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Workcamps 2010 MS ActionAid

Denmark

Working for social Change

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Welcome Dear friends Hereby a new and updatet workcamp program. As you will notice there is only five camps in this program, due to some funding problems these are the only camps we are certain that will be realised. Hopefully more camps will be announced when funding is certain. We are looking forward to receive your volunteers for the five 5 workcamps, four in Denmark and one in Greenland and hope to announce more workcamps during April and May. Also notice that here is a slight change in the visa procedure, please read the section about visa below. Best regards Nana Alsted MS ActionAid Denmark / Global Contact Workcamp Team

Contact information MS ActionAid Denmark Att. Global Contact Fæ lledvej 12 DK-2200 Copenhagen N Denmark Phone: Switchboard: +45 7731 0000 Direct, outgoing: +45 7731 0015 Direct, incoming: +45 7731 0015 Fax: +45 7731 0121 Email: Outgoing placements: outgoing@ms.dk Incoming placements: incoming@ms.dk (Denmark and Greenland) Contact/programme responsible: Nana Alsted – nal@ms.dk Office hours: Monday – Thursday: 10.00 – 16.00, Friday 10.00-15.00

Introduction to MS ActionAid Denmark MS ActionAid Denmark (MS) was established in 1944, under the name Mellemfolkeligt Samvirke (Danish Association for International Co-operation) . Our aim is to further international understanding and solidarity across and beyond national and cultural boundaries. We do this by trying to influence development on every level from grassroots to government. MS’ vision: A world in peace where cooperation among people promotes global equity and ensures improved conditions for poor and marginalised.

MS’ mission: MS provides opportunities for action for people, who accept a shared responsibility for global sustainable development. MS promotes understanding and dialogue between people. Together with partners we promote popular

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participation and democratisation in the North and in the South. We endeavour to enable poor and marginalised people realise their vision of a dignified life. MS works within 5 focus areas: that is 1. Building local democracy. 2. Peace and conflict management. 3. Anti corruption. 4. Land rights. 5 Trade justice. Besides that we send/or receive 1000 volunteers every year.

Introduction to the Exchange Programme The MS International Exchange programme is called Global Contact and provides opportunities for everyone to get an insight into other cultures. Our programme consists of activities and partnerships in most parts of the world. Our aim is to facilitate understanding of other cultures, political systems, religions and geographical conditions. We hope that our volunteers will make use of their experience and knowledge to further social and economic equality. Our programme makes it possible for people from all over the world to live and work together on an equal basis, to work with locals and assist in solving problems in society at large.

Introduction to Workcamps in Denmark MS has been organising workcamps in Denmark for more than 30 years. The workcamps are hosted and sponsored by Danish municipalities, regions, institutions, private and public funding etc. MS international workcamps offer volunteers a practical and social task, which will benefit a local community. Our main objective is to get people from different countries, cultures, religions and backgrounds to work and function together, and through that to learn from and about each other. A great way to break down prejudices and stereotypes.

Denmark in brief Denmark is the most southern of the Nordic countries located between the North Sea and the Baltic Sea. In the south, Denmark shares a 68 km border with Germany. Denmark consists of the peninsula of Jutland (Jylland) in the west and 406 islands of which approx. 100 are inhabited. Funen (Fyn) and Zealand (Sjæ lland) are the biggest and most important islands. The capital Copenhagen is located on Zealand. Denmark is one of the smaller countries in Europe only slightly larger than Switzerland. Denmark is a very flat country, the highest “mountain” is just only 175 meters high. This, as well as the fertile soil and temperate climate, makes the land very suitable for agriculture and about 70% of Denmark’s land surface is used for agricultural production. Denmark is a constitutional monarchy, but the responsibility for the actions of the Queen/King is taken solely by the ministers in the government. The parliamentary system has been unicameral since 1953. The parliament is called the “Folketing.” There are 179 members of parliament of which two are elected in Greenland and two in the Faeroe Islands. Members are elected for four-year terms. For the last 20 years there have never been less than 8 parties represented in the Folketing at any one time. Denmark is a member of the European Union, and 16 members are elected to take a seat in the European Parliament. The Faeroes Islands and Greenland, however, are not members of the EU. By referendum the Danish population decided not to enter the European Monetary Union, therefore the currency in Denmark is still Danish Crowns (DKK). Area: 43.075 km2 Population: 5.350.000 Capital: Copenhagen (1.400.000 inhabitants)

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Major towns: Aarhus, Odense, Aalborg Head of State: Queen Margrethe II Prime Minister: Anders Fogh Rasmussen, Liberal Party of Denmark Language: Danish Currency: Krone (Danish Crown, DKK), not Euro Climate: Temperate sea-climate. Average temperature: -3° in February and 14°–22° in June–August

Practical matters – Things your volunteers need to know

Age The minimum age for participants on MS workcamps in Denmark is 18 years. For Greenland the minimum age is 20. There is no maximum age.

Leaders Each camp in Denmark has two leaders (one or two in Greenland), trained by MS. The leaders will act as contact persons for the camp and arrange the daily life of the camp. The leaders participate in the work and daily life on equal terms with the other participants. The leaders are volunteers and do not get paid for their work.

Language The camp language is English on all camps (unless otherwise noted), and participants must be able to communicate reasonably in English.

Insurance During the camp all volunteers are insured for personal liability, personal accidents, and baggage loss with special exceptions. Important: Please note that the insurance does not cover travel to and from the camp.

Sleeping bag All volunteers must bring a sleeping bag or equivalent. Often the volunteers will need to bring a sleeping mattress. If so, this will be written in the infosheet.

Travel The volunteer must arrange, and is responsible for, his/her own travel to and from the camp in Denmark. MS cannot pick up any volunteers at stations or airports. Before the camp the volunteer will get a letter from the camp leader with practical information including direction on how to get to the camp from the nearest station/airport.

Travel costs Travelling in Denmark by public transportation is very easy and fast, but also expensive. From Copenhagen Airport there is direct access to trains to all parts of the country. Thus volunteers do not necessarily have to go to one of the regional airports. However trains are quite expensive and the volunteers will often benefit economically if they can go to a regional airport. Ryan Air flies via London (Stansted) to Aarhus (Tirstrup), and Malmö (Sturup) in Sweden (close to Copenhagen) and Hamburg (Lübeck) in Germany (near the southern parts of Jutland). Eurolines Busses also go to Copenhagen and other major towns in Denmark from various European destinations.

Visa Volunteers from Scandinavia or the EU countries DO NOT NEED a visa or a residence and work permit for volunteers. Volunteers from other countries will need either a visa or a residence and work permit for volunteers, depending on the type of camp you choose, the camps MS01, MS02 and MS-GR02 only need a visa. The camps MS05 and MS06 needs a residence and work permit for volunteers.

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The volunteers are recommended only to apply for a visa for the period of the camp as stated in the official invitation sent by MS. If a volunteer applies for a visa for more than the camp period, MS cannot provide any help if the volunteer experiences problems in obtaining the visa. MS will issue the official invitation and instruct the volunteer on how to apply for the visa, but the volunteer must apply her/himself at the Danish embassy/consulate in her/his own home country. In the countries where Denmark has a real embassy, Danish visas are issued by that Danish embassy. However, in the countries where Denmark does not have an embassy but only a small consulate, Denmark has an agreement with either the Norwegian, Swedish, French, German or another EU country about issuing visas. You can find the general Danish visa rules on www.nyidanmark.dk/en-us/coming_to_dk/visa/visa.htm - they specify which documents, photos etc. you need to bring. But we advise you to call the embassy in advance to be sure you’ve got what you need before you go, and to get the opening hours of the visa section. You will receive a formal invitation letter from MS via the organisation through which you applied to go on workcamp. You have to bring the invitation letter to the Danish Embassy or Consulate in your country to get the permit. We will email/fax the invitation letter to the Embassy/Consulate as well, and will give the Danish immigration office a list of the people we invites. How to apply for a Work- and residence permit for volunteers or a Visa To make the process as quick as possible, you have to go to the Danish Embassy in your country. Find the addresses of the Danish embassies abroad on www.um.dk. The embassy will ask you to fill in some papers, and will charge you a fee of 60 EUR. We are sorry that you have to pay this – it’s not something that we invented! To get a work-and residence permit for volunteers it is also required that you have a passport and this passport should be valid minimum six months after the end of your stay. Applying for the Work and residence permit for volunteers you need to fill out a special form, it is called : XG1 – Application for a residence and work permit for volunteers and other applicants with special circumstances You find it on www.newtodenmark.dk, you can use the search function. It will be for your own benefit if you bring with you some kind of letter from your own organisation, which testify that you are sent by this organisation. However this is not requested, but it will help your application on its way through the system. But please note You need to apply for the permit as soon as you receive your invitation letter, as it takes the Danish Immigration Service up to 60 days to process the permit. The permit is physically a sticker that will be put in your passport.

Currency The Danish currency is the Danish Crown (DKK). You cannot use Euro (EUR) in most parts of the country. Shops will only accept Euros in places with lots of tourists.

The serious stuff we have to mention

Drugs The use of drugs, including smoking of cannabis, is strictly forbidden by Danish law and will not be tolerated on any MS workcamp in Denmark or Greenland.

Expulsion MS, the organisation and the individual camp leaders reserve the right to refuse admittance or expel volunteers on the basis of bad behaviour or if the individual is breaking rules or Danish law.

Responsibilities/liabilities MS does not have any responsibility economically or otherwise for the volunteers before or after the camp.

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Workcamps – Denmark 2010

Do not buy air ticket etc. before you get the acceptance from MS ActionAid Denmark to do so.

Code Name Location Dates Type Vols. Age Remarks

MS01 Kids Camp 10, Mjølnerparken

Noerrebro, Denmark

02.07.10- 18.07.10 SOCI/KIDS 13 18+

Motivation Letter Required

MS02 Kids Camp 10, Tingbjerg

Copenhagen, Denmark

25.06.10 – 11.07.10 SOCI/KIDS 15 18+

Motivation Letter Required

MS05

Fri og Fro – Sustainable living

Egebjerg, Zealand

22.07.10 – 31.07.10

ENVI/CONS 8-10 18+

Motivation Letter Required

MS06

Sustainable community living and local democracy, Svanholm castle. Skibby, Denmark

19.06.10-03.07.10

ENVI/CONS/RENO 15 18+

Motivation Letter Required

MS-GR02 Nuuk Greenland 09.07.10- 30.07 SOCI 15 18+

EKSTRA FEE 250 EURO

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MS01 – MJOELNERPARKEN, KIDS CAMP 10 – 02.07.10-18.07.10 – 13 VOL. – SOCI/KIDS This is the third year that “Sjakket” in Mjølnerparken are hosting a Workcamp. Last year was a great success. The Workcamp takes place in an area in Copenhagen, inhabited by many different ethnic groups. The characteristics of the area’s residents are that they often have low or no education, are unemployed and must support themselves and their families with low income transfer from the Danish government. This situation has many negative consequences, such as poor health, low self-esteem and crime. This is especially the area's children who are prone to get into bad trajectories where they end up in crime and the like. Work: the goal of this Workcamp is to counteract these processes by engaging young people in meaningful activities that will strengthen their confidence, stimulate them mentally and physically, diminish their incentive to engage in crime and facilitate their overall integration into society. In particular reintegration and retain them the surrounding gatherings. To achieve this, it will be the volunteers' task is to create activities that reflect the association and sports activities that are represented in the local area. These activities should involve the target group, and may be, for example sports events, theater and music. The activities are determined by the participants and the voluntary desire and skills. Furthermore, it will be the volunteers' job to point out where and how the audience can become involved in local area activities. The main target group is children from 6-18 years who are connected to a club run by “Sjakket” - social pedagogic institution with many years of experience and expertise.. “Sjakket” has some very nice facilities with possibilities to make a lot of sporting events, theatre, music and movie editing. Requirements: You do not need any special skills to attend this workcamp, you will only need to be highly motivated to give the kids a summer of their life time, and to make a effort to fulfill the goal of the workcamp. Therefore we would kindly ask you to attach a motivation letter with your application, in brief telling about you and why you want to go. As the Workcamp takes places in an area with many different cultures it is recommendable, that you have a certain level of cultural understanding. LOCATION: Mjoelnerparken, Noerrebro, Copenhagen TERMINAL: Copenhagen (from here transport with local train is possible) NEAREST AIRPORT: Copenhagen ACCOMODATION: TBA LANGUAGE: English AGE: 18+ Remarks: A short motivational letter is required. This workcamp requires a visa for participants outside EU.

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Pictures from Mjoelnerparken, from the top right: 1) Volunteer playing with the kids 2) Kids making Karate, which is one of the many activities that are possible to do at “Sjakket’” place 3) The activity center 4) Happy kids

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MS02 – TINGBJERG KIDS CAMP 10 – 25.06.10 – 11.07.10– 15 VOL – SOCI/KIDS This is the third year that “Ruten” in Tingbjerg are hosting a Workcamp. Last year was a great success. The Workcamp takes place in an area a little outside Copenhagen, inhabited by many different ethnic groups. The characteristics of the area’s residents are that they often have low or no education, are unemployed and must support themselves and their families with low income transfer from the Danish government. This situation has many negative consequences, such as poor health, low self-esteem and crime. This is especially the area's children who are prone to get into bad trajectories where they end up in crime and the like. Work: the goal of this Workcamp is to counteract these processes by engaging young people in meaningful activities that will strengthen their confidence, stimulate them mentally and physically, diminish their incentive to engage in crime and facilitate their overall integration into society. In particular reintegration and retain them the surrounding gatherings. To achieve this, it will be the volunteers' task is to create activities that reflect the association and sports activities that are represented in the local area. These activities should involve the target group, and may be, for example sports events, theater and music. The activities are determined by the participants and the voluntary desire and skills. Furthermore, it will be the volunteers' job to point out where and how the audience can become involved in local area activities. The Workcamp will be carried out in corporation with the local youth club “Ruten”. They are an institution with professionals, who knows how about the kid of the area, and how to handle them. Requirements: You do not need any special skills to attend this workcamp, you will only need to be highly motivated to give the kids a summer of their life time, and to make a effort to fulfill the goal of the workcamp. Therefore we would kindly ask you to attach a motivation letter with your application, in brief telling about you and why you want to go. As the Workcamp takes places in an area with many different cultures it is recommendable, that you have a certain level of cultural understanding. LOCATION: Tingbjerg, Copenhagen TERMINAL: Copenhagen (from here transport with local train is possible) NEAREST AIRPORT: Copenhagen ACCOMODATION: In tents, so bring a sleeping back and madras. There will be a kitchen for you to cook in, and nice bathing and toilet facilities. LANGUAGE: English AGE: 18+ Remarks: A short motivational letter is required. This workcamp requires a visa for participants outside EU

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Pictures from Tingbjerg, from the top right: 1) Kids from Tingbjerg 2) Kids making a performance at Tingbjerg. 3) An overview of Tingbjerg

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MS05 – SUSTAINABLE LIVING, EGEBJERG – 22.07.10 – 31.07.10 – 10 VOL – ENVI/CONS The building society Fri and Fro is a little community in the northern part of Zealand in a village called Egebjerg. The community is a co-operative community based on the idea of sustainability. The houses in the co-operative are build in sustainable materials, such as straw, shells, clay and recyclable materials. At present they have build 10 houses of straw and clay and 6 houses of wood The goal of the community is to get as close as possible to be CO2 neutral.

WORK: The inhabitants in the community feel a certain pressure to finish the building of their own house, and therefore the community is in lack of man power to finish their community house. The participants on this workcamp are going to help with finish up the community house. The participant will not need any skills, as they will be under guidance from professionals. As a supplement to the work Fri and Fro will make lectures and workshops in issues of sustainability

Requirements: You do not need any special skills to attend this workcamp, you will only need to be highly motivated to make a effort to fulfill the goal of the workcamp. Therefore we would kindly ask you to attach a motivation letter with your application, in brief telling about you and why you want to go.

LOCATION: Egebjerg, Zealand TERMINAL: Copenhagen Central Airport NEAREST AIRPORT: Copenhagen ACCOMODATION: Tents LANGUAGE: English. AGE: 18+

Remarks: A short motivational letter is required. This workcamp requires a visa and a work and residence permit for volunteers for participants outside EU.

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Pictures from Fri og Fro: 1) The Community house 2) A straw bale house

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MS06 –SUSTAINABLE COMMUNITY-LIVING AND LOCAL DEMOCRACY, SVANHOLM – 19.06.10-03.07.10– 15 VOL – ENVI/CONS/RENO What is the good society and how can we reach a sustainable development? A part of the answer to these questions could be democracy, environmental awareness and inclusion. In the northern part of Zealand, around 150 people have made an attempt to create a sustainable community - living together in an Eco-village called Svanholm.

Svanholm is an Ecological production community with 100 households. It was founded in 1978, with a common vision of a society with community spirit, democracy, ecological and environmental consciousness. For more information check out: www.svanholm.dk

WORK: The main goal of this workcamp will be to show the participants the life at Svanholm, and give them a sense of how daily life also can be structured. The participants are going to take part in the everyday tasks at Svanholm. The residents at Svanholm are working in working groups, and the participants will be placed in these groups. The groups are; Production, renovation and operation.

Svanholm also whishes the participants to take part in building playgrounds and activity spaces in the surrounding woods

Requirements: You do not need any special skills to attend this workcamp, you will only need to be highly motivated to make a effort to fulfil the goal of the workcamp. Therefore we would kindly ask you to attach a motivation letter with your application, in brief telling about you and why you want to go.

LOCATION: Outside a town called Skibby, in the northern part of Zealand. The town is located 2 hours from Copenhagen. Svanholm is surrounded by a forest and is very close to the ocean. TERMINAL: Roskilde Train Station NEAREST AIRPORT: Copenhagen ACCOMODATION: Sleeping on mattresses on the floor or in tents LANGUAGE: English

AGE: 18+

Remarks: A short motivational letter is required. This workcamp requires a visa and a work and residence permit for volunteers for participants outside EU.

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Pictures from Svanholm, from the top: 1) A view of the very beautiful surroundings, the castle is placed between big forests, fields and the sea. 2) Svanholm is almost self sustainable, this is a picture of their cattle stock 3) The main buildings

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Workcamps – Greenland 2010

Experience the world’s most spectacular nature and wildlife

Please do not buy air tickets before you get a positive acceptance from MS ActionAid to do so.

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MS- GR02 – NUUK – 09.07.10 – 30.07.10 – 10 VOL – SOCI/KIDS

Greenland is a unique and beautiful country, with a fantastic nature and culture. There is however also social problems, especially in Nuuk where drug abuse and alcohol are widespread. Due to these problems the children of disadvantaged families are vulnerable and often let alone. Therefor there is a need for summer holiday activities for the children in Nuuk, this workcamp will focus on giving kids and youth an fun and attractive alternative to just be hanging around in the streets. It is important with exercise and a healthy diet for feeling good and being able to learn, not all kids and youth are aware of this, this can simple be a matter of not knowing the options and possibilities. Therefore this workcamp will focus on giving information the connection between a healthy diet, exercise and the ability to learn, cooking, sports and social activities.

WORK:

The main task of the workcamp is to give the kids and youth of Nuuk a positive summer experience with adults who are present and care. This will be done with a special focus on healthy food and exercise, so activities which deals with this, such as cooking food together and playing games where the kids get exercise and other social activities will be task during the workcamp.

Requirements: Volunteers must be minimum 20 years. You do not need any special skills to attend this workcamp, you will only need to be highly motivated to make a effort to fulfill the goal of the workcamp. Therefore we would kindly ask you to attach a motivation letter with your application, in brief telling about you and why you want to go.

LOCATION: Nuuk, Greenland NEAREST AIRPORT: Nuuk Airport ACCOMODATION: TBA LANGUAGE: English. AGE: 20+

Remarks: A short motivational letter is required. This workcamp requires a visa for participants outside EU.

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