Further offers
In addition to the one-year voluntary services in Israel and Germany, ASF also organizes short-term programs in the form of international youth encounters (summer camps) or the encounter program with trainees.
On this page:
The German-Israeli Summer Camp
The international youth encounter Berlin – Jerusalem is part of the ASF summer camp program. The program lasts two weeks – one in Jerusalem, the other in Berlin.
Along the traces of history
Education and travel inseparably belong together. Summer camps offer not only a chance to volunteer, but also to learn about other countries and cultures. An examination of the place and country where the work camp takes place is therefore part of every ASF summer camp. What happened here? Who has shaped this place? And what does it mean for me and others today?
Each summer camp stands for a special topic, which the participants deal with beyond the practical work. This content-related work is the second pillar of the summer camps and offers a lot of variety: excursions, visits to exhibitions, conversations with contemporary witnesses, own workshops in which the participants deal with poems, songs and photos, and much more is possible and explicitly desired. Retracing the history in the here and now: This is worth an (educational) journey.
Understanding demands encounter
Summer camps are short-term peace services. Independent of the concrete project and the practical work, we want to provide encounters between people of different cultural, ideological and social backgrounds. By talking to each other, we can experience the diversity that international participants bring to the table. This wealth of perspectives counteracts pigeonhole thinking about the other. What makes us special, what connects us and sets us apart, is more. To find this out questioning ourselves, to correct prejudices and to face old fears is a great adventure to which we´d like to invite you.
More information about the summer camps, registration and costs can be found here.
Trainee Program
Gaining experience abroad also during professional training.
Since the summer of 2007, trainees from a wide range of companies and industries have been coming to Israel every year. In Israel, the participants explore the country with Aktion Sühnezeichen Friedensdienste and gain valuable experience in the fields of activity of ASF.
One of the most important concerns of Aktion Sühnezeichen Friedensdienste has always been to place our work on a broad social foundation so as to involve as many different people as possible and to allow them to participate in our work. For this reason, in 2007, ASF started a cooperation with Adolf Würth GmbH & Co. KG and expanded it to other companies in the following years. In a two-day preparatory seminar in Berlin, the participants are prepared for the particularities of the country and for the project work. Once they arrive in Israel, the trainees are welcomed by the country’s representative and the Beit Ben-Yehuda team accompanying them throughout their time in the country. The program is divided into two parts: In the first week, the participants receive an introduction to Israel´s history, politics and society. During the seminars, they meet exciting personalities and are confronted with new perspectives. In recent years, for example, we have been able to win Gabriel Bach, the deputy prosecutor in the trial of Adolf Eichmann, for discussions. In addition, it is always a particular concern of ours that the participants have the opportunity to get to know people who survived the Shoah and then built a life in Israel.
In addition to the seminars, excursions and discussions, the trainees spend a week in the projects of the volunteers of Aktion Sühnezeichen Friedensdienste and thus gain a unique insight into our work in the country and into various facets of Israeli society. In an evaluation meeting in Germany, they reflect on what they have experienced with the aim of anchoring the gained experiences and skills sustainably.
