If this is the first time you are going to a camp, explore this webpage and become familiarised with the concept of camps, international volunteering, as well as with the requirements for participation.
A search tool to explore international camps is available at the bottom of the page.
When you find a camp that you like and wish to participate in, add it to the backpack. Once you have compiled your wish list, continue to fill out the application where you are required to provide information about yourself and to sort the camps from most to least preferred.
We will receive your application once you have sent it, and after you have made a payment of the participation fee and become acquainted with the document titled General Volunteering Conditions, we will forward your application to our partners and wait for their reply.
No later than three weeks before your camp is supposed to start, we will send you the INFOSHEET – detailed instructions concerning your arrival and stay at the camp with a list of key contacts.
Until then, you are free to participate in our preparatory meetings and start searching for the best way to get to the location which is closest to the camp.
You can learn many information during our get-togethers and from our volunteers about how to travel on a budget and what things you actually need at camp.
Once your journey has begun, do not forget that it is a new opportunity to learn and that experiences like that are the ones that empower you for your next adventure.
Don’t forget to share your experience with us and to post photos on social media.
Get ready for a host of new memories!
We like to say, “The first who gets to the camp, wins the camp!”. When it comes to volunteering, volunteers are usually not required to possess any special skills. Certain types of camps, such as art camps, may require that volunteers show motivation and talent for certain activities at the camp.
Camp is for open-minded people. At camp, you will meet other cultures, traditions, step out of your comfort zone and broaden your horizons. To make each camp a safe place for all, the participants are required to respect and have an open mind toward diversity. Let us quote one of the volunteers who said, “Nobody knew me at camp. I could be myself, and then people liked it and became like a family to me”.
Did you know that the first camp originated back in 1920 in a small village in France? A group of international volunteers came together to reconstruct a village that had been completely destroyed by the occupying forces during World War I. That was the moment when the volunteering movement came to life, and now, a century later, we understand that it is still an important link in maintaining peace.
The purpose of voluntary camps (workcamps) is to engage local communities. A group of volunteers is a single spark that can awaken a local community and bring it closer to work together. Voluntary camps (workcamps) are often situated in small communities and the presence of foreigners is a true gift for them. Here are some of the reasons why you should go to a voluntary workcamp:
- by participating at the workcamp, you leave your mark on the world – not many people can brag about renovating a castle in France or a traditional shepherds’ cottage in the mountains of Sicily, of drawing murals on the wall of an elementary school in Morocco. The things you do at camp often leave a permanent mark that lives on long after you are gone.
- you will get to know a culture in an entirely authentic way – you probably agree that those who have visited just Belgrade didn’t actually get to know Serbia. By going to a workcamp in a smaller community, you will have the opportunity to experience authentic cuisine, dialect and culture of the country you are visiting. The locals, absolutely thrilled by the presence of volunteers from around the world, will show you what life there really looks like. In addition to this, you will see cities, villages and nature that are usually unavailable for common tourists.
- friendships that are made for life – even though a group of strangers ends up at a workcamp, they soon become friends who stay in touch long after the workcamp has ended. Working and living together at the workcamp and the camp’s air of free spirit makes everyone wish to be what they are and to quickly bring closer a group of people who did not know each other before. It will feel odd that suddenly, after only two weeks, you are sad to say goodbye to people you have just met.
- you will get to know yourself – outside of your comfort zone but in a safe place, you have the opportunity to explore yourself and to share with others that what makes you unique. Workcamps are a major opportunity for personal growth – starting with the very moment of planning, taking the journey and staying at the workcamp, there are many things that you will do for the first time. Along the way, you will practice your English or another foreign language that you speak, and become proficient in the work that you do at the workcamp.
The workcamp will help you get to know yourself.
Apart from you and other volunteers, the workcamp leader and camp organiser or local partner will also be at the workcamp.
Workcamp organiser is a person from the community who has applied for the workcamp and who knows best what work is to be done and how it is to be done.
Workcamp leader is a coordinator of the group of volunteers and their role is to organise the group and facilitate their mutual acquaintance and living together. The workcamp leader is a link between volunteers and workcamp organiser, because they align the capacities of volunteers with the wishes and needs of the organiser. In addition to this, the workcamp leader’s role is also to resolve any potential conflicts, to organise volunteers living together and stay in touch with the organisation that receives volunteers in the respective country.
At workcamp, volunteers are involved in all the work: from cooking food, cleaning and maintenance of their accommodation to the work described when you first applied for the camp. There are often kitchen teams, as well as cleaning teams, that regularly take shifts whereas a part of the group is performing the work at hand. Do not worry. If you have never cooked for a large group of people, the camp leader is there to support you in the cooking process. This is an ideal opportunity to present some of our national dishes and customs.
- the work at camp is being done for 5-6 hours a day in one or several intervals. There are also days off at workcamp, when you organise as a group to visit a nearby place.
- you yourselves are also responsible for your free time at workcamp. You may bring board games, instruments, play sports or just take a nap after a long day. It is important that you know that workcamp is a form of social life and that you should make decisions together about what you will do, while the workcamp leaders are there to help you.
- few camps actually require sleeping in tents. You will mostly stay in hostels, mountain lodges, school sports halls etc.
When going to workcamp, these are the expenses you should expect to cover:
- YRS participation fee – the participation fee serves to support the work of the volunteer service and organisation of international voluntary workcamps in Serbia. Similarly, a volunteer from another country pays the fee to their organisation for organising camps that you will attend. In addition to this, unless specified that there is an additional participation fee to be paid, this participation fee also covers the costs of food and accommodation for volunteers throughout the camp’s duration. The fee for going to the first workcamp in a particular year is RSD 7000 and it is to be paid to the account of Young Researchers of Serbia (click HERE for further payment instructions). Every workcamp abroad after that (in the same year) is paid RSD 3500. In cooperation with the European Youth Centre, everyone who owns a ISIC, EYCA, ITIC or a student ID card with chip are granted membership discount of 10% for their first camp (RSD 6300) and 50% for every other camp (RSD 1750). The participation fee should be paid immediately after sending the application. In the event that the workcamp is cancelled, we will not be able to make a refund of the participation fee. For more information on the General Conditions for Applying to the Camp, read HERE.
- travel costs – you are in charge of organising the trip to the workcamp and back home and to cover for the travel costs. Striving to promote green means of transport, in cooperation with the FlixBus company, we have secured up to two 15% discount codes for our volunteers for all the green lines in Europe.
- additional participation fee – some workcamps require additional participation fee which is to be paid directly to the camp organiser. This shall always be stated in the search tool and included in the text describing the camp.
- allowance – all three meals are provided at workcamp. Everything else is up to you, depending on your needs and wants, which is why we always advise to bring some money, too, in case you plan to have any additional expenses.
- travel insurance – for your own safety, we always recommend that you take out a travel insurance policy. If you own the youth EYCA or student ID card with chip, you are entitled to free travel insurance. For more information, visit mojakartica.rs.
Young Researchers of Serbia is the organisation that is sending you to a workcamp. In a country of your destination there is an organisation that organises the respective camp and with which we communicate with in order to send you there. We are part of the Alliance network – The Alliance of European Voluntary Service Organisations. Our membership in such networks allows us to develop a quality standard for workcamps on an international level, which means that regardless of whether you are travelling to Spain, Serbia or Japan, every workcamp looks similar and we all respect the same rules stipulated on the network level.
If you run into a problem at the workcamp, you can always come to us as your sending organisation, but we always advise our volunteers to first communicate directly to the workcamp leader and the local organisation so as the solve the problem as fast as possible.
Volunteers are expected to abide by the rules of the workcamp and country they travel to. Rules for cancelation and abandoning the camp are very strict, so we are asking you to think hard about whether you are prepared to go to camp before you apply. Workcamps are not holiday arrangements, but rather a form of living together that requires certain adjustments on your part. General conditions for participating at workcamps that volunteers agree to by submitting their applications are available HERE.
You are in charge of organising it on your own. When applying for workcamp, you will see the nearest city to where you can look for tickets. No later than three weeks before the workcamp starts, you will receive an INFORSHEET with the exact meeting location and time on the day the camp starts. Volunteers are expected to arrive on the first day of camp and to vacate the accommodation on the last day specified in the camp description. After that, you are free to continue to explore the country you are in or head out to the next workcamp.
(* this does not apply to ESC camps where rules are stricter. For more information, see the section ESC Camps).
At camp, the organisers sometimes provide insurance in the event of occupational injuries, and this insurance applies only under very specific circumstances and does not cover your trip to the workcamp and back home. We always recommend that when going to workcamp, you take out your own travel insurance that will cover both the trip and your entire stay at the workcamp. Numerous insurance companies offer various options, so you may choose the one that best suits your needs.
If you are using the EYCA youth card or student ID card with chip, you are entitled to free travel insurance that covers the policy of up to EUR 5,000 and applies in the territory of Europe.
For more information, read HERE.
They are also called Volunteering Teams and those are workcamps supported by the European solidarity corps (ESC). They are open to young people between the age of 18 and 30. They are very similar to standard camps and they enable everyone, regardless of their financial status and location, to participate in youth programmes.
What is specific about them is that they do not require payment of the participation fee to YRS, that you may receive a partial refund for your travel expenses, and that during camp you will receive a small allowance and insurance.
You will identify these camps in the search tool by the ESC label in the camp’s code beneath the name and by “Free” stated in the “Fee” section.
Refund of travel expenses is made after returning from camp and after filling out a report. The refund of expenses is made only partially, up to a certain sum, and only based on submitting the tickets you had purchased for the trip and the volunteer report that the volunteer shall receive after the camp ends. The condition is that the volunteer travels directly from their place of residence to the camp and back on the dates of arrival and departure, respectively, as defined in the camps’ description, if this is possible.
For more information about the ESC programme, read HERE.
There are special camps for teenagers between the age of 14 and 18, as well as several workcamps with mixed age, usually from 16 to 22. Teenage workcamps are far fewer and they are very popular. The sooner you start looking, the more options you will have.
Topics of these workcamps are the same as for the adult workcamps, but the camp organisation is somewhat different. Since the volunteers are underage, workcamp leaders are trained to take care of them, the camp rules are stricter and free time is more organised because the volunteers are not allowed to leave the camp on their own.
As part of the preparations for going to workcamp, and with support of YRS, the parents shall fill out a medical certificate where they shall inform the organisation of the volunteers’ health condition and where parents shall give their consent for the child going to camp alone. Arrival to camp often includes that someone from the organisation shall meet them at the airport or a nearby bus station, but they are to take the majority of the trip on their own.
Given that teenage programmes are often not subsidised, in addition to the YRS participation fee, these camps often require additional participation fee which is paid directly at the camp.
Where:
in more than 50 countries around the world
When:
throughout the year, but mostly during summer
How:
find a camp by using the search tool at the bottom of the page. Read carefully the camp description and send your application.
Minimum age:
14 for teens, and 18 for adults
Maximum age:
Standard camps even up to 99, whereas the maximum age for ESC camps is 30.
Duration:
from one to three weeks
Language:
English – level sufficient for basic communication
Budget:
in addition to YRS participation fee, some camps require additional participation fee, and you shall bear the travel expenses on your own*
Additional information:
you may go alone or with another person. You are in charge of organising your trip to the camp on your own. General conditions for participating in volunteering camps are available HERE.
More than 2000 adventures await you every year!
