TOKA invites young volunteers to participate in the Service Learning Awards!

What is the Regional Service Learning Award?

The Regional Service Learning Award aims to recognize and appreciate the work of educational institutions, organizations, and informal groups working with young people who are developing volunteer projects and activities with educational elements. Specifically, the award:

• Recognizes teachers involved in projects that encourage students to engage in active citizenship;
• Recognizes young people and representatives of organizations, informal groups that have encouraged young people to engage in active citizenship;
• Ensures recognition of educational institutions, organizations, and informal groups that better integrate students’ curricular learning with service actions aimed at improving the quality of life in their communities;
• Provides technical support for applicants;
• Collects volunteer practices that impact the development of students and the community in general;
• Promotes a culture based on civic engagement.

Who can apply? 

This year, the Regional Service Learning Award is open to two categories:

• Schools
• Organizations or informal groups working with young people. The required conditions are:
• The application is open to all schools (private or public) that have involved students in Service Learning projects;
• The application is open to all organizations or informal groups that develop volunteer projects involving students;
• The project you are applying with must have been implemented during the school year June 2023 – June 2024.

Why apply? 

In addition to the promotion, your school, organization, or informal group will receive recognition for your innovative work and prestige, as well as a financial prize or acknowledgment for the top three projects in the two categories.

What are the awards? 

The prizes for the school category are:

• First prize – 500 EURO
• Second prize – 300 EURO
• Third prize – 200 EURO

The prizes for the organization or informal group category are:

• First prize – 500 EURO
• Second prize – 300 EURO
• Third prize – 200 EURO

Special themed awards:

• 1 special prize for Service Learning projects addressing the fight against fake news – 500 EURO.
• 1 special prize for Service Learning projects addressing digital literacy projects – 500 EURO.
• 1 special prize for Service Learning projects addressing good governance projects – 500 EURO.

Additionally, each participating country will recognize the semi-finalists through an Acknowledgement, stamped and signed by the partners of the Central and Southeastern Europe Service Learning Network (CSEE SL). The funds from the first prizes must be used to further develop Service Learning projects in your community.

How to apply? To apply, you must follow these steps:

• Before filling out the Application Form, make sure to read the Terms and Conditions for the category you wish to apply for. For the school category, find the Terms and Conditions here, and for the organization or informal group category, find the Terms and Conditions here.
• Fill out the application form for the category you wish to apply for. For the school category, find the Application Form here, and for the organization or informal group category, find the Application Form here.
• Attach evidence and supporting materials related to the project you are applying with, such as photos, videos, brochures, etc.

When is the application deadline? 

The application deadline is July 14, 2024.

I have questions, where can I address them? 

Please send us an email at [email protected].

This award is organized by the Central and Southeastern Europe Service Learning Network. 

The Volunteering Awards are part of the environmental activities of the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (SIDA), through its Human Rightivism program implemented by the Community Development Fund – CDF; the European Union Office in Kosovo; “SMART Balkans” – “Civil Society for Shared Society in the Western Balkans”  implemented by Centar za promociju civilnog društva (CPCD), Center for Research and Policy Making (CRPM) and Institute for Democracy and Mediation (IDM) and financially supported by the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs (NMFA) through their regional and institutional grants; and by the European Union through “Erasmus+” Program.