Motivation

The incentive for international projects in areas of education, youth, social work and environment lies in two basic insights.

Firstly, the experience gained through non-formal education in social situations has taken on an ever increasing significance in the lifelong learning process.

Secondly, as opposed to most training courses, EVS enables hands on experience with intercultural issues on an international level. Voluntary service and international encounters provide actual working experience for young people in a foreign country. This experience will undoubtedly broadening participants' horizons and promote significant character building.

Conviction

Our conviction is that international programmes convey durable awareness of European citizenship and are therefore an experience which allows a departure from an otherwise socially narrow minded attitude.

Hands on experience is the centre point of intercultural education.

Networking

The association accompanies youths and disseminators and advises them on mobilisation and opportunities for experience in relation to international youth exchange programmes and intercultural training projects.

ecd has an advanced established international network available for users to take advantage of.

A dynamic network of associations and schemes active in the non-profit sector for youth, education, social work, culture and environment is being created through the implementation of further education training programmes and informative events regarding international, project orientated education.

The partner network is in continuous development and spreading ever wider making it a dynamic process.

Task

The activity of the still young association is mainly achieved through a voluntary commitment from members. Depending on the type of request and work an assignment may be complemented by free-lance workers at ecd.

In the same way that economic and social exclusion has become a European phenomenon with varied impacts in each country, schemes, organisations and associations attempt to effectively combat, through international projects, the increase in long term unemployment, poverty and homelessness and the exclusion of fringe groups and minorities.

ecd works selectively on the ground in volatile districts in Berlin, e.g. Kreuzberg and Moabit. Particular attention is therefore given to the capacity of disseminators who work directly with this target group, which concerns especially socially disadvantaged young people.

Future perspectives for many of these young people can be described as severely limited. ecd is convinced that international youth mobilisation projects are highly effective educative tools that can contribute to the broadening of otherwise limited perspectives.