Check out ISIC's tips to volunteering abroad! Find the right volunteer program for you and make your student life international.

Volunteer work abroad

When you work as a volunteer abroad, you'll see your destination country in a new light and get to know the local culture a lot deeper than a briefly visiting tourist. You will work in projects that help and support the local people and you'll be a part of the local everyday life through your work and the project community. Working as a volunteer you are sure to meet other like-minded people, who want to give their time and effort to help in nature conservation, animal welfare or social projects. 

Your time abroad as a volunteer will help you get a new perspective to things and issues at home. You'll also learn to live with less and soon you'll notice the things that are actually a necessity to you and what you could maybe drop off your daily life when you get back home. Volunteer work will help you develop new skills, and you'll also learn new things fast, when you challenge yourself with new tasks, surprising situations and new daily routines. When family, friends and other influencing factors are far away you'll have the time to think what actually matters to you and what you want to do with your future. 

Working as a volunteer abroad is a truly international experience both when it comes to meeting new people and learning about new cultures. There are multiple organizations to do volunteer work with almost anywhere in the world. If you feel like volunteer work might be something you want to do, check out the different possibilities and organizations we've listed below, and start planning on getting out to the world! 

Organizations for volunteer work:

AIESEC: AIESEC offers volunteer work projects that last a minimum of 6 weeks to youth of 18 to 30 years of age. AIESEC's network covers 127 countries! 

CISV: Through CISV you can participate in International People's Project (for youth over 19 years of age), in which volunteer workers work in social projects for 14 to 23 days.

EVS  - European Volunteer Service: Check out the volunteer work with EVS from the European Youth Portal. With their search engine you can browse different projects in different countries.

KILROY: With KILROY, you can work as a volunteer abroad in multiple different projects, ranging from marine and nature conservation to animal welfare and social projects. Volunteer to protect sea turtles in Costa Rica or take care of corals in the Seychells! Book a meeting with a KILROY travel expert and ask more about the volunteering options with KILROY. 

UN Volunteer: Youth above 25 years of age can volunteer with United Nations volunteer programs. For volunteer programs abroad, the volunteer worker should have at least 2 years of relevant working experience before they apply for the volunteer program.  

Sources:

Hostelworld - Why Volunteer Abroad? 12 Reasons it Will Change Your Outlook on Life