The European Voluntary Service (EVS) is part of the YOUTH IN ACTION programme, an European Union programme that promotes the mobility of young people through international activities with a non-formal education dimension such as youth exchanges, voluntary services, youth initiatives and training of youth workers.
EVS is one of the opportunities for young people to get actively involved in European project work. An EVS project gains from intercultural experience, it builds on a trans-national partnership between youth organisations and the volunteer. It promotes local project that is based on everybody‘s commitment.
A partnership: volunteer, sending organisation and host organisation are the key partners of an EVS project. The willingness of close co-operation between these three is crucial for a successful experience.
A commitment: the partners involved in an EVS project expect from each other that they dedicate time and energy to the successful realisation of the project.
A local project: the host organisation is a non-profit organisation or local community, creating an EVS hosting project that benefits to the local community, within its area of intervention. An EVS project normally lasts from 6 to 12 months.
A win-win activity: EVS projects are characterised by a good balance between service to the hosting local community and learning opportunities for the volunteer. Both community and volunteer equally gain from the project activities.
An intercultural experience: a reciprocal learning process, where everybody would gain from getting to know each other‘s culture. Moreover, it is also a challenge taking into account the fact that the volunteer will not only experience what is planned, but also the unpredictable.
WF Iceland hosts EVS since 2003.
Our long-term volunteers dream-team are a group of about 10 persons from all over the world that decided to spend 6-9 months in Iceland to attend an EVS project. The projects period lasts from approximately the beginning of May to the end of October.
The valid deadline for sending us your application is 10th of April , therefore it is advisable to start sending your application from now on. We will select the EVS-volunteers for the next term until the End of April.
The three projects we are hosting are:
- International Workcamps in Iceland
- Clean Up the World
- Environmental Aspects and Practice in Reykjaviks Botanic Garden
- Reykjavik International Film Festival (RIFF) Project (just available for the January Deadline)
More information
You can find the information about these projects in the EVS approved projects database at:
http://ec.europa.eu/youth/evs/aod/hei_form_en.cfm?EID=40000057701
It is also crucial that you find a sending organisation that will assist you individually along the procedure, before, during and after your EVS. In case you do not know any EVS sending organisation in your country of residence contact your National Agency if you live in a Programme country, Resource Centres or international voluntary organisations if you live in a Partner country.
Find more information about EVS following this link leading to the official Youth Programme website:
http://ec.europa.eu/youth/index_en.htm
The website of the Icelandic National Agency is:
www.euf.is
If you need to contact us with a question or two, feel free to do it to:
Julia Mueller
EVS Coordinator
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If, finally, you would like to apply as a EVS, please send us your CV and Motivation letter after you talked to a sending organisation in your home country to:
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