Through the European Volontary Service (SVE), all young persons aged 18-30 are given the possibility to work abroad for 2-12 months in a hosting centre with all expenses covered.

EVS - European Voluntary Service - is part of the EU-programme Youth in Action. There is no need to have any special competencies or language skills to participate.

EVS is neither an internship nor an ordinary job - it is an intercultural experience for young people where the integration of the young person in the hosting organisation as well as in the local community is of great importance.

Trans Europe Halles - the European network of independent cultural centres is a participant in the EVS programme. The website provides a lot of information on how to find a centre and other aspects of the EVS programme.

To consult the full range of opportunities available through the EVS programme, go to the website European Voluntary Service of the European Commission.

You can also download the Youth in action Programme guide on the European Commission website.

• Articles of the 1980 Recommendation related to this issue:
  VI. 8. In view of the growing importance of international exchanges of works of art, and contacts between artists, and the need to encourage, them, Member States separately or collectively, without prejudice to the development of national cultures, are invited to : (...)
  (b) take measures to encourage international travel and exchange by artists, giving due attention to visiting national artists.
  
  
• Points of the 1997 Declaration related to this subject:
  - Parag. 18: (...) New means of private funding, from major foundations to small companies, must be encouraged as supplementary sources of funds, particularly with a view to supporting the creation, the expression and the dissemination of contemporary works.
  - Parag. 19: Public and private funding sources are invited to respond favourably to requests made by artists in developing countries or countries in transition. UNESCO’s intervention is particularly necessary in order to identify and publicize existing opportunities for private funding of the arts worldwide.

• Source:On the Move
• 12-09-2009