ESC URGENTE: DANIMARCA - SCUOLE

Brief presentation of AFS Interkultur: AFS stands for American Field Service, and the organisation began during World War I as a volunteer ambulance corps of volunteers who brought injured from the battlefield in France to hospitals nearby. After World War II, AFS developed its focus and sought to create peace and understanding between the conflicting sides in the war through exchange programs. Soon the organisation expanded, and exchanges between an ever-increasing number of countries developed. The philosophy was to create more understanding, more solidarity, and more cohesion in our society and globally by building relations across differences. Today AFS Intercultural Programs is a youth exchange organisation represented in over 55 countries. The organisation promotes peace through intercultural learning, and this is done through various AFS exchange programs. AFS Interkultur Denmark is a part of this worldwide AFS organisation, and we are a volunteer-driven, non-profit NGO, independent of political and religious interests. In Denmark, AFS started in 1957 and has gathered 64 years of experience in sending and hosting young people. We have worked with the ESC (formerly EVS) program for more than 15 years as a lead and support organisation and for approximately five years as a host organisation. Throughout the years, we have hosted young people with fewer opportunities, e.g. due to handicaps (blindness) or limited social skills (having been brought up in a children’s home). Today AFS Interkultur is the oldest and largest non-profit exchange organisation in Denmark with +20 staff members. Every year AFS Interkultur hosts approximately 350 young people from abroad on various youth programs in Denmark and we send approx. 250 young people abroad. To a great extent, AFS is driven by our volunteers who are organised in our local chapters and our national committees. We have more than 29 local chapters throughout Denmark (including Greenland and the Faroe Islands) and more than 500 registered volunteers. AFS’ aims with the European Solidarity Corps: AFS Interkultur’s aim with the European Solidarity Corps program is to give young people from all socio-economic spheres the possibility of deepening their knowledge of other European countries and their intercultural awareness. By doing so, we seek to create peace and solidarity across cultures and borders. AFS Interkultur wishes to fortify the cohesion of the European countries and the neighbouring countries and encourage a stronger bond, solidarity, and understanding between the countries. Furthermore, AFS Interkultur wishes to increase solidarity and social inclusion through the activities and the cultural encounters that the volunteers experience. We believe that through intercultural meetings, the volunteers, the host projects, the local communities, and everyone involved will learn from each other and form a greater understanding and sympathy for each other. We wish to encourage young people to open their minds and broaden their horizons, and through a stay in a new context, gain both new skills and new ways of thinking. General main activities: AFS runs various programs which focus on intercultural learning and active citizenship. Our programs include: 1) High school programs for youth in the age of 15-18 years (both hosting and sending) 2) programs for people above 18 who want to do a semester or two at a college or university abroad 3) programs for people above 18 who want to do voluntary work in Europe, Africa, Asia, Central America, South America or Australia. AFS supports all of our participants on every step of the journey to make it a safe, inspirational and impactful experience. As a part of this support, we arrange various seminars in which we teach our participants about intercultural learning and active citizenship. The experiences and skills we have developed within participant support we wish to bring into the European Solidarity Corps program. AFS’s target groups: AFS Interkultur works with young people interested in discovering the world and expanding their world views. We primarily work with young people between 15 and 30 years. We have an extensive network in Denmark and abroad with organisations that work with this target group. We welcome everyone to participate in our programs no matter their background, and we always try to accommodate participants who have special needs.