ICYE-International Cultural Youth Exchange

ICYE is...
The International Cultural Youth Exchange (ICYE) is an international non-profit youth exchange organisation promoting youth mobility, intercultural learning and international voluntary service. ICYE organises long and short-term exchanges combining home stays with voluntary service in a variety of community service projects in more than 34 countries around the world.

Programs

-Long Term Programs
Being a Volunteer Abroad
living abroad for a year (or six months)
learning a new language and getting to know a culture from the inside
developing new perspectives

Examples of voluntary services placements and related volunteers tasks
# planning and organising activities for young people in a youth centre in Belgium;
# working alongside street educators and local volunteers in providing shelter and food, and running literacy classes and vocational training to street children in Colombia, Ghana and India;
# providing material assistance and emotional support to HIV positive children and adults in specialised centres, respectively in Kenya, England, Germany and Russia;
# promoting artistic and animation activities with rural children in Honduras and Mozambique, Nepal, and Uganda;
# organising human rights campaigns in Brazil;
# working in ecological projects in Costa Rica, Mexico and Thailand;
# working on a farm in Iceland and New Zealand;
# teaching special needs children in Taiwan;
# organising activities and providing assistance to disabled people in France, Italy, Japan, Lithuania, and South Korea;
# organising and running activities in centres for refugees and migrant workers in Germany.

European Voluntary Service (EVS)
The main objectives of this programme are: to encourage youth mobility among young Europeans, to promote young people’s active citizenship, to offer learning experiences that are no longer available in the traditional centres of learning, as well as to promote co-operation in the youth field between the European Union and non-EU countries.

-Short-Term and Special Programs
Short-Term Exchange Activities
Such activities include group study visits, work camp projects organised together with local community partners in the field of cultural heritage, environment and health education, as well as language courses and cultural studies.

The following are some examples of short-term programs run by ICYE National Committees:
# Eco-camps for periods ranging from 2 to 8 weeks to work in national parks, organic farms, and nature conservation projects in Costa Rica, Nepal, Mexico and Thailand
# International Youth Action exchange programme between Cuba, Costa Rica, Mexico and Honduras, comprising practical workshops on arts and culture, exposure visits and meetings on the situation of youth in these countries
# Working in the coffee harvest in Honduras
# Work camp for the renovation of a community hall in a rural village, working in the grape harvest, and participating in international sport events for teenagers in France and Lithuania
# Building a school for rural children with local volunteers in Mozambique
# Work camp for the restoration of cultural heritage sites in Belgium
# Volunteering and trekking from 2 weeks to 4 months in Nepal and Thailand
# Two-week cultural study-tour in South India

For more information about ICYE's short-term programmes, you can visit the website here.

Seminars & Training
These include seminars on issues such as youth mobility, intercultural education and sustainable development, as well as practical training experiences and international training courses for ICYE staff and youth workers of other youth organisations.

The following are just few examples of recent seminars and training activities:
# "Eastlinks & ICYE: Volunteers and Local Communities beyond the East-West European Divide - A Capacity and Network Building Large Scale Project" Europe wide
# "Training for sending and hosting organisations and volunteers on HIV/AIDS Prevention in EU and Central and East European Countries" Kiev, Ukraine and Berlin, Germany
# "ICYE-EASTLINKS Information Project in South East Europe" Europe wide
# "Euro-Latin American Exchange on Indigenous People, Human Rights and Youth" Contulmo, Chile
# 'EU-African Youth Exchange: Young People building a new South Africa" Nelspruit, South Africa
# "EVS and Youth for Europe assessment & training seminar to strengthen Euro-Latin American networking and support systems". Puerto Vallarta, Mexico.
# "EU-MEDA countries study visit to Egypt" Cairo, Egypt
# "ICYE Asia-Pacific staff training course" Taitung, Taiwan