The Youth Programme has highlighted the advantage of European mobility in facilitating the social integration of young people and in particular those having fewer opportunities (YPHFO). Thus, the short term work that has been conducted within the framework of the European Voluntary Service (EVS) has allowed for the pertinence of this approach to be ascertained. This has led the French Agency, in partnership with the Interministerial Delegation to Urban Affairs, to develop pilot experiences in France as early as 2002.

The initiative was introduced in the PACA region in 2003 and the JAMO (YPHFO) project began the creation of a network of competent international organizations and the development of examples of good practices.

This approach, which was initiated and supported by the PACA region’s Regional and Departmental Authority on Youth and Sports, showed the utility and relevance of the European Voluntary Services European plan of action to the public partners (local authorities). These public partners, who have the requisite expertise and responsibility with regard to the social integration of young people, were both in France and abroad. Today, this dynamic action only requires organized local initiatives to pursue, back and reinforce it.

The JAMO (YPHFO) project’s objective is to facilitate young people’s international mobility by developing collective experiences (Exchanges of Young People) and individual experiences (European Voluntary Service). Le EVS is used as a tool for personal construction. To achieve this, it is indispensable to adapt this tool to young people having fewer opportunities through human and technical means which combine quality, stability and longevity.

JAMO (YPHFO) hereby urges its partners to develop a local platform aimed at informing and encouraging young people with European mobility. The members of JAMO’s (YPHFO) European network (20 countries and over 60 partners), who have been active in this field for many years, benefit from an in-depth experience. On a European level, the JAMO (YPHFO) network is growing in strength and is able to organise the mobility and supervision which is necessary for its public. This network’s structures will be in a position to send and receive young people allowing them to obtain quality exchanges.

In order to ensure that this project is successful, a closely linked chain of partners must be mobilized. It is on this condition that the career paths which are proposed and which rely on international mobility as a factor allowing for an individual change process to begin, will be effective and will favour the integration of young people.