Safeguarding

Safeguarding & Participant Protection

EVEC Athens hosts and sends young people through Erasmus+ and the European Solidarity Corps. Some of them are under 18. This page explains what we do to keep participants safe, who is responsible, and how to raise a concern.

Who this covers

• Participants in youth exchanges and training courses, including those aged under 18
• European Solidarity Corps volunteers hosted by EVEC in Athens
• Trainees and interns on placement with us
• Local and online volunteers
• Our own staff, volunteers and trainers, and any partner working with our participants

Our commitments

• Participants are treated with respect regardless of age, nationality, gender, disability, religion, sexual orientation or background.
• Harassment, bullying, discrimination, and any form of physical, emotional or sexual abuse are not tolerated.
• Concerns are taken seriously, recorded, and acted on — not dismissed or handled informally.
• Nobody is disadvantaged for raising a concern in good faith.

Before an activity

• For any role that involves working with people under 18, we request a criminal-record certificate (ποινικό μητρώο).
• Everyone joining us receives a safeguarding briefing during orientation, covering conduct expectations, boundaries, and how to report a concern.
• For participants under 18, we require written parental or guardian consent before the activity, and we agree supervision arrangements with the sending organisation.

During an activity

• Every hosted participant is given a named contact at EVEC and a phone number they can use for the duration of their stay, including outside working hours in an emergency.
• Accommodation and activity venues are chosen with participant safety in mind.
• Where an activity involves minors, supervision responsibilities are agreed in writing with the sending organisation before arrival.

How to report a concern

Email erasmus@evec.org.gr, marking the message Safeguarding. It reaches Mrs Mirlena Charisi, President, who is the accountable person for safeguarding at EVEC Athens.

Tell us what happened, when, who was involved, and what you would like to happen next. If you prefer not to give your name, we will still look into it, although that can limit what we are able to do.

What happens next:

• We acknowledge within 2 working days.
• We agree immediate steps to keep the person safe.
• We look into what happened and tell you the outcome. If it will take longer than expected, we tell you when to expect an answer.
• Where a criminal offence may have occurred, we contact the Greek authorities.

If you are not satisfied with our response

For activities funded by Erasmus+ or the European Solidarity Corps, you can escalate to the Greek National Agency, INEDIVIM (Foundation for Youth and Lifelong Learning), which supervises our accreditations:

• Erasmus+ KA1 Youth Accreditation — 2023-1-EL02-KA150-YOU-000188397
• European Solidarity Corps Quality Label — 2023-1-EL02-ESC50-QLA-000195138

You can also use our complaints procedure for anything that is not a safeguarding matter.

Responsibility and review

Accountable person: Mrs Mirlena Charisi, President, EVEC Athens — European Voluntary and Educational Center (EVROPAIKO ETHELONTIKO KAI EKPAIDEFTIKO KENTRO). Registered office: Kallistratous 89, 157 71 Zografou, Athens, Greece.

This policy is reviewed at least once a year.