GROENLAND 2008
+ 20 ans
Les projets du Groenland sont organisés par notre
partenaire danois MS
Mellemfolkeligt
Samvirke (Danish Association for International Co-operation) was
established in 1944. Our aim is to further international
understanding and solidarity across and beyond national and
cultural boundaries. We do this by trying to influence
development on every level from grassroots to government.
MS’
vision: A
world in peace where cooperation among people promotes global
equity and ensures improved conditions for poor and marginalised.
MS’
Mission
: MS
provides opportunities for action for people, who accept a
shared responsibility for global sustainable development. MS
promotes understanding and dialogue between people. Together
with partners we promote popular participation and
democratisation in the North and in the South. We endeavour to
enable poor and marginalised people realise their vision of a
dignified life.
Today
MS is responsible for a variety of programmes in the North as
well as in the South:
- Exchange
world-wide
- MS
in the South Partnership and Development in Africa, Asia,
and
Central America
- Information,
advocacy and lobbying on global issues
- The
Arabian Initiative
The
MS International Exchange programme, called Global Contact,
provides opportunities for everyone to get an insight into other
cultures. Our programme consists of activities and partnerships
in most parts of the world. Our aim is to facilitate
understanding of other cultures, political systems, religions
and geographical conditions. We hope that our volunteers will
make use of their experience and knowledge to further social and
economic equality. Our programme makes it possible for people
from all over the world to live and work together on an equal
basis, to work with locals and assist in solving problems in
society at large.
Introduction
to Workcamps in
Denmark
MS
has been organising workcamps in
Denmark
for more than 30 years. The workcamps are hosted and sponsored
by Danish municipalities, regions, institutions, private and
public funding etc. MS international workcamps offers volunteers
a practical and social task, which will benefit a local
community. Our main objective is to get people from different
countries, cultures, religions and backgrounds to work and
function together, and through that to learn from and about each
other. A great way to break down prejudices and stereotypes.
Age
The
minimum age for participants on MS workcamps in
Denmark
is 18 years.
For
Greenland
the minimum age is 20. There is no maximum age.
Leaders
Each
camp in
Denmark
has two leaders (one in
Greenland
), trained by MS. The leaders will act as contact persons for
the camp and arrange the daily life of the camp. The leaders
participate in the work and daily life on equal terms with the
other participants. The leaders are volunteers and do not get
paid for their work.
Language
The
camp language is English on all camps (unless otherwise noted),
and participants must be able to communicate reasonably in
English.
Insurance
During
the camp all volunteers are insured for personal liability,
personal accidents, and baggage loss with special exceptions. Important:
Please note that the insurance does not cover travel to and from
the camp.
Sleeping
bag
All
volunteers must bring a sleeping bag or equivalent. Often the
volunteers will need to bring a sleeping mattress. If so, this
will be written in the infosheet.
Travel
The
volunteer must arrange, and is responsible for, his/her own
travel to and from the camp in
Denmark
. MS cannot pick up any volunteers at stations or airports.
Before the camp the volunteer will get a letter from the camp
leader with practical information including direction on how to
get to the camp from the nearest station/airport.
Travel
costs
Travelling
in
Denmark
by public transportation is very easy and fast, but also
expensive. From
Copenhagen
Airport
there is direct access to trains to all parts of the country.
Thus volunteers do not necessarily have to go to one of the
regional airports. However trains are quite expensive and the
volunteers will often benefit economically if they can go to a
regional airport. Ryan Air flies via
London
(Stansted) to Aarhus (Tirstrup), and Malmö (Sturup) in
Sweden
(close to
Copenhagen
) and
Hamburg
(Lübeck) in
Germany
(near the southern parts of
Jutland
). Eurolines Busses also go to
Copenhagen
and other major towns in
Denmark
from various European destinations.
Visa
The
volunteers are recommended only to apply for a visa for the
period of the camp as stated in the official invitation sent by
MS. If a volunteer applies for a visa for more than the camp
period, MS cannot provide any help if the volunteer experiences
problems in obtaining the visa. MS will issue the official
invitation and instruct the volunteer on how to apply for the
visa, but the volunteer must apply her/himself at the Danish
embassy/consulate in her/his own home country.
In the countries where
Denmark
has a real embassy, Danish visas are issued by that Danish
embassy. However, in the countries where
Denmark
does not have an embassy but only a little consulate,
Denmark
has an agreement with either the Norwegian, Swedish, French,
German or another EU country about issuing visas. You can find
the general Danish visa rules on http://www.um.dk/en/menu/ConsularServices/DanishVisaRules/
- they specify which documents, photos etc. you need to bring.
But we advise you to call the embassy in advance to be sure
you’ve got what you need before you go, and to get the opening
hours of the visa section.
Work
and residence permit
According
to Danish law, all volunteers from non-EU countries must have a
temporary work and residence permit for the duration of some of
the camp. A valid Schengen visa is not enough. MS will issue the
official invitation and instruct the volunteer on how to apply
for the permit, but the volunteer must apply her/himself at the
Danish embassy/consulate in her/his own home country.
Volunteers
from
Scandinavia
or the “old” EU countries DO NOT NEED a work- and residence
permit to do volunteer work in the camps wher this is required.
These countries are:
Finland
,
Iceland
,
Norway
,
Sweden
,
Denmark
,
Austria
,
Belgium
,
Finland
,
France
,
Germany
,
Greece
,
Ireland
,
Italy
,
Luxembourg
,
Portugal
,
Spain
,
Sweden
, the
Netherlands
,
Cyprus
,
Malta
,
Switzerland
and the
United Kingdom
.
Volunteers
from Bulgaria,
Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Rumania, Slovakia, Slovenia,
Czech
Republic, Hungaria and
from non-EU countries (e.g. USA, South Korea, Japan, Morocco,
Jordan) DO NEED a work- and residence permit in order to
participate in some of the workcamps.
You will receive a formal invitation letter from MS via the
organisation through which you applied to go on workcamp. You
have to bring the invitation letter to the Danish Embassy or
Consulate in your country to get the permit. We will email/fax
the invitation letter to the Embassy/Consulate as well, and will
give the Danish immigration office a list of the people we
invites.
How
to apply for a Work- and residence permit or a Visa
To
make the process as quick as possible, you have to go to the
Danish Embassy in your country.
Find the addresses of the Danish embassies abroad on:
http://www.um.dk/en/menu/AboutUs/Organisation/MissionsAbroad/MissionsAbroad.htm?WBCMODE=Presentation%2cPresentati.
The embassy will ask you to fill in some papers, and will charge
you a fee of 60 EUR. We are sorry that you have to pay
this – it’s not something that we invented! To get a
work-and residence it is also required that you have a passport
and this passport should be valid minimum six months after the
end of your stay.
It
will be for your own benefit if you bring with you some kind of
letter from your own organisation, which testify that you are
send by this organisation. However this is not requested, but it
will help your application on its way through the system.But
please note You need to apply for the permit as soon as you
receive your invitation letter, as it takes the Danish
Immigration Service up to 60 days to process the permit. The
permit is physically a sticker that will be put in your passport.
Currency
The
Danish currency is the Danish Crown (DKK). You cannot use Euro
(EUR) in most parts of the country. Shops will only accept Euros
in places with lots of tourists.
Drugs
The
use of drugs, including smoking of cannabis, is strictly
forbidden by Danish law and will not be tolerated on any MS
workcamp in
Denmark
or
Greenland
.
Expulsion
MS,
the organisation and the individual camp leaders reserve the
right to refuse admittance or expel volunteers on the basis of
bad behaviour or if the individual is breaking rules or Danish
law.
Responsibilities/liabilities
MS
does not have any responsibility economically or otherwise for
the volunteers before or after the camp.
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