Experiment (association)
Experiment e. V. based in Bonn organizes intercultural encounters in over 70 countries.
The association is the German branch of the international exchange organization "The Experiment in International Living". Experiment e. V. was founded in 1952 and was recognized as a non-profit organization. The association has almost 1000 members nationwide and over 600 volunteers (as of December 2012). 25 full-time employees work in the office in Bonn.
history
The American Donald B. Watt founded the exchange organization The Experiment in International Living in 1932 . His motivation was to organize intercultural encounters in families.
Donald B. Watt's first German partner was Alfons Schunter from Saulgau, who at the time, on behalf of the German Academic Exchange Service, was in charge of a German-English school exchange in southern Germany. Until 1936, there were only one-way visits to the cooperation between Germany and America, namely for participants from the USA to Germany. The first German group traveled to the USA in 1936 under the direction of Alfons Schunter. Exchange activities in Germany were impossible during World War II . In 1948 Donald B. Watt brought the first groups back to Germany from the USA. Since 1952 the association has been a member of the international federation "The Experiment in International Living". In 2012 “The Experiment in International Living” celebrated its eightieth anniversary.
Purpose of the association
The purpose of the association according to paragraph 2 of the association's statutes is:
- “The purpose of the association is the exchange between people of all cultures, religions and age groups. Experiment e. V. enables people of different origins to live together in order to contribute to mutual understanding and the peaceful coexistence of cultures. "
structure
The board, consisting of seven members, is responsible for the affairs of the association and represents it externally. Important tasks of the board include the preparation of the annual financial planning, compliance with and control, supervision of the office and the development of guidelines for program design. The advisory board acts as a permanent member representative in all essential matters of the association. Its task is to advise the board in its decisions on essential association matters. In order to fulfill his statutory duties, he has a comprehensive right to inspect files and make applications.
Awards
In 2011, the Alliance for Democracy and Tolerance recognized the “Kulturentdecker” scholarship, which the association finances largely from its own resources, as “particularly exemplary”. The scholarship is aimed at pupils from secondary schools, secondary schools and special needs schools, as these are underrepresented in intercultural exchange programs.
The voluntary services offered by the association are certified with the Quifd seal of approval (quality in voluntary service).
Cooperation partner
Cooperation partners include a. Foreign Office , Embassy of the USA , Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), Federal Ministry for Families, Seniors, Women and Youth (BMFSFJ), German Academic Exchange Service , German Bundestag , Fulbright Commission , Goethe Institute , Kreuzberg Children's Foundation , Saxon State Ministry for Kultus , Stiftung Mercator and the ZEIT Foundation .
The association is a founding member of the working group of non-profit youth exchange organizations (AJA) . The aim of the AJA is to maintain and further improve the quality standards for international youth exchange programs that have been tried and tested over decades by the six non-profit member organizations through close cooperation and mutual exchange of experience.
Programs
The association offers stays abroad for people of all cultures , religions and age groups. At the same time, Experiment e. V. also stays with host families in Germany.
The different programs for a stay abroad (4 weeks to 12 months) are:
- Demi-pair : Half-day language school, half-day childcare in a family in Australia , the People's Republic of China , Ecuador , Ireland , Canada , New Zealand
- Voluntary service: Experiment e. V. is the sending organization of weltwärts , the International Youth Voluntary Service (IJFD) and the European Voluntary Service (EFD) . There are also individual volunteer services in 24 countries (4 weeks to a year)
- Internship worldwide: internship, e.g. B. in the areas of education, social affairs, environment, economy in one of 14 countries (1 to 6 months)
- School attendance abroad: School attendance in 22 countries, accommodation is with a host family (3 months to a year)
- In addition: host family stays, group programs, “Kulturentdecker” scholarships, ranch stays / farm stays, language trips and summer camps.
The association offers programs in the following countries: Argentina , Australia , Benin , Brazil , Chile , People's Republic of China, Costa Rica , Denmark , Ecuador , Finland , France , Ghana , Great Britain , Guatemala , India , Ireland , Israel , Italy , Canada , Morocco , Mauritius , Mexico , Nepal , New Zealand , Nicaragua , Norway , Russia , Zambia , Sweden , Singapore , Spain , South Africa , Thailand , Togo , Turkey , USA
The association supports the following programs in Germany:
- African German teachers: two weeks in a host family in summer
- Family stay for foreign students (FAS): two-week stay with a host family over Christmas, Easter and during the semester break
- Road Scholar: Cultural trips for Americans aged 55 and over
- Attending school in Germany: Pupils live with a host family for half a year or a full year and go to school in Germany. Experiment e. V. is the recipient organization of the parliamentary sponsorship program .
- other short-term and group programs (e.g. a Summer School Renewable Energies)
Others
The association manages a scholarship fund for financially needy participants. In addition, the association organizes scholarship programs for its partners, for example weltwärts , international youth voluntary service , European voluntary service or the parliamentary sponsorship program .
Web links
Individual evidence
- ^ Statutes of Experiment e. V. ( Memento of the original from May 31, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (PDF file; 759 kB). Resolved by the general meeting on May 1, 2010 in Nuremberg.
- ^ Alliance for Democracy and Tolerance . Competition Active for Democracy and Tolerance - winners 2011
