Beskrivelse af organisationen

Solidarités Jeunesses (SJ) is a non-formal education movement which values voluntary commitment, strong political will and solidarity as its core principles.
Our activities are organised for everyone, regardless of gender, social and cultural background or nationality.
Since its creation, SJ participates in the construction of peace by promoting intercultural and international social connections in France and abroad. SJ works through participative pedagogy which supports initiatives and personal commitment.
SJ is composed of a national secretary based in Paris and 8 regional delegations. Our delegations host volunteers from France and abroad for short or long periods of time. The main activities are renovation, environmental work, cultural and pedagogical activities as well as contributions to the collective life.

From the start, we have enabled intercultural encounters in France and abroad. These meetings organized in a dynamic of doing and living together, break down prejudices, participate in the fight against individualism and open up society. By choosing to set up in Regions, our movement wishes to take part in local activities, contribute to the development of political and civic awareness, and promote openness to the world in devitalized areas. To carry out its activities, Solidarités Jeunesses relies on a network of French and international partners. It works with local authorities and associations to set up its projects and cooperates with social partners so that young people who are furthest from volunteering benefit from its actions while enriching the dynamics of work sites or living quarters through their presence.

Concretely, Solidarités Jeunesses is:
- A national secretariat based in Paris with 11 employees
- 8 regional delegations which welcome French and international volunteers throughout the year (and occasionally) as well as young people in difficulty
- The organization of more than 80 international projects each year led by our delegations for the benefit of the environment, local communities and heritage. Thus, in 2019, nearly 1,300 young volunteers, from more than 60 different nationalities, took part in our international workcamps in France.
- An active member of the international networks Alliance and the CCVIS, which enabled us to send almost 600 volunteers internationally in 2019 to nearly 50 countries around the world, including 36 European countries.
- Many local authorities with whom we co-construct our workcamp programs with a concern for local development in line with the needs of the territory and local communities
- Many socio-educational partners, in contact with young people furthest from European and international mobility, who through our actions offer these young people opportunities for individual and/or collective empowerment.

In the New Aquitaine region:
La Maison des Bateleurs is a youth and non-formal education association created in 1993 and based in Montendre. Its objective is to allow people from different backgrounds to meet, to promote intercultural, inter-generational and international exchange and to give them the opportunity to build projects for the benefit of the community. We deploy our actions in several departments, in consultation with the various partners of New Aquitaine in order to have an efficient territorial network. Our international hosting center is now our main support for action with the adjoining land. The garden is a wonderful area for experimentation with a bamboo grove, a pond, a phyto-purification pond, a stone-cutting and carpentry workshop, a traditional bread oven and a permaculture vegetable garden. In order to meet our objectives of diversity and inclusion, we ensure that young local people are strongly involved in our actions.

Since 2013, Solidarités Jeunesses has carried out intercultural and workcamp actions in Périgord. The Sem&Vol association, our delegation based in Cadouin, has maintained this momentum since 2015 by anchoring its action in the service of the territory and its inhabitants. Involved in local life by organizing participatory workcamps, we carry out actions throughout the Dordogne territory: international workcamps for young volunteers, youth exchanges, solidarity projects, festivals …Furthermore, we work in partnership with local youth actors (local missions, prevention clubs, etc.) to support young people going on workcamps or volunteering abroad. By relying on our local actions and our group of volunteers, we want to promote accessibility to international mobility and civic engagement, for young people and especially those with fewer opportunities.