European Youth Week, 8.-21.4.2024, Punkaharju

Host organization

The host organisation Ikko is a  folk high school offering both general and vocational education for Finnish and international adult students during the school year and different groups throughout the year. Students also include special target groups such as students with special needs and asylum seekers. More information www.ikko.fi⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Volunteer tasks

In this volunteering team, the volunteers will contribute to the European Youth Week of 2024, which is organized between 12-19 April. There are different local organisations involved and the volunteers will join several local actions .

The European Youth Week promotes youth engagement, participation and active citizenship, and hence the volunteers in this project will have a lot of possibilities to voice their vision and have an impact  on topics that they consider important.  

The tasks include different activities such as school visits to talk about the EU youth programs, organizing work shops on topics that interest you (like diversity & inclusion, arts, sustainability and democracy), and discuss together with other international volunteers and local young people about current issues that concern youth in different European countries.  Additionally there will be some physical tasks related to enviroment.

Celebrate the diversity of Europe and give a voice to young people through this volunteering team!

Free time

Please be prepared to represent and tell about your country and the current youth related issues  and feel free to bring games or activities which could be part of the program.  

There will also be time to relax and enjoy beautiful nature and peaceful surroundings in the countryside.  This project suits people who like to do different outdoor tasks in nature. 

Accommodation

Accommodation will be in shared rooms in the student dormitory, all meals provided. There are possibilities for various creative and other activities. Sauna and swimming facilities are also available.

Location

Punkaharju is located in eastern Finland near Savonlinna and it takes four hours by train from Helsinki. The school is situated in a location of natural beauty,  surrounded on both sides by lakes. In this place you get to enjoy the Finnish countryside with its beautiful lakes and forests. The area offers good opportunities for outdoor activities such as hiking. 

More information

Project is supported by the European Solidarity Corps and open for 18-30 year old citizens and permanent residents of EU countries and Ukraine. Participation is free of charge, as well as board and lodging. Volunteers need to stay the full duration of the project in order to get pocket money (5 euros per day) and travel cost reimbursed (20-530 euros depending on the distance).

2 cancellation places left, apply ASAP, but latest by 5th of May. 

Please fill in the application form in English, any applications that use AI will be discarded. 

"European Youth Week" application form 

ESC program promotes inclusion for all young people and there will be extra support if needed. We especially welcome volunteers whose personal situation fits in any of the below mentioned ones. Does any of these options describe your background?
If you replied yes (or maybe) above please choose option(s) which describe your situation:
We want to encourage the volunteers to use Green travel. Are you interested in this (travelling by land)?

For more information about green travel, check our website here.