Focus on both volunteering and youth employment is a timely topic. The Covid 19 pandemic has had a devastating impact on many countries, including the countries of Central Asia. As this tragedy unfolded, and governments struggled to address its consequences, volunteers stepped up in many countries to provide support to the vulnerable and affected. Last year at the second EU – Central Asia Civil Society Forum, for example, the future of volunteering was one of the topics discussed broadly as everyone wished to express their gratitude to volunteers for their work.

Inspiring examples of young people organising to share information on protecting themselves and their family from illness and supporting each other in difficult circumstances gave us hope in those difficult times. Now the key is to make sure that the energy and power of volunteering continues to serve our societies.

As such, the connection between volunteering and employment is not straightforward. Volunteering is seen as an enabler for employment, and within the EU context as an enabler for a European, flexible and mobile workforce.

Increasing youth employment is central to EU’s employment policies and is part of the new European skills agenda for sustainable competitiveness, social fairness and resilience. It also an essential part of the EU’s Youth policy. Within this policy framework the EU key actions focus on the efforts for offer better opportunities to access employment, better opportunities through education and training, better opportunities for solidarity, learning mobility and participation. It also include a quality framework for traineeships and reducing obstacles to mobility for young people. It offers such instruments as the Youth Guarantee and Erasmus + and European Solidarity Corps.

European Solidarity Corps is at the heart of volunteering in the EU. It is an initiative aimed at creating opportunities for young people to volunteer or work in solidarity-relate projects that benefit communities and people around Europe.

The EU sees volunteering as providing multifaceted benefits. These range from an opportunity to support social inclusion and solidarity to active citizenship, community resilience and social engagement. It also promotes shared responsibilities and European values.

Interestingly, volunteering is traditionally part of many Central Asian societies, it just takes different forms. My team recently came across a study, which tried to quantify volunteering in the Kyrgyz society. The conclusion was that more than 80 per cent of people in the Kyrgyz republic, actually engages in one or other form of volunteering, it is just not perceived as such by many people.

Obviously, each country has its own volunteering traditions. At the EU level volunteering has at least a quarter of century tradition. In 2017, an EU-commissioned study tried to assess the impact of volunteering on those who took part in the EU programmes.

Just to share a few interesting observations: three fifths of the volunteers and alumni felt that the EU volunteering experience had helped them to find their first job, and two out three believed it had been profitable for their career development. It fostered entrepreneurial skills with 9 per cent starting their own company, and helped develop soft skills and life skills relevant for employment. It contributed to the career orientation and opened new career perspectives.

Reference EU documents recognise the positive impact of volunteering and other solidarity activities for marginalised youth. As it gives them opportunities to build knowledge, skills and competences that are transferable from non-profit to business settings.

Youth organisations and youth workers may play a role in reaching out to young who are not in employment, education or training, particularly those exposed to poverty and social exclusion. The provision of counselling, guidance and mentoring support and motivate young people in overcoming employment barriers. 

One can also see volunteering as part of non-formal education, which is gaining in importance both in the EU and in Central Asia. I would like here to quote a few findings from a recent study undertaken by UNICEF and the European Training Foundation on “Building a resilient generation in Central Asia and Europe as well as “on Preventing a lockdown generation in Europe and Central Asia.”

“ Young people face extraordinary social, economic, and environmental changes, but many are unsure if they are prepared for what lies ahead. Young people in Europe and Central Asia  don’t feel that their school prepares them for the future. They want to have more practical ‘real world’ experience during their studies. They feel uninformed about potential jobs or careers. They lack reliable information and career guidance to help them make decisions, and their choices are often influenced by family, social, or gender expectations.

In the absence of other advice, they turn to the internet and social media to understand emerging trends in job markets and technologies, what skills are needed, and how to attain them. However, the information online is often too varied and unreliable, leaving many young people disoriented or lost.

They want to understand themselves and develop the socio-emotional skills that help them be adaptable, cope with stress, and act in empathy. They want to learn foreign languages and have an education that celebrates difference, exposing them to different perspectives and histories.” These are things that the volunteering in the EU has proven to develop in those young people who take part.

“Young people are the primary beneficiaries of inclusive lifelong learning systems. They are also potential agents of change. Young learners are more inter-connected and are exposed to information. They can bring new ideas, and question conventional norms. Young volunteers and civil activists can influence the relationships within communities, including the level of cohesiveness and social engagement.” These all are important for societies to be resilient and prosperous.  

“Young people are not only the activists of today but also the policymakers and shapers of tomorrow. However, young people cannot lead this transition alone. They also need policymakers, schools, NGOs, and other community actors to work together with them, just like this event plans to do. As part of this promise we continue to focus on youth in our work on Central Asia and even try to develop a youth pillar of our guiding document: the EU Central Asia Strategy.

 I hope this event will make an excellent contribution to our work and why not to the future of Central Asia.