Active International           17-26 ans

Introduction

Who are we?
active international is a non-profit and non-governmental organisation which has been founded in 2003 in Marburg (Hessen, Germany), but has been working as an initiative already since the beginning of the Nineties. Since 2007 the main work of active international e.V. means volunteers exchange in the field of international workcamps.

Our aims:
- encouraging and maintaining international contacts, understanding and co-operation
- stimulating personal development, social and intercultural learning as well as global understanding of young people
- promoting voluntary work and the idea of volunteering

General information about our projects in Germany:
The group: will be international.
Duration: two-three weeks.
The work: will be 20-25 hours per week (Monday till Friday).
Accommodation: will be always in houses with all facilities like sleeping-rooms, kitchen, shower and toilet.
Food: will be prepared on a selfcatering basis (budget available) - group will cook and clean themselves, by daily changing kitchen-team. 
Campleaders: There will be 1-2 campleaders per camp, helping to organise leisure time and excursion, keeping the budget. In the language-projects in some cases the teacher or at least one of the teacher is campleader as well, in other cases the teacher(s) come from "outside".
Camp language: German / English (see description)
Extra-fee: 160 EUR for those workcamps with language-part.
Insurance: will be provided (illness, accident, third liability) for the period of the projects. European volunteers have to bring their European Health Card. The insurance does not cover travel to and from the camp.
Info sheets (including travel information): will be sent to partners approx. 4 weeks before the project is due to start.

Criteria for taking part in our projects
Volunteers:
- have to be 16 years old at least, max. 26 (exceptions for older volunteers are possible).
- (for our workcamps with language-part): have to have already at least basic knowledge of German

LES CHANTIERS  2008

AI-5          Marburg             18.10.-02.11.                             MANU/LANG

Project: Host organisation is the municipality of Marburg. For many years they have organised international volunteer camps already. It is a workcamp including German Language Training. The lectures will be daily, three hours per day (excluding Saturday and Sunday when the group will go on excursions). Main topic during the lectures will be intercultural diversities. So the basis of the lectures will be firstly communication and secondly grammar. The teachers will be native speakers, partly trained teachers, partly students. The language-course won't have the same standard like a professional language-school, but experiences with this concept in the past have shown its success.
Work: Participants are busy doing various manual works to prepare the area (youth-holiday-camp "Freizeitgelaende Stadtwald") for (or after) the summer leisure activities of the municipality. It means for example clearing the place, gardening, painting, building up/taking down tents. Time of work will be 4-5 hours daily, excluding Saturday and Sunday.
Accommodation: will be in a house with several-bed-rooms, kitchen, bathroom, shower. Cooking, cleaning, shopping etc. will be done by the group itself. Like in each workcamp, accommodation, food and travel-costs for excursions are free as well as materials/copies needed for the lectures.
Location: Marburg is a historical and picturesque old university town, 100 km north of Frankfurt/Main. It has 80.000 inhabitants, including 20.000 students (from actual 120 different countries). The camp is located in the area named "Stadtwald" in a youth-holiday-camp. It is not located in the centre, but not too far, and there is a good bus-connection.
Terminal: Train-station Marburg; next airport Frankfurt/Main or Frankfurt-Hahn.
Special requirements: Participants must be able already to communicate in German, at least on a level which ensures simple communication; this course is not for absolute beginners. Participants also must be willing to communicate with each other during the camp in German and not in English or own mother tongue for the whole time, not only during the lectures. This is one important part of the concept. 
Special remark: Because of the language-course there is an (extra-) fee: 160,00 EUR - to be paid upon arrival. Official confirmation for participating in the language-course will be given at the end of the camp.
Age: 16-26 (exceptions for older volunteers are possible).
Language: German


           AI-12 Giessen                    17.09.-01.10. 15                 FEST/THEA

Project: Host organisation is "Nathea e.V." (Organistion for Nature, theater and alternative education). The main project is to support a theatre festival. The other is to participate in intensive theatre workshops yourself.
Work: We will work on various tasks as staff during, before and after a festival of international student drama groups mainly coming from Eastern Europe. The theatre groups are learners of German who perform in this language. The whole festival will count about 100 participants and will run for one week. Check out on: www.haendehoch.org .
This means for you: Work in small groups as staff for the festival for approximately four hours per day. Enough time to attend theatre classes and workshops each day during the festival. Access to each stage production and performance during the festival. Some units on German everyday culture to make you familiar with the town of Gießen and time to learn about the tasks during the festival. 
As the theatre plays are mainly in German and the festival language will be German as well, you have many possibilities to practise and speak German. If you are interested in theatre, performance and German language you are at the right place. There will be a huge workshop program on theatre techniques, dance and related subjects. Working hours are scheduled in a way that you may participate in the intensive workshops and possibly afternoon workshops too.
So the activities are:
Maintenance work for the theatre festival as staff for a night café, preparing breakfast and evening meals, caring for festival participants, guiding groups through the town of Gießen, general service including some cleaning stuff.
City projects in Gießen to make you familiar with the place and to get to know some aspects of German every day culture.
Intensive theatre workshops with four hours of classes during most festival days. You may choose between Clowns Play, Contact Improvisation, Theatre of the Suppressed following Augusto Boal, Improvisational Theatre and others.
There will be performances every evening, an outdoor event and at least one huge party. See the complete program on www.haendehoch.org. 
Accommodation: in a building.
Location: Giessen is situated about 60 km north of Frankfurt and is an university town with about 80.000 inhabitants.
Terminal: train station Giessen; next airport Frankfurt/Main or Frankfurt-Hahn.
Special remark: Because of the workshops there is an (extra-) fee: 80,00 EUR - to be paid upon arrival.
Age: 16-26 
Language: English and/or German