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Just think about...
living abroad for a year (or six months)
learning a new language and getting to know a culture from the inside
developing new perspectives
Through ICYE, young people aged 18 to 25 (up to 30 in certain countries), with or
without qualifications, after secondary school or during their university studies or
(un)employment, have the opportunity to live in another country with a family or a in
a residential project, and work as volunteers in a wide variety of voluntary work placements.
To be a volunteer with ICYE means to integrate in the life and work of the hosting organisation
and wider community. Volunteers are encouraged and supported to get involved in the planning
and managing of distinct activities, take part in staff meetings, and to take on responsibilities
according to their skills and interests, as well as the needs of the project. An important aspect
of the voluntary service experience is the volunteer’s active participation in the life of the
community in which he/she lives and works.
Voluntary service placements offered by ICYE include social work projects dealing with
children and young people at risk, with the elderly, the disabled, rural and health development projects,
human rights organisations, peace associations, ecological projects, women’s groups, migrant workers’
support groups, fair-trade shops, and solidarity projects.
Examples of voluntary services placements and related volunteers tasks
planning and organising activities for young people in a youth centre in Belgium;
working alongside street educators and local volunteers in providing shelter and food,
and running literacy classes and vocational training to street children in Colombia,
Ghana and India;
providing material assistance and emotional support to HIV positive children and adults
in specialised centres, respectively in Kenya, England, Germany and Russia;
promoting artistic and animation activities with rural children in Honduras and
Mozambique, Nepal, and Uganda;
organising human rights campaigns in Brazil;
working in ecological projects in Costa Rica, Mexico and Thailand;
working on a farm in Iceland and New Zealand;
teaching special needs children in Taiwan;
organising activities and providing assistance to disabled people in France, Italy, Japan,
Lithuania, and South Korea;
organising and running activities in centres for refugees and migrant workers in Germany.
For more detailed information about voluntary service placements offered in each country,
please consult our
database of voluntary work placements.
Who can volunteer? Any special requirement?
ICYE exchanges are open to all young people between the ages of 18 and 25
(and up to the age of 30 in certain countries), with or without qualifications,
after secondary school or during your university studies or (un)employment,
ICYE can offer you the best year of your life!
There is no such thing as a 'typical' volunteer. ICYE volunteers should be:
flexible, communicative, and open to new experiences,
willing to learn new skills
broad-minded and self-reliant
committed to inter-cultural understanding
ICYE Volunteers don't need:
Specialised skills or work experience
Existing foreign language skills
Experience of international travel
Disabled volunteers are asked to submit applications early - at least
six months prior to the start of the programme. This means that ICYE can
make appropriate arrangements with the National Committee in the country
of your choice. Please note that Personal Assistants must be recruited and
funded by you, or an appropriate organisation.
What does your stay abroad with ICYE involve?
Before your departure
Our world-wide network of ICYE staff and co-workers carefully select and
prepare programme participants before departure.
Each ICYE national committee
organises information and recruitment days where you can meet people who have
just returned from their year abroad, find out more about ICYE and the countries
where we operate. This is also our chance to find out a bit more about you, your
reasons for volunteering abroad and the type of work you would be interested in doing.
A "pre-departure weekend" enables you to meet your fellow-volunteers and share
excitement and fears about your year abroad.
Your stay abroad
Upon your arrival in the host country your "orientation period" lasts up to a month.
You will learn about the people, culture, the local ICYE and your work placement.
You will also receive an introductory language course to help you get by.
After the orientation, you will be off to work and to move into your new home.
You will be either living with a family or in a shared living situation and work as
a volunteer in a local project, for 6 or 12 months.
The voluntary service opportunities offered range from social work (such as projects
dealing with children and youths at risk, with the elderly, the disabled), rural and health
development projects, to peace education, ecological projects, women's groups, youth centres,
migrant workers' support groups, fair-trade shops, hospitals, solidarity projects,
and refugee centres.
Have a look at the
ICYE Database of Voluntary Service Projects, where you can browse
through available placements and fill in a registration form, which will be sent to the
respective hosting committees and the sending committee in your home country.
The "mid-year camp" is a chance to catch up with other volunteers and join with your
ICYE hosting committee to evaluate your first six months. Sometimes this may be combined
with a conference on an issue relevant to your host country.
The last official meeting for the volunteers is the "end-of-stay evaluation", where
you will discuss your experiences and prepare to return home - which is often the hardest part!
You will get support from people who have spent a year abroad and get some advice on
settling back in. After the evaluation you have a free month before returning to your home
country. Most volunteers take this opportunity to travel and see more of the country.
Returning home
Upon your return home, your sending national committees will organise a
"returnees residential weekend" together with other returning volunteers as well as
incoming foreign volunteers which will give you a chance to tell your sending
organisation about how your year went and to find out what is happening with ICYE
in your home country and elsewhere.
You will also be invited to join ICYE’s membership scheme in your country which
will give you access to national and international events, meetings and seminars.
How do I apply?
You need to get in touch with the
ICYE National Committee in your country of residence,
from which you can obtain more detailed
information about conditions of participation, application forms and
selection procedures.
You can also fill out our on-line
Expression of Interest Form and submit it to the corresponding
ICYE National Committee in your country of residence.
If there is no ICYE Member Committee in your country, please contact the
ICYE International Office for more advice.
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