Volunteer Agreement

The Young European Ambassadors’ Volunteer Agreement (YEA VA) represents the basis of the voluntarism and cooperative relationship between the YEA Project Team (the organisers/the agency) and the Young European Ambassadors (the participants). The VA outlines the expectations of both parties in relation to the committed length of time, confidentiality, attendance of trainings, events, activities and adherence to the project’s policies and procedures. We acknowledge that you may be studying/working, and for this reason, the YEA initiative is designed to be flexible and time conscious.

This Volunteer Agreement establishes a relationship based on mutual respect, trust and cooperation. We wish also to assure you of our appreciation for your contribution to the YEA network. It is our priority that you receive rewarding, productive and long-lasting benefits from your participation in the Young European Ambassadors initiative. Furthermore, we hold in high regard the mutual obligations to which we indicate our compliance through the signing of this document.

The YEA team network selects you as Young European Ambassador, whose role will be supervised by the YEAs Team Leader, WeBalkans Team.

• 1. Providing you with Online Visibility
  • Supporting you to become a truly positive youth influencer – both online and offline – within your community, country, region, and the EU, through our special tailor-made trainings and workshops.
  • Supporting you to conduct interviews, develop campaigns, video materials, and projects using your social media platforms.
  • Providing the opportunity to be featured in our “YEA of the Month’ campaign.
  • Providing the opportunity to host a Podcast.
  • Providing online and offline campaigns and initiatives promotion by the YEA’s platforms.
  • Including your social media profiles in a larger regional online campaigns.
  • Featuring you in the website section under “Young European Ambassadors”/WavetoYEA campaign in social media (Instagram).
• 2. Facilitating your participation in Youth Events and Projects you have been selected for, including:
  • Events organised and implemented by the YEA network for youth in the Western Balkans and the European Union.
  • Conferences and debates on topical issues.
  • Cultural events within the EU and the Western Balkan region.
  • Study visits to Brussels, or other countries within the EU and the Western Balkans (travel and accommodation expenses covered).
  • YEA events, which will also be organised by you in collaboration with other YEAs.
  • Creative and social projects.
• 3. Provision of Learning and Capacity Building activities through: You will have learning opportunities through opportunities such as the following:
  • Capacity building and training in the fields of public relations, communication, presentation, and social media.
  • Debates and EU open days – youth discussions on social and environmental issues, education, minority rights, and intercultural cooperation.
  • Tailor-made courses for artists, music production, film production, photography, social media, sports, and so on.
  • Face-to-face or online training sessions.
  • E-learning modules and online mentoring by expert trainers throughout the project’s duration.
  • You will receive certificates of attendance for communication courses, as well as professional and vocational trainings, and retain lifetime access to online and hard copy learning materials.

• 1. Planning and production of a monthly social media plan on your social media channels in relation to:
  • EU topics, EU values, EU events, and diversity in youth lifestyles focusing on the European Union and the Western Balkans. The exact amount of social media content to be produced by the YEAs will be defined with the Team Leader.
  • Self-promotion with the aim of inspiring positive changes with your peer group.
  • Engagement with peers from other EU youth networks via social media.
  • Promotion of all YEA’s activities.
  • Contributions to the YEA of the month campaign through relevant actions.
  • Contributions to the WavetoYEA campaign for the newest YEAs generation members.
  • These activities will be carried out in cooperation with and under the supervision of the Community Manager. Missing out on 2 or more social media monthly plans may result in your exclusion from the YEA network.
• 2. Participation in the majority of events, webinars, workshops, trainings, meetings, interviews, and initiatives organised by the YEA, including:
  • WeBalkans-organised events – missing out on more than 3 events within a year may result in your exclusion from YEA network.
  • Events organized by external partners of YEAs (optional), which when applied for, must be fulfilled. (When applying for participation at the event, last-minute cancellations are not allowed unless in the case of force majeure.)
  • Networking events with other youth platforms in the EU and the Western Balkans, and Youth TV programs in your country.
  • When participating in other events outside of the YEA, using the YEA title, in principle it should communicated 2 weeks in advance and approved by the YEA Community Manager and KE3. The event in question must be officially registered in the YEA Activities Calendar by the Community Manager.
• Eligible event expenses (prior approval is requested) covered by the WeBalkans project, either in advance or via reimbursement include those incurred in:
• 3. Provision of peer-to-peer training and the exchange of knowledge (online communication and the sharing information) to your followers and peer group, to the best of your abilities.
• 4. Sharing of positive information on all of the YEA’s activities and youth initiatives as a true Ambassador would – both online and offline.
• 5. Complying at all times and the outlined Terms and Conditions that were presented to you during the Application Process.
• 6. Complying with the rules on the use of respectful language and an appropriate tone of voice across all content contained within the YEA’s public profiles and the project’s entire duration.
• 7. Fulfilling tasks and initiatives with designated timeframes.
• 8. Providing sufficient notice when unavailable to perform previously agreed tasks and obligations (a minimum of 2 weeks’ notice).
• 9. Being aware that all activities within this project are voluntary, and that they will not involve remunerations of any kind nor bestowing of titles. Expenses incurred from activities/travels will be covered by the project, based on approved activities and respective budgets approved from DG NEAR and responsible project team. Activities which budgets have not been approved before, cannot be reimbursed.
• 10. Providing sufficient notice to the YEA Project Team in the event you decide (for personal/professional reasons) to leave the project.
• 11. Acting in a way that is in line with the organisation’s aims and objectives, and which enhances the work it carries out.

• Young European Ambassadors is an advocacy project, not a political one. The target group of Ambassadors are other young people and raising their awareness and motivation about crucial areas of EU integrations.

• The Young European Ambassadors is a voluntary initiative. Participants will be obliged not only to post YEA content on their private social media profiles, but also to do so with an agreed frequency. All content relating to the YEA is to be followed by a designated hashtag #YESTOYEA and #WeBalkans. Participation in the YEA network does not limit or prohibit participants from participating in other youth initiatives.

• The Young European Ambassadors is a non-political initiative. Any views expressed by Ambassadors outside of the project does not represent the overall opinions of the Young European Ambassadors network, or any other EU institution or agency. Any political debates among Ambassadors have to be done in a spirit of cooperation and mutual friendship. Political stands towards the public do not belong under this project’s mission.

• In the context of this project, WeGlobal srl acts on behalf of, and represents, the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Neighbourhood and Enlargement Negotiations (DG NEAR), and reserves the right to disqualify and/or exclude a participant in the event that they do not respect the Terms and Conditions as outlined to all participants prior to their selection as YEA’s, will all inappropriate behaviour liable to this stipulation.

• The European spirit, fair contest, respect, friendship, team spirit, equality, respect for written and unwritten rules such as integrity, solidarity, tolerance, care, excellence, and joy, are the building blocks of fair play that this contest promotes. WeGlobal reserves the right to make decisions with regards to unforeseen circumstances, or to amend certain rules, should the need arise during the course of the project.

Responsibility and Force Majeure

WeGlobal srl and/or the European Commission will disqualify all individuals who exercise harmful online behaviour from serving as a representative of the YEA network.

WeGlobal srl and/or the European Commission cannot be held responsible for the cancellation, postponement, or modification of the contest, and/or the activities of the Western Balkans’ Communication Programme for the YEA Network, due to the unforeseen circumstances.