Who are we?

pro international e.V. is a non-profit and non-governmental organisation and was founded in 1956 in Marburg (where our office is located as well), influenced by experiences during the Second World War. The main aim was and still is working for peace, bringing together young people from different nationalities in order to learn more about other social, cultural and political living conditions. We are offering workcamps (Short Term Projects) almost all over the year, mainly in summer.


Our aims

* encouraging and maintaining international contacts, understanding and co-operation
* stimulating personal development, social and intercultural learning as well as global understanding of young people
* promoting voluntary work and the idea of volunteering


General information about our projects in Germany

The group: will be international.
Duration: two-three weeks.
The work: will be 10-25 hours per week (Monday till Friday).
Accommodation: will be in houses (in one project in tents) with all facilities like sleeping-rooms, kitchen, shower and toilet.
Food: will be prepared on a self catering basis (budget available) – the groups will cook and clean on their own, by daily changing kitchen-teams.
Campleaders: There will be 1-2 campleaders per camp, helping to organise leisure time and excursion as well as keeping the budget. In the language-projects there will be teacher(s) in addition.
Camp language: German / English (see description)
Extra-fee: 160 EUR for those workcamps with German language-part.
Insurance: Will be provided (illness, accident, third liability) for the period of the projects. European volunteers have to bring their European Health Card. The insurance does not cover travel to and from the camp.
Info sheets (including travel information): Will be sent to partners approx. 4 weeks before the project is due to start.


Criteria for taking part in our projects

Volunteers:
- have to be at least 16 years old (in some projects 18), max. 26 (exceptions for older volunteers are possible).
- for our language-projects: must already have at least basic knowledge of German
 

Application-Procedure: General conditions for the application procedure
 

This program as pdf-file

Detailed description


PRO-1 Marburg 10.04.-24.04. 10 vols. MANU
PRO-2 Marburg 15.05.-29.05. 10 vols. MANU
Project: Host organisation is the municipality of Marburg. They have already organised international volunteer camps for many years.
Work: Participants are busy doing various manual works to prepare the area (youth-holiday-camp "Freizeitgelände Stadtwald") for the summer leisure activities of the municipality. This means, for example, clearing the place, gardening, painting, building up/taking down tents. Time of work will be 4-5 hours daily, excluding Saturday and Sunday.
Accommodation: Will be in a house with several-bed-rooms, kitchen, bathroom, shower. Cooking, cleaning, shopping etc. will be done by the group itself.
Location: Marburg is an historical and picturesque old university town, 100 km north of Frankfurt/Main. It has 80.000 inhabitants, including 20.000 students (from actual 120 different countries). The camp is located in an area named "Stadtwald" in a youth-holiday-camp. It is not located in the centre, but not too far from it, and there is a good bus-connection.
Terminal: Train-station Marburg; next airport Frankfurt/Main or Frankfurt-Hahn.
Age: 16-26
Language: English


PRO-3 Marburg   19.06.-03.07.   10 vols.  MANU/LANG
PRO-4 Marburg   03.07.-17.07.   10 vols.  MANU/LANG
PRO-5 Marburg   14.08.-28.08.   10 vols.  MANU/LANG
PRO-6 Marburg   25.09.-09.10.   10 vols.  MANU/LANG
PRO-7 Marburg   23.10.-06.11.   10 vols.  MANU/LANG
Project: Host organisation is the municipality of Marburg. They already have organised international volunteer camps for many years. It is a workcamp including German language training. The lectures will be two hours every day (excluding Saturday and Sunday when the group will go on excursions). The main topic during the lectures will be intercultural diversities. So the basis of the lectures will be communication first and grammar second. The teachers will be native speakers, partly trained teachers, partly students. The language-course will not have the same standard like a professional language-school, but experiences with this concept in the past have shown its success.
Work: Participants are busy doing various manual works to prepare the area (youth-holiday-camp "Freizeitgelände Stadtwald") for (or after) the summer leisure activities of the municipality. It means for example clearing the place, gardening, painting, building up/taking down tents. Time of work will be 4-5 hours daily, excluding Saturday and Sunday.
Accommodation: Will be in a house with several-bed-rooms, kitchen, bathroom, shower. Cooking, cleaning, shopping etc. will be done by the group itself. Like in each workcamp, accommodation, food and travel-costs for excursions are free as well as materials/copies needed for the lectures.
Location: Marburg is an historical and picturesque old university town, 100 km north of Frankfurt/Main. It has 80.000 inhabitants, including 20.000 students (from actual 120 different countries). The camp is located in the area named "Stadtwald" in a youth-holiday-camp. It is not located in the centre, but not too far, and there is a good bus-connection.
Terminal: Train-station Marburg; next airport Frankfurt/Main or Frankfurt-Hahn.
Special requirements: Participants must already be able to communicate in German, at least on a level which ensures simple communication; this course is not for absolute beginners. Participants also must be willing to communicate with each other during the camp in German and not in English or in their own mother tongue for the whole time, not only during the lectures. This is one important part of the concept.
Special remark: Because of the language-course there is an (extra-) fee: 160,00 EUR - to be paid upon arrival. Official confirmation for participating in the language-course will be given at the end of the camp.
Age: 16-26 (exceptions for older volunteers are possible).
Language: German


PRO-8 Tringenstein   14.08.-28.08.   14 vols.   MANU
Project: Host organisation is the Regional Government, depart. for Youth. They already have organised international volunteer camps for several years.
Work: Participants are busy doing various manual works to help maintaining the area (youth-holiday-camp). It means for example clearing the place, painting, repairing, doing little forest work. Time of work will be 4-5 hours daily, excluding Saturday and Sunday.
Accommodation: Will be in little comfortable houses with bed-rooms. Kitchen, bathroom, showers and more rooms will be in the main building. Cooking, cleaning, shopping etc. will be done by the group itself.
Location: Tringenstein is a little village in Hessen, approx. 100 km north of Frankfurt/Main. The next town is Dillenburg. The camp is located at the edge of the village, very close to the forest.
Terminal: Train-station Dillenburg; next airport Frankfurt/Main or Frankfurt-Hahn.
Age: 16-26
Language: English


PRO-9 Dillenburg   24.07.-14.08.   14 vols.   ARCH
Project: Host organisation is the local museums-association ("Museumsverein Dillenburg e.V."). There have already been several workcamps in Dillenburg in previous years.
Work: Participants will work at the area of the castle "Wilhelms-tower", in the former underground defensive fortifications (Kasematten), which are the biggest in Europe. It concretely means excavating in- and outside, also the sorting of minerals/stones. Volunteers who have knowledge about minerals/stones, maybe because of their hobby or study, are very welcome. Time of work will be 5 hours daily, excluding Sunday and one other day per week. But on Saturday there will be some work – together with members of the organization.
Accommodation: Will be in tents near the castle with sleeping-place, kitchen/living room, bathroom and shower. Cooking, cleaning, shopping etc. will be done by the group itself.
Location: Dillenburg is a small town with 19.000 inhabitants, located in Hessen, approx. 100 km north of Frankfurt/Main. The camp itself is located in the center of the town, at the area "Wilhelms-tower".
Terminal: Train-station Dillenburg; next airport Frankfurt/Main or Frankfurt-Hahn.
Age: 16-26
Language: English


PRO-10 Oberrosphe (Marburg) 07.08.-21.08. 14 vols  RENO/CULT
Project: Host Organisation is the "Dorfmuseum Oberrosphe" (which means "village-museum"). This museum shows how village-life used to be in former times.
Work: Different renovation work at the area of the museum, such as renovating benches, laying a grass-labyrinth, cobbeling historical stones, also painting the site caravans. Since the camp’s location is close to the „Hugenottenpfad“ (path of the Huguenots), the site caravans will be used in connection with the historical path in future events and hiking tours. 
Accommodation: in well-equipped site caravans. In one of the caravans, there is also the kitchen. Showers and toilets are available. Cooking, cleaning, shopping etc. will be done by the group itself.
Location: Oberrosphe is a small village and located 13 km near to Marburg.
Marburg is a historical and picturesque old university town, 100 km north of Frankfurt/Main. It has 80.000 inhabitants, including 20.000 students (from actual 120 different countries).
There is a bus-connection to Marburg.
Terminal: Train-station Marburg; next airport Frankfurt/Main or Frankfurt-Hahn.
Age: 16-26
Language: English


PRO-11  Marburg   13.03.-27.03.   16 vols.  ENVI/LANG
PRO-12  Marburg   06.06.-18.06.   16 vols.  ENVI/LANG
PRO-14  Marburg   01.08.-13.08.   16 vols.  ENVI/LANG
PRO-15  Marburg   29.08.-10.09.   16 vols.  ENVI/LANG
PRO-16  Marburg   11.09.-24.09.   16 vols.  ENVI/LANG
PRO-17  Marburg   10.10.-22.10.   16 vols.  ENVI/LANG
PRO-23  Marburg   21.11.-03.12.   16 vols.  ENVI/LANG
PRO-24  Marburg   05.12.-17.12.   16 vols.  ENVI/LANG
Project: Host organisation is an Environmental Organisation - "Nature Friends" of Marburg. They already have organised international volunteer camps for many years. It is a workcamp including German language training. The lectures will be two hours per day (excluding Saturday and Sunday when the group will go on excursions). During the lectures there will be two groups: one for those participants who have basic knowledge, and one for the advanced. The main topic during the lectures will be intercultural diversities. So the basis of the lectures will be communication first and grammar second. The teachers will be native speakers, partly trained teachers, partly students. The language-course will not have the same standard like a professional language-school, but experiences with this concept in the past have shown its success.
Work: Participants are busy doing various manual works to prepare the area around the house of the nature-friends. It means for example clearing the place and doing little forest-work. Partly the work could be also at the area of the youth-holiday-camp of the municipality. Time of work will be 2-3 hours daily, excluding Saturday and Sunday.
Accommodation: Will be in a house with several-bed-rooms, kitchen, bathroom, showers. Cooking, cleaning, shopping etc. will be done by the group itself. Like in each workcamp, accommodation, food and travel-costs for excursions are free as well as materials/copies needed for the lectures.
Location: Marburg is an historical and picturesque old university town, 100 km north of Frankfurt/Main. It has 80.000 inhabitants, including 20.000 students (from actual 120 different countries). The camp is located approx. 2 km away from the town centre.
Terminal: Train-station Marburg; next airport Frankfurt/Main or Frankfurt-Hahn.
Special requirements: Participants must be able already to communicate in German, at least on a level which ensures simple communication; this course is not for absolute beginners. Participants also must be willing to communicate with each other during the camp in German and not in English or own mother tongue for the whole time, not only during the lectures. This is one important part of the concept.
Special remark: Because of the language-course there is an (extra-) fee: 160,00 EUR - to be paid upon arrival. Official confirmation for participating in the language-course will be given at the end of the camp.
In PRO14 and PRO15 includes an additional theatre-workshop (in German as well). This theatre-workshop is based on methods of the „Drama in Education“ and the „Pedagogy of the Oppressed“.
Age: 16-26 (exceptions for older volunteers are possible).
Language: German


PRO-13 Marburg18.07.-30.07.   16 vols.   ENVI/CULT/LANG
Project: Host organisation is an Environmental Organisation - "Sieben-Meilen-Stiefel", based in Marburg. This is a workcamp including a Studypart and German Language Training.
Work: Together we will work on projects in the outdoor education center (Naturfreundehaus) where you are based. This includes planting and other maintenance like painting. Time of work is approx 2 hours per day, excluding weekends.
Besides work, the camp will focus on several methods of outdoor education, that includes more than the “old” climbing rope. We will try out things of course. If you are interested in nature, in adventurous tours through a forest and some less obvious aspects of German society, in speaking and improving your German - then you are at the right place.
In detail it means: German language training: Regular language lessons in groups depending on your skills. Land Art: Creativity with natural materials, sculptures out of wood, how to build miniature landscapes with children, painting with earth colours and others. Adventure games, problem solving games outdoors: Games and exercises in group-dynamics, scouting games, walks in the nightly forest, walks and hikes with groups, orienteering. Forest based projects for different age groups: A stone-age project as an example for an integrated approach.
Reflection of methods and connecting them to different age groups.
If you wish: The camp will provide you with new ideas and methods for your own outdoor programs at home, to discuss them and to develop new ideas.
Accommodation: Will be in a house with several-bed-rooms, kitchen, bathroom, showers. Cooking, cleaning, shopping etc. will be done by the group itself. Like in each workcamp, accommodation, food and excursions are free as well as materials/copies needed for the lectures.
Location: Marburg is an historical and picturesque old university town, 100 km north of Frankfurt/Main. It has 80.000 inhabitants, including 20.000 students (from actual 120 different countries). The camp is located approx. 2 km away from the town centre.
Terminal: Train-station Marburg; next airport Frankfurt/Main or Frankfurt-Hahn.
Special requirements: Participants must be able already to communicate in German, at least on a level which ensures simple communication; this course is not for absolute beginners. Participants also must be willing to communicate with each other during the camp in German and not in English or own mother tongue for the whole time, not only during the lectures. This is one important part of the concept.
Special remark: Because of the study-part including language-course there is an (extra-) fee: 160,00 EUR - to be paid upon arrival. Official confirmation for participating in the language-course will be given at the end of the camp.
Age: 16-26 (exceptions for older volunteers are possible).
Language: German


PRO-18 Deetz (Magdeburg)   26.06.-17.07.   16 vols.   MANU
PRO-19 Deetz (Magdeburg)   18.07.-07.08.   16 vols.   MANU
PRO-20 Deetz (Magdeburg)   08.08.-28.08.   16 vols.   MANU
PRO-21 Deetz (Magdeburg)   29.08.-18.09.   16 vols.   MANU
Project: Host organisation is an organisation named "Europa-Jugendbauernhof" (European Youth Farm).
Work: The work will consist of rebuilding a former block of flats and farmbuildings and also the surroundings into an 'European Youth Farm'. Mainly the work has already been done, so there is not much construction work any more. It means mainly working outside, for example to cultivate land, gardening, harvesting, doing some renovation depending upon need. The time of work is 6 hours daily except Wednesdays and weekends.
Accommodation: in a house nearby. Cooking, cleaning, shopping etc. will be done by the group itself.
Location: Deetz is a small village with approx. 800 inhabitants in the Bundesland Sachsen-Anhalt; it is located 50 km south-east of Magdeburg. It is also not far away from Berlin. The house where the group will live is situated near a lake. Swimming is possible. It is at the edge of a nature reserve.
Terminal: train station Zerbst; within reach from Magdeburg or Berlin; next airport Berlin.
Age: 16-26
Language: English