The impact of the European Voluntary Service on the perception of European identity

ABSTRACT Master's Thesis The Impact of The European Voluntary Service on The Perception of European Identity Meltem KARATAŞ Dokuz Eylül University Graduate School of Social Sciences Department of European Union European Union Program Since foundation, European Union has aimed a social and political integration that would go beyond economic and technical integration. For this reason Union aims to establish a European identity among it's citizens. The EU implements ome programmes and policies for fostering European identity among its member states. One of the EU programmes aiming at young citizens is the learnig mobility programmes. European Voluntary Service (EVS) is among the programmes targeting youth education ve it aims to enable working experience for yougn people who are aged between 17-30, for the temporary period of 2 -12 months in a EU member state for a social benefit oriented project. The present dissertation aims to understand the role of EVS on the formation of European identity. In this context, at the first part of this thesis; the concept of identity, it's features and types are explained. There are two theoretical dimensions in identity formation; essentialist approach and structuralist approach. This study emphasizes on the reconstruction of identity as a dynamic process. Therefore, when focusing on the formation of European identity structuralist approach will be followed. In the second chapter, the historical formation process of the European concept is explained. Afterwards, the European Union policies affecting the European identity are explained in the historical development process. In this context, identity formation based on Europeanization and structuralist approach and identity formation based on European Citizenship were examined. The third chapter describes the concept of volunteering, development of the European Voluntary Service and it's elements, aims and actors. The aim of this programme is to give the European Union a common identity, to raise awareness on European issues and to promote active citizenship. As a candidate country, Turkey also benefits from this programme. The development of the European Voluntary Service program in Turkey have been described. The research topic of this thesis is the effect of the European Voluntary Service on the perception of European identity. Qualitative research design was adopted because the study was exploratory. Interview method was used as data collection method. The study sample was composed of volunteers from Turkey who participated in this program. Interview questions are prepared with semi-structured question technique. Interviews were transcribed and the data were processed using thematic analysis, a type of content analysis. As a result of this research, it can be said that this programme brings about a multifaceted change in the lives of volunteers participating in European Voluntary Service. It was found that the programme affected participants' perception of identity. In addition, it has been concluded that it contributes to the formation of Europeanization consciousness and to make them feel European. It was found that the programme helped participants to gain experience of living in Europe and breaking prejudices. This situation has led to changes in their perceptions of "us" and "the other". In addition, it enabled the participants to get to know European culture and cultural cohesion. It can be said that European Voluntary Service has a long-term contribution to the formation of European identity. Keywords: Identity, Europe, European Union, European Identity, European Voluntary Service.