Sign up for a summer workcamp in Europe!
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Participation
Action Reconciliation Service for Peace (ARSP) is a multi-denominational organization founded by advocates of the protestant resistance against the National Socialist regime and to this day supported by the churches of Germany. Its summer work camps are short term peace services. They provide an international meeting point where people from different countries, age groups, religious confessions and world views can join together and get involved both socially and politically.
Anyone who is over 18 years of age may take part in a summer camp. Exceptions are the youth summer work camps in Ahrensboek (Germany), in Lichtenburg/Prettin (Germany) and the German-Israeli summer camp, where participants must be at least 16.
The summer camps will be led and prepared by volunteer leadership teams. Of course, no preparations can be perfect, and not everything can be planned to the last detail, so every camp includes a bit of uncertainty, improvization and surprise.
In summer camps of ARSP's very different people are to be met spending their work and leisure time together. The activities are planned and carried out in the group. We are not looking for participants who like to be secluded but who are dedicated and open to anything. You should therefore like to work in a group and bring many ideas to create your summer camp. The initiative lies with you.
Please pay attention to the language prerequisites of your respective summer camp.
Application
Please apply using the online application.
The application procedure is as follows:
1. After receiving your application, we will check within three working days if we can provide you with a place in the summer camp you have applied for. A letter or an email will be sent to you confirming the receipt of your application. Please note that we only accept individual and no group applications for one and the same summer camp.
2. Processing your application, we do our best in complying with your project preferences as set out in your application form. In case no places are available in the project of your first choice, we will confirm your second project preference.
3. If there is a place for you in a summer camp, you will be sent a notice asking you to transfer the participation fee to ARSP within one week or to set up a direct debit.
4. As soon as we receive your participation fee or a direct debit authorization, your place in the summer camp is booked. Please pay attention to the cancellation deadline, if you have to cancel your participation for unforeseeable reasons.
5. You will be sent another email or letter confirming your binding application for the summer camp. Your contact details will be mailed to the leaders of your summer camp so you can get in touch with them and exchange information about the project.
6. The leaders of your summer camp will contact you and provide you with further details as to your individual preparation, travel arrangements and the program.
7. Afterwards, all participants will be asked to reaffirm in writing their binding participation and send it to the responsible team. They are definitely scheduled for the summer project. In case you have to cancel your participation for unforeseeable reasons, we urge you to inform BOTH the leaders of the camp as well as the ARSP bureau in Berlin asap. Please pay attention to the cancellation deadline.
8. Those participants who will need a visa will be sent further information along with the confirmation letter.
Arrival and Departure
You are responsible for all travel costs (including visa)!
The summer work camps begin and end on the dates stated in the program. The travel time to and from the camp are not included in the itinerary and should be taken into consideration especially when the camp is located far away from where you live.
Normally the participants travel alone to the location of the summer work camp and the whole group meets for the first time on arrival. Sometimes, however, a group will travel together. In these cases, you must inform the camp leaders in a timely fashion.
Passports and Visas
For almost all of the summer work camps that take place outside of your home country, a valid passport is necessary. Your passport must be valid until at least 6 months after the end of your trip!
For some summer work camps, you need a visa to enter the country. In this case, please include your passport information in your application.
For participants coming from Russia, Belarus, the Ukraine, and other countries, ARSP will send an official invitation in addition to an electronic confirmation. Please pass along this invitation to the embassy of the country in which the summer work camp will take place.
I M P O R T A N T
It is a good idea (and often necessary, so please do this immediately after your application) to call ahead of time and make an appointment with the embassy of the country in which the summer work camp will take place. This appointment has to be about four weeks before the start of the camp, giving enough time to process the materials so that you will receive your visa in time.
We will send you the official invitation by airmail.
Accommodation
The camp participants will live together under simple conditions. Do not expect a comfortable hotel, but rather most often a simple accommodation. In some summer work camps, the participants sleep in tents and it is almost always necessary to bring your own sleeping bag and camping mat.
Most summer camps must provide this for themselves. Participants shop, cook and clean together and the group decides how the program will run.
Practical and Thematic Work
The groups are guests of our project partners. The rules pertaining to the location of the camp must be taken seriously and respected.
The groups work daily for 5 to 6 hours on their projects. In addition to the practical work, the camp's participants will busy themselves with the issues that concern the country and host project.
Through working together and exploring these unifying issues, you will get to know the other participants, trusting them with your ideas and discussing your understanding of the issues.
What to Bring with You
Please bring the following materials with you concerning on the advice of your teamer and depending on your summer camp project:
Work clothes and strong shoes, work gloves
Clothing appropriate for varying weather conditions
Dictionaries, musical instruments, songs, games, materials for free time and thematic work, cooking recipes
Insurance
We provide all participants with accidental and liability insurance. We provide general health insurance for our non-German participants, when the summer work camp takes place outside of their home country. We recommend, however, that all participants acquire an additional form of international health insurance in order to avoid any complications on arrival or in the project country. All German participants must acquire international health insurance on their own. You can receive information about this directly from health insurance companies.
Leadership Teams
Summer work camps are supervised by engaged volunteers. Among other things, the leadership teams look after:
Contact with the ARSP office in Berlin
Arrangements with project partners at the camp location
Public relations
Supporting the participants through letters, emails, or phone calls
Preparation of and guidance of the thematic work
Group processes and dynamics during the summer camp
Cash, accounting and a written record
The "team" members of the summer work camp perform responsible work, which is a lot of fun and guarantees new experiences. Perhaps you will discover an interest in the coming years to lead one of these camps. We are also pleased to learn of interested individuals from our partner countries.
You can learn about the details if you follow this link:
http://www.asf-ev.de/en/work_camps/information_for_camp_leaders/how_can_i_help_lead_a_work_camp/
or you can write an email to sommer(at)asf-ev.de.
Participation Costs
The participation fee covers the costs of accommodation, board, and program costs. You must pay for your own travel costs and visa yourself.*
The amounts of the participation fees vary according to the level of income in the individual countries and the strength of their currencies. We try to adjust the fees in accordance with the existing socio-economic situations.
The following overview explains the costs of participation for participants from the different countries.
Participation Fees for 2010 Summer Work Camps
Reduced Rate(for students, interns, and the unemployed) | ||
For participants coming from Germany, Western, Northern and Southern Europe, North America and Israel |
| 100 Euros |
For participants coming from the Baltic States, Poland, Slovakia, Slovenia, the Czech Republic, and Hungary |
| 40 Euros |
For participants from other Eastern and Southeastern European countries not mentioned above |
| 25 Euro |
*Costs for Israeli-German Youth Meeting, the German-Polish-Ukrainian summer camp and the International Youth Meeting in Dachau may vary. More information is given in the summer camp description.
