Background and general introduction

The Alliance of European Voluntary Service Organisations is an International Non-Governmental Youth Organisation that represents national organisations which promote intercultural education, understanding and peace through voluntary service. The Alliance, founded in 1982, is presently made up of full, associate and candidate members in Armenia, Belarus, Belgium, Bulgaria, Canada, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Japan, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Mexico, Poland, Serbia & Montenegro, the Slovak Republic, South Korea, Spain, Turkey, Ukraine, the United Kingdom and the United States of America. Each member organisation runs an annual programme of International Volunteer Projects in their own country and exchanges volunteers with each other to create an international group of volunteer workers on each project.

International Volunteer Projects

International Volunteer Projects are organised by Alliance members either on a national or regional basis but always in partnership with local communities. They engage the volunteer groups in a wide diversity of community development tasks including environmental, construction, renovation, social, cultural and archaeological work. Amongst Alliance members there are many examples of projects which have pioneered new working methods and produced dynamic results. The projects generally last 2 - 3 weeks and consist of about 10 - 20 volunteers drawn from a number of countries. Projects are often in remote areas, in regions where local people may have minimal opportunity for meeting others from different countries. The volunteer groups bring new ideas and experiences into communities, providing a stimulus for ongoing work. The individual volunteers benefit from the interaction both within the group and with the local communities. The experience gives them the opportunity to travel to another country, use their time productively and make a positive contribution to the local community. They also have the chance to widen their horizons through meeting and learning from each other and local people.

Members

International Volunteer Projects are organized in each country by a national Alliance member, which also recruits volunteers within that country. All Alliance members place only individuals residing in their own country on projects. Interested volunteers should therefore only contact their national Alliance member! The members also work closely with similar national and international organisations in Europe and worldwide.