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Solidarit Background and Context

Solidarit began on the Winter 98/99 Stage very simply at the Stage Opening Conference

with a notepad and a pen, taking the names of people who expressed an interest. Since then it

has existed as a club of trainees performing small humanitarian and fund raising social

activities.

The word Solidarit was chosen because of its meaning and that is it pronounced virtually the

same in many different languages.

Before the Traineeship, one of the trainees involved in establishing Solidarit worked with

refugees in Africa as a UN volunteer on programs funded by the European Commission -

going to the internship was a chance to experience the modus operandi of a truly global

institution funding this work. Some years earlier this trainee also went to India and met

Mother Teresa who said at the time that the best way to be happy was to give and that it is

when we truly experience this that we grow and have meaningful lives.

At the beginning of each Traineeship period, approximately 850 trainees from around the

world attend a Welcome Conference1. It was evident for those that began Traineeship

Solidarit that at the Conference the trainees and the Traineeship represent the largest and

most continuous stream of highly qualified, multi-lingual, high achieving and ambitious

assemblies of potential future leaders and policy-makers anywhere in the world. Given this

fact, there were three particular disheartening and disillusioning factors at play.

Firstly, in accordance with the adage that what one focuses on to that they put their

energy, it became apparent that the majority of the focus of the potential future leaders and

policy-makers, which represented arguably the top .05% of the worlds most educated and

privileged population, due to influences outside and inside us, was almost entirely on career,

fun and wealth.

Secondly, upon undertaking the traineeship it was also evident that the modus operandi of the

society and Institutions which provided such a formative traineeship, and created policy and

funded global programs, had little if any program or undertaking to encourage and inspire this

select group to use any of their skills or share any of their energy for others - this was despite

the values written and spoken by those Institutions.

And finally, a certain lack of individual and staff morale and unity in the Institutions that

shaped the lives of so many people, was also surprising.

It was through matching these three factors with the principles espoused by MotherTeresa, that a small group of trainees became friends and worked to make the most of

the goodwill and energy on the Traineeship by creating Solidarit to provide andnurture opportunities for trainees to perform small humanitarian activities. In essence,these activities aimed to encourage the use of the significant skills of the trainees to helpothers and, in doing so, under the principles espoused by Mother Teresa (throughtrainees involvement in giving and experiences) to inspire the social andhumanitarian consciousness, and the morale and unity, of the most continuous stream of

highly qualified, multi-lingual, high achieving and ambitious assemblies of potentialfuture leaders and policy-makers anywhere in the world.

This opportunity was simply, and profoundly, too significant not to be developedhence,

Traineeship Solidarit was born.

1 For trainees of the Commission, the Parliament Administration, the Council and the Committee of the Regions.

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Traineeship Solidarit has been voluntary operated and organised by independent groups of

Commission trainees each Traineeship period since its beginning. It has always, if informally,

been seen as a valuable activity by those within the Commission and has given the EU

Institutions a lot to be proud of.

Since the 1998/99 Winter Traineeship, (with two Traineeship periods per year) Traineeship

Solidarit has carried out approximately seventy different types of positive social activities on

hundreds of occasions, many of the activities are handed on from Traineeship to Traineeship,

and it has helped raise almost 2 million Euros for charity2.

Former Commissioners Hans Van den Broek (External Relations), Emma Bonino (ECHO and

Consumer Affairs), Poul Neilson (Development and ECHO) and Neil Kinnock

(Administration), Stavros Dimas (Environment) and Andris Piebalgs (Energy), the president

of the Commission Jose Manuel Barroso, the President of the European Parliament, Hans-

Gert Poettering and Her Majesty, the Queen of the Belgium have all been aware of and

endorsed Traineeship Solidarit including such things as opening exhibitions or presenting

cheques to charities which Traineeship Solidarit has organised over the various Traineeship

periods.

Traineeship Solidarit exists as a committee of trainees under the sub-committee structure of

the Association of the Trainees of the European Commission. The Association is an

independent organisation organised by trainees each Traineeship period it is an association

de fait according to Belgian law with no formal status or legal form. Traineeship Solidarit is

effectively therefore a club within a club with no permanent members.

More about how it all began

From October 1998, Solidarit took 11 months of work to initially develop for the Stage and

many months of work since then.

On the first Stage, the conception du projetof Solidarit occurred. A bunch of stagiaires withsimilar ideals became friends and worked hard to provide a linkwith the rest of the Stage to

perform small humanitarian activities and to make the most of the goodwill and energy on the

Stage.

On the second Stage, Solidarit became an atelieror a workshop. It was a transition phase,

building on the conception du projet, incorporating new ideas and developing it into

something real so that it can now last as a wonderful and integral part of, and testimony to,

the Stage of the European Commission. A trainee from the former Stage was informally

permitted to stay for 6 months after his Stage to develop a system to continue Solidarit

where there was no permanent presence and no office.3

During this first 11 months, many thanks should go to the former Head of the Bureau des

Stages in 1999, Joan Scott, and the European Community Humanitarian Office ECHO,

specifically the former Assistant du Director, Donatienne Claeys Boaert and the former

2 Traineeship Solidarit has given over 10,000 for example to each of the following: to help children in sexual exploitation in the Philippines; a

program for the hearing impaired in Poland: Micro-finance projects for the poor in Mexico; a rehabilitation program for land mine victims in

Cambodia; an educational program for victims of the Genocide in Rwanda; an orphanage in Georgia and a shelter to feed and educate children in

Brazil.

3 A big THANK YOU is in order and should be remembered for David Barnes (Australia): a philanthropist, visionary, idealist and incredibly

humble young man, who took on this initiative, saw it though the next stage, persevered through tough times so YOU may carry on what many

of us have worked on and sincerely believe in. [Note: this thank you was inserted on the 2nd round of Solidarit as David himself would refuse to

put his name on any of the many documents has worked on, yes, including this one].

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Assistant to the Stage Co-ordinator Heidi Fhrmann. They shared the vision of Solidarit and,

together, they were instrumental in facilitating the development of Solidarit.

Joan Scott and Donatienne Claeys Boaert appreciated the difficult path of organisation

within the transient nature of the Stage. Joan Scott saw possibilities and not barriers.

Constantly positive, she remained ready to assist and to make getting things done possible.

Donatienne Claeys Bouuaert was very considerate and, empathising with the values of

Solidarit and the people working for it, she made it possible to open administrative doors and

resources within the Commission. Heidi Fhrmann, provided outstanding professional and

personal support to the development of Solidarit. She brought her administrative prowess to

Solidarit and was even known to bring a few hot meals into the office; she was perceptive

and attentive, she gave her time and she gave herself. It would not have been done without

Heidis help.

Over the next five years, for the next 10 Stages, from October 1999 to October 2004

Solidarit continued to work and exist and do many many good deeds. There were always

people ready to step forward and to work together to run Solidarit in its true spirit and thus is

lived and thrived.

Due to the transient nature of the Stage, there were always basic challenges and the

reinvention of the wheel each Stage and a former trainee was required to remain a liaison for

Solidarit each Stage. Hoping to address the challenges and to help Solidarit achieve its

potential, former Coordinators from the previous 10 Stages combined their opinions and in

September 2002 a proposal seeking formal support and recognition from the Commission for

Solidarit activities was personally presented to the Bureau des Stages by former Stagiaires

Florence Bouvret (President Summer 2002), Jessica Northey (Treasurer Winter 2001-2002),

Sylvie Mamias (webmistress Summer 2002).

As a result, the Bureau des Stages agreed appointed a stagiaire to work half-time during their

Stage for Solidarit. This appointed lasted from October 2003 to July 2007. The systemrunning Solidarit for the previous 12 Stages was again ordered into a clear system to create a

sound structure for future works.

Overall, what has been achieved by Traineeship Solidarit since 1998 is

impressive with little stewardship or support other than new trainees each

Traineeship4. It has no formal recognition which provide permanent

responsibility for its support and development.5

It has done wonderful things.

Many people have shared thoughts, time, energy, prayers, food and hands

in helping the spirit of Solidarit to live and to grow; thank you to all.

4 A part-time trainee was appointed by the Commission Traineeship Office in October 2003 to assist with Traineeship Solidarit, the position was

discontinued after a few Traineeship Periods.

5 In order to help achieve a grander vision there is a Solidarit Proposal (www.solidariteproposal.eu) to create human resources activities like

Solidarit activities, throughout the EU Institutions