The Causes of ESN are areas in which ESN carries out its activities at the local level.

They are a literal transfer of what we believe, our mission and goals as an organization for actions, which are undertaken by sections and which become the source of further opportunities, inspirations, partnerships or cooperation. ESN focuses on operations in six areas:

 

Education & Youth

In our activity, it is primarily the use of non-formal education, which supports non-school education to combat stereotypes and prepares us socially for active life as part of society. It is also professionalization of activities and conducting trainings, as a result of which we increase the skills of our members.

ESN is an organization that deals with education at every level of activity. The local level is primarily the education of volunteers in the subject of organization, development of soft skills, but also the development of international students, for example through the implementation of the Erasmus In Schools project, in this case, we also educate local communities together with exchange students. The national level offers endless development opportunities, starting with ESN UPGRADE, ending with the appointment of specific functions - coordinators, members of the Board or the Audit Commission. Education Officer deals with everything related to exchanges, cooperating with several local Education Officers who have direct contact with their universities. Through the organization of National Erasmus Games, we not only promote a healthy lifestyle, our activities directly indicate how we should eat well or how to play sports. The international level organizes countless conferences, conventions, but also applies for grants or prepares materials that we later use in the education of our members at other levels.

Through cooperation with institutional partners, units such as the European Commission, universities, kindergartens and schools, we not only "teach" education. ESN is a key representative of the youth, we participate in processes that set the direction of activities of many projects and initiatives, including the most important in our activity - the Erasmus + Program. We create guidelines, provide feedback and set a strategy. We deal with everything - starting from preparation, through actions and collecting applications, in order to create further foundations for development.

Projects and programs implemented under Education & Youth:

 

Culture

Under this concept there are many meanings. Culture includes many systems of values, works and goods. Sometimes it is characteristic for a given region, country or groups of people.

At ESN we try to promote culture through various activities - we organize meetings for international students, together we visit local restaurants, theaters and we meet at film nights. We also learn languages, we sit down together at the tables. We promote cities and universities in which we learn.

The European Union declared 2018 the European Year of Cultural Heritage. The objective of EYCH is cooperation for the protection, preservation, re-use, development and promotion of European heritage. And also to show the cultural heritage in all its diversity, material and not as the output of past generations, which strongly affects our present.

ESN program implemented as part of, among others Culture promotion is Mov'in Europe - https://www.esn.pl/en/movin-europe and https://movineurope.esn.org/

 

Skills & Employability

Under this concept are all the features and skills that are crucial in finding a job and maintaining it. It is also awareness and the ability to set clear, realistic goals in a career, all to be satisfied with your profession.

How is it that volunteers from our organization work, study and, in addition, spend all their free time in ESN? Each of us develops in the organization both individually and in groups. We shape the skills of resource management, above all the ability to effectively manage yourself in time. We work in a dynamic, young team with a diverse cultural and social background. Sounds like a job offer? That's how I would describe nothing but ESN!

Our organization sets the same work requirements for us as many companies. As a result, our members are better prepared to undertake full-time work. What's more, they are aware of their competences and are not afraid to talk about their requirements as to the employer. ESN shapes the skills necessary to take up key positions in companies or to take on challenges such as running your own business.

It's easy, ESN teaches us a lot, it's time to share it with the rest of the world.

The ESN program implemented as part of Skills & Employability:

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Health & Well-being

This concept includes experiencing positive emotions by people, low levels of harmful moods as well as a high level of life satisfaction. It is derived from positive psychology, which as part of the discipline of psychology focuses on the issue related to the human qualities and the possibility of their improvement. The sense of well-being is directly related to the concept of optimism, which is an important personal resource that affects health, well-being, and life successes.

This motif includes concepts such as sports activities, healthy eating, high level of knowledge about a healthy lifestyle. In other words - everything that affects our well-being in a positive way.

Sports activities and a proper diet are extremely important for international students. By changing their place of residence they are often forced to completely change their eating habits, the new country does not offer the products known to them, and the life between the university and the travels is not conducive to the regeneration of strength or improve the condition. This is not all, in the case of Poland in most large cities there is a lot of air pollution.

Balance, between private life and ESN is another problem. H & W's activities are aimed not only at removing the negative effects of work in the organization or student exchanges, but above all educating ourselves about potential threats. By increasing our knowledge in the subject of H & W, we automatically come up with ingenious ideas for implementing this cause in the life of the section, and finally in our lives.

Projects and programs implemented as part of Health & Well-being:

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Social Inclusion

➡What is inclusiveness?

Inferential means "connecting" or "including some whole"; including "intended for everyone". This is definitely the key word for ESN's social inclusion activities.

➡What is the purpose of Social Inclusion?

ESN strives for mobility based on equality and on the needs of each person. To achieve this goal, ESN has developed its own programs and projects on this subject, raising the awareness of international students and transforming them into more active citizens. Projects and programs implemented as part of Social Inclusion:

We also celebrate Social Inclusion Days, during which we integrate international students with local communities and work on a better and more sustainable world. We also strive to ensure that all conventions and activities at the national level are adapted to the goals of sustainable development and available to everyone.

 

Environmental Sustainability

Sustainable development of the Earth is a development that satisfies the basic needs of all people and preserves, protects and restores the health and integrity of the Earth's ecosystem, without threatening to meet the needs of future generations and without exceeding the long-term limits of Earth's ecosystem capacity.

ESN has been dealing with the subject of the environment for more than 10 years, because after all, one of the issues it deals with the SocialErasmus project is the environment. Events such as the Erasmus Forest directly contribute to the improvement of air quality and the increase of green spaces in Poland.

During conventions, you may have noticed some solutions that reduce the amount of waste produced. Sections decide to buy segregation bins for their offices, and trainers re-use their materials.

Digitization of our projects and activities also has an impact on the reduction of the number of printed documents.

Projects and programs implemented under Environmental Sustainability: