International youth community services
Internationale Jugendgemeinschaftsdienste (ijgd) Bundesverein eV - Society for International and Political Education - is a church-based and politically independent, non-profit association for international youth work and one of the largest and oldest work camp organizations in the Federal Republic of Germany . The association was founded in 1949 on the initiative of Hanoverian schoolchildren. Today he is also a provider of long-term voluntary services.
Club structure and club goals
14 regional associations are affiliated to the federal association. The ijgd association has a total of around 192 members and the association's board of directors works on a voluntary basis.
history
After the Second World War , students from Hanover organized the first work camps to support reconstruction, to dismantle enemy images through international contacts and to look for new, democratic ways of life. There was support from the Lower Saxony Ministry of Culture. In 1949 the first two work camps took place in Eschershausen and Dassel with a total of 43 young people, and in 1950 542 participants took part in 26 camps.
Over the years, other activities have been added to the work camps, which are now organized in 14 regional associations with six branches and their regional offices. Young people between the ages of 16 and 26 can volunteer at ijgd in the medium and long term at home and abroad, for example in the social and ecological area or in monument preservation through building huts, a special program as a volunteer year in monument preservation in cooperation with the German Foundation for Monument Protection as a “decade project” of the German UNESCO Commission .
In 1983 the first cycle of voluntary social year took place at ijgd in North Rhine-Westphalia and in 1993 ijgd expanded its spectrum with the voluntary ecological year service . Since July 2011 the federal voluntary service can also be performed.
One goal is international understanding. Understanding and breaking down prejudices between people from different nations, social classes, religions and world views is promoted.
Mission statement of IJGD
All projects carried out are based on pedagogical principles, which are called the "six pillars":
- Intercultural learning
Intercultural encounters take place in the international groups in ijgd projects. The participants get to know and understand each other's mentality and culture. In everyday project life, international understanding, mutual respect for different attitudes, overcoming language barriers, democratic behavior, openness and tolerance should be learned.
- voluntary work
Through their voluntary work, the participants support a project that is important for the local population or for the preservation of nature. They do not receive any wages, but - depending on the project - mostly free board and lodging.
- self-organisation
The group organizes z. B. Shopping, cooking and the leisure program itself. Everyday life is not dictated by the group leader, but is largely designed by the participants themselves.
- social learning
When living together in a group, there may be conflicts of interest. In a group, therefore, compromises have to be found that allow differing opinions, tolerate the peculiarities of participants and also overcome tensions.
- Gender emancipation
In meeting others, participants can begin to question learned role-specific behaviors (“typically man - typically woman”) and find other forms of equal treatment with one another. The pillar was added to the ijgd pedagogy in 1986/87 as the fifth pillar.
- Ecological learning
Many projects have an ecological theme as their main focus. But also in everyday life together in the seminar or workcamp group, questions arise about ecology and waste avoidance, the handling of resources, etc. In 2000 this pillar was added.
Offices and regional offices
The following regional associations have branches and regional offices.
Offices
- The Berlin office is the seat of the state associations Berlin eV and Saxony eV
- The Bonn office is the seat of the state associations Baden-Württemberg eV, Hessen eV North Rhine-Westphalia eV, Rhineland-Palatinate / Saarland eV and Southern Germany eV (Bavaria)
- The Halberstadt office is the seat of the state associations of Saxony-Anhalt eV and Thuringia eV
- The Hildesheim office is the seat of the state associations Hamburg / Schleswig-Holstein eV and Lower Saxony eV
- The Potsdam office is the seat of the Brandenburg State Association
- The Wismar office is the seat of the Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania regional association
Regional offices
- Regional office in Agathenburg: Youth building hut in the district of Stade
- Regional office Duisburg: Jugendbauhütte Duisburg / Raesfeld
- Regional office in Erfurt: ijgd - FÖJ Thuringia
- Regional office Görlitz: Jugendbauhütte Görlitz
- Regional office in Hamburg
- Lübeck regional office: Lübeck youth development hut
- Regional office Magdeburg
- Regional office Marburg: Romrod youth development hut
- Regional office Mühlhausen: Jugendbauhütte Mühlhausen
- Regional office Potsdam: Jugendbauhütte Brandenburg / Berlin, garden monument preservation and FÖJ
- Regensburg regional office: Regensburg youth development hut
- Regional office Soest: Jugendbauhütte Soest
- Regional office Stralsund: Jugendbauhütte Stralsund / Szczecin