Project: Since many years now we offer this successful workcamp together with the protestant community center "Petrusgemeinde". The international volunteers are invited to the Asylum Centre for two weeks to take part in the daily life of the refugees. In the study part of the camp, we want to inform about the situation of refugees in Germany and Europe, as well as the current developments in the area of Asylum-policies. We want you to get in contact with the residents of the Asylum Centre so that we can learn about their stories, difficulties and perspectives.
The Asylum Centres for asylum seekers in Hessen are located at the edge of the city Giessen. There are currently around 2 000 asylum-seekers hosted in former army barracks. The refugees are in Germany because of various reasons, e.g. political, ethnic and religious persecution or poverty. Usually, they stay at the facility for few months until a decision has been made about their application. Sometimes they are sent to other centers or to other “safe countries” where they entered the European Union, or to their countries of origin. Most of the people living in the Asylum Centres in Giessen are from Turkey, Afghanistan, Iraq, Iran, Eritrea, Ukraine and Balkan countries: Young men, women, children and older people. The asylum seekers live in simple conditions and are not allowed to work or leave the district in which they live. Their permission to stay in Germany often is limited and so is their contact with the locals living in the city.

Work: Together with the refugees we want to organize common activities, where the women and children are taken into consideration: Playing games, making sports, being creative, in short to have some fun together…. Besides organizing games for the kids and special activities for women and men, there is the option to create some scenes in a puppet theatre.
In addition, our goal is to get in contact with the young people in Giessen to raise greater awareness for the refugees and to break the isolation of the refugees. We will prepare contact with students of the local university that are willing to take care of the medical issues of the refugees and to pursue the legal issues of the asylum law.
We especially invite volunteers to participate, who can speak Kurdish, Turkish, Arabic or Farsi.

Leisure Time: There are plenty of possibilities for leisure time activities: playing football or canoeing as well as possibilities to visit some other cities. (e.g. Marburg, Frankfurt or Heidelberg)

Environment: Giessen, a city populated mostly by students located in the mid-west of Germany. It is easy to reach via Frankfurt airport and Frankfurt Hahn.

Terminal: Giessen.
Nearest airport: Frankfurt am Main.

Accommodation: The workcamp will be hosted by a local protestant church which is already involved in working with the refugees. The premises of the church are plentiful and volunteers will have a lot of space for sleeping, cooking, dining, relaxing, and for indoor and outdoor activities.

English (German always possible as second language)

Age: 19-26


[영문지원동기서 첨부 안내]
본 워크캠프 신청을 위해서는 영문지원동기서를 별도로 제출하셔야 합니다. 신청서의 Motivation과 별도로 해당 워크캠프 활동 내용을 바탕으로 구체적인 참가동기, 관련 경험 등을 영문으로 작성한 지원동기서(Motivation Letter)를 신청서 작성 시 첨부해주시기 바랍니다.
▶파일형식: Microsoft Word
▶파일이름: 워크캠프 코드-영문이름(ML)
(ex. EST08-Gildong_HONG(ML).docx)
▶분량: 1장(자유양식)
▶첨부방법: 신청서 상의 ATTACHING FILE에 첨부

[침낭 구비 안내]
개인 위생을 위해 개인용 침낭을 반드시 준비하시기 바랍니다.

Remarks: Please bring sleeping bag, a pillow if needed, camping mat, work clothes, bathing suit, music, your talents and something specific from your country. After registration, we require a self-declaration concerning the children and youth protection. Please send a motivation letter together with your application.

Project: Commemorating as a way towards peace! The Evangelical parish of Datteln is the origin of the movement of the christian voluntary service, nowadays known as yap-cfd. The parish of Datteln aims to remember a historical encounter which took place after World War I during the French occupation of the Ruhr area. It happened on the Good Friday in 1923 in Lutherhaus (former parish center): the French lieutenant Etienne Bach and the German official Karl Wille found the strength for reconciliation. Following their example, representatives of many nations, which could see each other only as enemies for generations, found a good way to communicate. The root of the movement “Young activists for Peace“ lies in this international encounter more than 90 years ago. Lots of volunteers have learned that reconciliation is possible, even if contradictions seem to be unbridgeable.
Work: In the last workcamps with the help of the local artist Ms. Ulrike Speckmann, volunteers created colorful messages of peace to be shown in public places: They designed „benches of encounter“ and a big mural in the local kindergarden. Two years ago, volunteers designed a big picture for the entrance hall of the local church. It was done as reflection of a memorial in the same room, which still shows a very militaristic and nationalistic approach.
This year volunteers are invited to work with old porcelain. With coloured pencil or paintbrush, volunteers can design old tableware, which can be used to build up an installation called “a table of peace and reconciliation”. As every time, this installation will be shown to public in a final exhibition. Again the artist is happy to help you to get in a creative process of painting. For information about the artist, please visit http://ulrike-speckmann.de/.
In addition to this artistic activities it is foreseen to visit the local kindergarden, to play with the children and to do some gardening there.
Members of the parish will be happy if volunteers are ready to contact the different social groups of the town, especially the children and the older generation.
Study part: How to tackle the subject peace artistically, local history as starting point of an international movement.

The town Datteln has approx. 35 000 inhabitants and is situated on the edge of the mining region in the north of the Ruhr area. Four waterways for shipping traffic are crossing in Datteln. The river Lippe and the region Münster are nearby. Next bigger towns are Recklinghausen, Dortmund and the very nice and famous students’ town Münster.

Terminal: Castrop-Rauxel, (near Dortmund train station) Next airport: Düsseldorf International (80 km).

The participants will be accommodated in the modern community center of Datteln „Etienne-Bach-Haus“. Please bring sleeping bag. Camp beds and pillows will be provided.

English, German

self-commitment statement

[방한복 준비 안내]
야간에는 추울 수 있으므로 따뜻한 옷을 챙겨가시기 바랍니다.


[침낭 구비 안내]
개인 위생을 위해 침낭, pillow (if needed)을 반드시 준비하시기 바랍니다.

Excursions to local places of interest, like the crossing of 4 channels and other sites.

Project: The Peace Barn Association (Friedensscheune e.V.) was founded to preserve the knowledge about the successful struggle against the German federal army plans to use the military training ground called „Bombodrom“ (Russian for „Place of the bombs“). The Russian army trained there with infantry, tanks, artillery and Jets which dropped a lot of bombs, until they had to leave after 1990. In 1992, the German federal army stated that they wanted to continue training there, and invite troups from other EU and NATO countries to train there also. Immediately a citizens action group started to fight against this intention in many non-violent ways, and after 17 years of struggle, the minister of defense withdrew these plans.
By installing a museum and an archive, we want to keep alive the knowledge about how to fight successfully on your behalf and about how to cooperate as a large group of different people. We also want to share the spirit of being confident in non-violent measures to reach your goals.

Work: Volunteers are invited to help us renovate an old barn to make a step forward towards establishing a museum and archive there. The barn is quite old (built in 1892) and made in combination of bricks and rubble masonry. The fieldstone wall has to be repaired and it needs regrouting. There will also be some garden work and cooking for the group. Manual work may be physically demanding and includes standing on scaffolding.

Study-Part: Ulrike Laubenthal, the first chairperson of the Peace Barn Association, is a trainer in nonviolent communication and nonviolent action. She will offer training for everybody who is interested. Additionally, she is very willing to present more detailed information about the history of the Bombodrom and the struggle against it. Depending on the wishes of the participants, Niels Detloff could offer a workshop in being critical with information offered by media.

The venue itself is called Sichelschmiede. It is still kind of a farm, where inhabitants live together with 5 goats, 8 chickens and a cat. There is also a garden, where vegetables are grown for own use.
Zempow is a very nice small village surrounded by forests. A beautiful lake is within reach. In the neighborhood one can find grazing land with horses and cattle … the region is quite beautiful ! We will spend an evening at the local organic cattle ranch and we will make a trip to the picturesque city of Rheinsberg with its castle.

Terminal: Rheinsberg. (Wittstock also possible).
Next airport is Berlin.

We will set up a yurt on our meadow with a thick layer of straw to sleep on. There is also a limited number of sleeping places available on mattresses in the attic of our house. We have 3 bathrooms and will set up additional outside toilets.
WiFi is available in the house.

Food here will be mostly organic, and vegetarian except for one barbecue at the ranch. We are happy to accommodate specific dietary needs; please let us know in advance if you have any allergies or such.

English, German
[공용어 안내]
본 워크캠프의 공용어는 English/German이므로 한 언어만 구사하면 참가할 수 있습니다. 다만, 참가자 구성비율에 따라 독일어 사용 빈도가 높을 수 있습니다.

[침낭 구비 안내]
개인 위생을 위해 침낭을 반드시 준비하시기 바랍니다.
Sleeping bag is needed.

[방한복 준비 안내]
야간에는 추울 수 있으므로 따뜻한 옷을 챙겨가시기 바랍니다.

[워크캠프 신청 전 참고사항]
본 워크캠프는 활동 중 높은 곳에서의 작업이 있을 수 있습니다.
작업 시 착용해야 할 신발을 현지에서 미리 준비할 수 있도록, 참가신청서에 신발 사이즈를 적어주시기 바랍니다.
Work may include standing on scaffolding. According to German safety regulations, it is obligatory to wear steel-toe-boots (S1 safety boots) during work in the barn. We will provide such boots for everybody, so please let us know your size (in cm!) with your application. Our preferred option would be that you contribute 10 ? and then take the boots home with you in the end, but you are not obliged. If you already have such boots, please bring them and let us know in advance!

We are part of the peace movement. We would appreciate if people joining the workcamp were interested in the peace movement, and we'd be keen to learn about activities of the peace movement in your countries.

September 1st is Anti War Day / World Peace Day! We suggest to spend that day in Berlin together, which would give all those who want to an opportunity to participate in a peace demonstration.