JINT vzw stimulates and supports the international exchange and cooperation of young people and youth organisations. JINT is the National Agency for Erasmus+ Youth and the European Solidarity Corps and coordinates the Bel'J programme in Flanders, Belgium.
Contact
Our address:
JINT vzw
Grétrystraat 26
1000 Brussels
You can call or email us with your question(s) on 02 209 07 20 or jint [at] jint.be.
We are available from Monday to Friday between 9 am and 5 pm. If you would like to visit us, please let us know in advance and we will happily make time for you.
If you are you looking for someone specific, have a look at our Who is who?page.
About us
Providing support is the core of JINT’s work. We help young people to take part in international and intercultural exchanges, whether abroad or right on their doorstep. We help youth workers to take their day-to-day work to the next level with inspiring international partnerships and projects. We help to inform policy-makers, leading to a more international outlook on youth, youth work and youth policy.
JINT was founded in 1989 by the Flemish government, in consultation with Flemish youth organisations. JINT is a non-profit organisation, financed by two institutions:
- Department of Culture, Youth and Media of the Flemish Government
- Directorate-General for Education, Youth, Sport and Culture of the European Commission
Grants
Erasmus+ Youth
Erasmus+ is the EU funding programme for education, training, youth and sport. It runs from 2021 till the end of 2027 with a total budget of more than 26 billion euro. Within Erasmus+ there are different sections: one for education and training, one for sport and one for youth projects.
The youth section of Erasmus+ in Flanders is called ‘Erasmus+ Jeugd‘. It funds projects for and by young people and youth organisations. It has a separate budget and specific project possibilities.
What does Erasmus+ (Jeugd) aim for?
The general objective of Erasmus+ is to support, through lifelong learning, the educational, professional and personal development of people in education, training, youth and sport, in Europe and beyond, thereby contributing to sustainable growth, quality jobs and social cohesion, to driving innovation, and to strengthening European identity and active citizenship.
As such, Erasmus+ ‘Jeugd’ shall be a key instrument for building a European Education Area, advancing youth policy cooperation under the Union Youth Strategy 2019-2027.
The programme has the following specific objective for youth: promote non-formal and informal learning mobility and active participation among young people, as well as cooperation, quality, inclusion, creativity and innovation at the level of organisations and policies in the field of youth.
Where can I apply for funding for my project?
Two National Agencies implement Erasmus+ in Flanders, Belgium:
- JINT vzw is the Flemish National Agency for ‘Erasmus+ Jeugd’, the youth section.
- Epos vzw is the Flemish National Agency for education and training.
Applications in the field of sport are dealt with centrally by the Executive Agency of the European Commission (EACEA).
If you are an International Non-Governmental Youth Organisation (INGYO), please read the information below.
You can find more information in English on theErasmus+ website of the European Commission.
For International Non-Governmental Youth Organisations (INGYO's)
Youth projects of INGYO’s have to apply at the National Agencies, not at the Executive Agency (EACEA).
In order to facilitate this, funding has been distributed to all programme countries according to the usual budget distribution keys. This means that INGYO’s or their member organisations can apply for project grants to all National Agencies as long as the applicant is legally established in the country were it applies. It is possible for an INGYO to be partner in the project of one of their member organisations.
Please note that INGYO’s have to follow Belgian procedures. This means that organisations must apply to the National Agency of the Community where they are located. For example:
- An organisation located in Liege has to apply to BIJ.
- An organisation from Antwerp has to apply to JINT.
- An organisation from Eupen to Jugendbüro.
- Organisations based in Brussels can apply either to BIJ OR to JINT, knowing that JINT will handle the application in Dutch and English and BIJ in French and English.
Is your organisation a Brussels-based international organisation? Please read this document before applying for an Erasmus+ accreditation.
European Solidarity Corps
The European Solidarity Corps is an EU funding programme, creating opportunities for young people to volunteer or work in projects that benefit communities and people around Europe.
What is the aim of this programme?
The European Solidarity Corps aims to promote solidarity. It does so by enhancing the local or international engagement of young people to strengthen cohesion, solidarity, democracy and citizenship in Europe. Promoting social inclusion is key.
How do I apply for funding?
- You can submit your application to JINT vzw, the National Agency implementing the European Solidarity Corps in Flanders, Belgium. You can find more information on ourdedicated website (in Dutch).
- Applications for volunteering teams in high priority areas can be submitted to the Education, Audiovisual and Culture Executive Agency of the European Commission (EACEA).
You can also find more information in English on the European Solidarity Corps website of the European Commission.
For International Non-Governmental Youth Organisations (INGYO's)
INGYO's and their member organisations can apply for project grants from all National Agencies:
- as long as the applicant is legally established in the country where the applicant applies, and
- as long as there are participants involved who are legally residing in that same country.
It is possible for an INGYO to be a partner in the project of one of their member organisations.
INGYO's have to follow Belgian procedures. This means that organisations must apply to the National Agency of the Community where they are located. For example:
- An organisation located in Liège should send its application to Bureau International Jeunesse (BIJ)
- An organisation from Antwerp submits its application to JINT.
- An organisation based in Eupen can apply for a grant with Jugendbüro der Deutschsprachigen Gemeinschaft V.o.G (Jugendbüro)
Organisations based in Brussels can apply either to Le BIJ or to JINT, potentially depending on their future participants’ legal residence. JINT will process applications in Dutch or English, and Le BIJ in French or English.
Get inspired!
Read Alena's story as a European volunteer.
Bel’J
The Bel’J programme was established in 2009 and gives young people between 12 and 30 the opportunity to meet young people from other Communities in Belgium. The programme originates from the idea that you can only explore the way of life of others, with all their similarities and differences, through real and long-term contacts.
The Ministers of Youth of the 3 Communities in Belgium are convinced that these contacts should be encouraged. They therefore support this joint programme with opportunities for exchange and non-formal learning activities.
Within the Bel’J programme there are 3 types of activities:
- It gives young people the opportunity to volunteer alone, or in a group of maximum 3 people, for 10 days to 3 months in an organisation from one of the other Communities. This way they familiarise themselves with the organisation and its work or they can set up a creative project there.
- A second possibility is for groups of 8 to 60 young people from the three Communities to spend 5 to 15 days together and undertake joint projects.
In these two cases the young people become acquainted with the daily life of the other Communities. It gives them the opportunity to get to know each other's culture and potentially to establish lasting bonds with young people from the French-speaking or the German-speaking Community.
- The third option of the programme focuses on youth workers. During a Youth Workers Mobility Project youth workers can learn from each other by taking part in a job shadowing exercise and/or collaborative projects for youth work organisations.
Project applications that are approved receive a financial contribution to cover the costs.
Each Community appointed an Agency to implement the programme. It is the Agency's task to disseminate information about Bel’J, to maintain contact with the organisations involved, to support young people and to complete the administrative and financial procedures. The 3 Agencies are:
- Flemish Community - JINT vzw
- French Community - Bureau International Jeunesse (BIJ)
- German-speaking Community - Jugendbüro der Deutschsprachigen Gemeinschaft V.o.G (Jugendbüro)
Please visit the dedicated website (in Dutch, French or German) for more information.
Information available in English
The majority of the information and services provided by JINT are in Dutch. However, we would like to point out the following resources in English that might be of interest to you:
- :Retrospective magazine, giving an overview of groundbreaking projects for young people and youth work in numbers, words and pictures. Don't have much time? Read the summary leaflet.
- Quality Mobility App (Q! App): helps you create learning mobility projects of even better quality. It allows you to self-assess the quality of your international youth projects & compare your assessment with colleagues. You can also provides you with an online platform to create your own project and cooperate with your partners. Last but not least, there are 200+ practical resources, tips, videos and checklists to improve the quality of a learning mobility project - shown at the various stages of your mobility project.
- SALTO YOUTH: stands for Support, Advanced Learning and Training Opportunities for Youth. It is a network of six Resource Centres working on European priority areas within the youth field. On their website you can find, amongst others, the European Training Calendar, the Toolbox for Training, the Otlas Partner Finding Tool and the Trainers directory.
- The European Youth Portal: offers European and national information and opportunities that are of interest to young people who are living, learning and working in Europe. It provides information around eight main themes, covers 35 countries and is available in 28 languages.
- The EU-CoE youth partnership is a co-operation programme between the European Commission and the Council of Europe in the field of youth, created in 1998. On their website you can find various publications and resources, in English and other languages.
- #Youthworkworks: Learn more about the mission, the DNA, the effect and aspirations of youth work in Flanders.
