International meeting in community services
The non-profit association International Meeting in Community Services (IBG) based in Stuttgart was founded in 1965 with the aim of contributing to peace and international understanding through international youth community services ( workcamps ). Since then, more than 1500 international work camps with over 15,000 participants have been organized in Germany and other German-speaking countries, and well over 10,000 volunteers have been placed in charitable projects worldwide. IBG is committed to international understanding, the promotion of tolerance and openness, the strengthening of democratic awareness through the support of independent and responsible action, the overcoming of disadvantageous social conditions as well as a lasting positive influence of the work camps on the project locations. IBG places volunteers in work camps in over 40 countries in Europe, Asia, North, Central and South America.
The association is neither religiously nor politically bound and recognized as a carrier of extracurricular youth education.
The association is among other things a member of the Coordinating Committee for International Voluntary Service of UNESCO and of the international network of the Alliance of European Voluntary Service Organizations . At the local level, IBG is a member of the State Working Group on Open Youth Education (LAGO) Baden-Württemberg. The work camps in Germany are financed by grants from the Federal Ministry for Family, Seniors, Women and Youth and the European Union . In addition, local organizations support the projects.