Long Term Volunteering
Long Term Volunteering (LTV) projects provide the opportunity for individuals or small groups from different background to live in a different country for a period of time from 3 to 12 months. Through these projects the volunteer has the possibility to learn a new language, experience life in a different culture, present his/her culture, gain experience and training in a certain area/field, grow emotionally and professionally, and develop his/her personal and professional skills. Being a volunteer means to be flexible, committed, willing to learn, motivated, interested in new cultures, ready to take initiatives, ready to face one''s strengths and weaknesses, and to be able to handle difficulties and life experiences.
The scope of YAP LTV projects vary greatly from project with on peace education, inclusion, environment, sustainable development, community work, arts & music, support of local NGOs to working in projects with specific focus on children/ women/ orphanages/ elderly people/ disabled people/ refugees.
YAP projects and activities are in more than 40 countries world wide including:
Europe: Austria, Belgium, Balkan region (Bosnia-Herzegovina, Croatia, Macedonia, Montenegro, and Serbia), France, Germany, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Netherlands, Romania, Russia, Spain, Sweden, United Kingdom
Africa: Algeria, Egypt, Kenya, Mali, Togo
America: Argentina, Bolivia, Colombia, Honduras, Mexico, United States of America
Middle East: Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Palestine
Asia: India, Indonesia, Japan, Nepal, South Korea, Thailand, Vietnam
YAP provides long term volunteering opportunities through bilateral cooperation among partners as well as through the European Union''s Youth Program “Youth in Action” - European Voluntary Service (EVS). The European Commission supports EVS placements and covers health insurance, travel, visa, vaccinations, pocket money, accommodation, and language classes.
Short Term Volunteering and Workcamps
Short term volunteering or workcamps is a great start for international volunteering. The workcamps address immediate community concerns and provide direct action at improving a specific project in the community, e.g. assisting during disasters, construction of community buildings/ centers/ schools, awareness raising programs on anti-racism, HIV/ AIDS, refugees, painting buildings, environmental conservation projects and clean-ups, organizing activities for other groups in the local community, artistic work, and education tasks. The work of the volunteers is valuable and very much appreciated by the local communities.
A group of (10-25) international volunteers work and live together in a local community project for a period of few days to one month. Living and working together, young people from different backgrounds are able to get to know, learn from each other, and to overcome the barriers of language and other differences. The practical work with the community and the intercultural interaction makes every workcamp to contribute to a more peaceful world.
Workcamps are open for everyone regardless of their age, gender, beliefs, origins, and ethnical background. All volunteers live by local standards. Workcamps leaders facilitate the workcamp activities and living together.
Trainings and Seminars
Understanding the value of capacity building, YAP invests in a number of trainings and seminars supported by National Agencies, local municipalities, European Commission, and Council of Europe.
These trainings address a number of areas such as inclusion, peace education, citizenship, migration, media, conflict resolution, sustainable development, intercultural learning, human rights, and democracy. Our objective is to provide skills and tools to empower young people for life experiences and to better serve their community. The particular areas of skills development are training of trainers, volunteer management, organizational management, fundraising, lobbying, media and PR. The seminars and trainings provides the opportunity to exchange working methods and to develop new projects.