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eQval
European Quality Standards in Validation of Learning from Volunteering
Partnership
Coordinator
Plataforma Voluntariado España (Spain)
Partners
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Centre for European Volunteering - CEV (Belgium)
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Psitest (Romania)
Objective
The project aims at defining and promoting across Europe the first European Quality Standards in Validation of Learning from Volunteering.
The main objectives of the project are:
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to define and disseminate across the EU the first European Quality standards in Validation of learning from volunteering: The publication of the first version of the quality standards is expected for May 2023. Once they are published, the project partners will organise a transnational consultation open to all the actors involved in the validation process. The aim of thisconsultation is to validate the quality standards with end users and to collect feedback which couldcontribute to the improvement of the standards.
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to facilitate the adoption of the European Quality Standards in Validation of Learning from Volunteering across Europe, the project partners will produce a Manual in six languages. The manual will contain detailed guidelines and tools to facilitate to any interested party the implementation of these quality standards.
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the organisation of the first Award in Validation of Learning from Volunteering.
European Quality Award in Validation of Learning Outcomes from Volunteering 2024
The eQval project launched the European Quality Award in Validation of Learning Outcomes from Volunteering 2024, to recognise and celebrate exemplary practices in the validation of non-formal and informal learning acquired through volunteering.
The award ceremony took place in Brussels in November 2024. COCEMFE (Spain) and VOLABO (Italy) won the European Quality Award in Validation of Learning Outcomes from Volunteering 2024. The award ceremony brought together representatives from voluntary organisations, education providers, policymakers, and stakeholders across Europe. The awards were presented by Koen Nomden, Team Leader for Transparency and Recognition of Skills and Qualifications at the European Commission, who emphasised the significance of these initiatives in fostering skills development and lifelong learning. The eQval project team expressed its deep appreciation to all the organisations that applied for the award. The applications highlighted the exceptional creativity and commitment of organisations across Europe in validating the transformative skills gained through volunteering. While only one winner was initially planned, the outstanding submissions from COCEMFE and VOLABO inspired the decision to recognise both organisations.
Project Sustainability Plan
Looking beyond the funded period, all partners have pledged to keep the momentum alive. To that end, they have drawn up a detailed three-year Sustainability Plan that sets concrete actions, shared promotional targets and joint support services to help organisations across Europe adopt the European Quality Standards in Validation of Learning Outcomes from Volunteering. Each partner has formally endorsed the plan and integrated its tasks into their regular operations. When the three-year cycle concludes, the consortium will reconvene to review achievements, assess emerging needs and agree any updates needed to ensure the guide and standards continue to evolve and serve volunteers, volunteer-involving organisations, education and training providers, enterprises and policy-makers alike.