ASSOCIATION: ActionAid Denmark

Our organisation was established in 1944, under the name Mellemfolkeligt Samvirke (Danish Association for International Co-operation), today called ActionAid Denmark. Our aim is to further international understanding and solidarity across and beyond national and cultural boundaries. We do this by trying to influence Introductiondevelopment on everyto Work level fromCamps grassroots in Denma to government.rk

ActionAid Denmark has been organizing Work Camps in Denmark for more than 30 years. The work camps are hosted and sponsored by Danish municipalities, regions, institutions, private and public funding etc. ActionAid Denmark’s International Work Camps offer volunteers a practical and social task, which will benefit a local community. Our main objective is to get people from different countries, cultures, religions and backgrounds to work and function together, and through that to learn from and about each other: A great way to break down Denmarkprejudices and in stereotypes. brief

Denmark is the most southern of the Nordic countries located between the North Sea and the Baltic Sea. In the south, Denmark shares a 68 km border with Germany. Denmark consists of the peninsula of Jutland (Jylland) in the west and 406 islands of which approx. 100 are inhabited. Funen (Fyn) and Zealand (Sjælland) are the biggest and most important islands. The capital Copenhagen is located on Zealand. Denmark is one of the smaller countries in Europe only slightly larger than Switzerland. Denmark is a very flat country; the highest “mountain” is just 175 meters high. This, as well as the fertile soil and temperate climate, makes the land very suitable for agriculture and about 70% of Denmark’s land surface is used for agricultural production. Denmark is a constitutional monarchy, but the responsibility for the actions of the Queen/King is taken solely by the ministers in the government. The parliamentary system has been unicameral since 1953. The parliament is called the “Folketing.” There are 179 members of parliament of which two are elected in Greenland and two in the Faeroe Islands. Members are elected for four-year terms. For the last 20 years there have never been less than 8 parties represented in the Folketing. Denmark is a member of the European Union, and 16 members are elected to take a seat in the European Parliament. The Faeroes Islands and Greenland, however, are not members of the EU. By referendum the Danish population decided not to enter the European Monetary Union, therefore the currency in Denmark2 is still Danish Crowns (DKK). Area: 43.075 km Population: 5.350.000 Capital: Copenhagen (1.400.000 inhabitants) Major towns: Aarhus, Odense, Aalborg Head of State: Queen Margrethe II Prime Minister: Helle Thorning-Schmidt, Social Democrat Language: Danish Currency: Krone (Danish Crown, DKK), not Euro Climate: Temperate sea-climate. Average temperature: -3° in February and 14°–22° in June–August Age

The minimum age for participants on ActionAid Denmarks Work Camps in Denmark is 18 years. There is in general no maximum age, but see each camp description. 2014 TM Program Paper Version MS ActionAid Denmark Leaders

Each camp in Denmark has two leaders (one or two in Greenland), trained by AADK. The leaders will act as contact persons for the camp and arrange the daily life of the camp. The leaders participate in the work and daily Languagelife on equal terms with the other participants. The leaders are volunteers and do not get paid for their work.

InsuranceThe language is English on all camps, and participants must be able to communicate reasonably in English.

SleepingYou will need bag your own insurance. We will not provide any insurance.

All volunteers must bring a sleeping bag or equivalent. Often the volunteers will need to bring a sleeping Travelmattress. If so, this will be written in the infosheet.

The volunteer must arrange, and is responsible for, his/her own travel to and from the camp in Denmark. ActionAid Denmark cannot pick up any volunteers at stations or airports. Before the camp the volunteer will receive a letter from the camp leader with practical information including direction on how to get to the camp Travelfrom the costsnearest station/airport.

Travelling in Denmark by public transportation is very easy and fast, but also expensive. From Copenhagen Airport there is direct access to trains to all parts of the country. Thus volunteers do not necessarily have to go to one of the regional airports. However, trains are quite expensive and the volunteers will often benefit Currencyeconomically if they can go to a regional airport.

The Danish currency is the Danish Crown (DKK). You cannot use Euro (EUR) in most parts of the country. Shops will only accept Euros in places with lots of tourists. Drugs

The use of drugs, including smoking of cannabis, is strictly forbidden by Danish law and will not be tolerated on Expulsionany ActionAid Denmarks Work Camp in Denmark or Greenland.

ActionAid Denmark, the organization and the individual camp leaders reserve the right to refuse admittance or expel volunteers on the basis of bad behavior or if the individual is breaking rules or Danish law. MS01 – Sustainable and Active Garden at IPC Helsingoer │ 01/06/2014 – 19/06/2014 │ ENVI CONS CULT │ Partner: International People’s College (IPC) is a one of Denmark’s many folk high schools, where young people go to educate themselves before going to university or just to learn something new. IPC is uniqe in the way that it is an international school with students from all over the world - just like Work Camps. We are looking very much forward to welcome you at IPC. Work: There will be a lot of different jobs to do, but the main focus of the Work Camp is to create a trail around an old lake in IPC’s own forrest. The trail will include steps, rails and obstacle course. The students at IPC used to get lost in the forrest, and was therefore not able to move around a enjoy the nature. The trail will fix this issue, and be a part of an effort to build sustainable. The trail will be built with respect for biodiversity and only from natural materials. IPC also hopes that the creation of the obstacle course will encourage their future students to be more active. Accommodation and food 1 or 2 person rooms in the buildings the IPC students normally live in when they are studying at IPC. You will at the school’s kitchen which normally cooks for the entire school and its students. The kitchen is international like the school, so you will receive food and dishes from all over the world. Location and leisure The International People’s College is located on Montebello Allé 1-9, in the town of Helsingør (also known in English as Elsinore), not far from the Danish capital Copenhagen. IPC is a miniature world and you will undoubtly fell at home given the diversity of people who gather at IPC. However, it would be a shame not to explore a bit beyond this “global village” in the middle of the Danish region Nordsjælland (North Zealand). In North Zealand you will find beautiful nature, close by beaches, and forest. North Zealand is also known for its many Castles and interesting museums. You can also visit the nearby Sweden. Check out more at: http://www.ipc.dk/life-at-ipc/location Requirements Volunteers with experience in construction and manual garden work will be given priority. Age 18-35 Terminal HELSINGOER (ELSINIOR) Nearest airport Copenhagen Airport MS03 – Ecologic and Socioeconomic Gardening Aalborg │ 27/07/2014 – 09/08/2014 │ ENVI MANU AGRI │ Partner: Raad & Daad is a socioeconomic market garden that employs people who, if not employed by Raaad & Daad, would have been out of job. The organization is locally based and work from the slogan "everybody is good at something" and tries in this spirit to exploid the resources available with the people they are working with. We as a Work Camp organization is proud to work together with Raad & Daad, as they show how we can include some of those who otherwise would have been left out and show them that they are capable. Work: You will be part of the daily work in our 6 hectare big ecologic outdoor gardening. In August, the primary work tasks are to exterminate weeds, harvest and bring out vegetables to our 60 subscribing customers in the area, who every friday gets fresh vegetables delivered right to the door. Furthermore, you will become an active part in building a shelter and painting some of the buildings at Raad & Daad. Besides the work, we will of course have time to participate in cultural events in the local area, do smaller trips to the sea, the fiord, etc., and do a few daytrips, e.g. to Skagen (the very North of Denmark), Aalborg (the nearest city) or what you find interesting. Raad & Daad has bicycles available you can borrow, and a small bus for longer trips. Accommodation and food Week 1: First week the accommodation will be in tents, shelters or at couches in Raad & Daad’s second-hand shop. Week 2: Second week it is possible to stay at the campsite just nearby Raad & Daad in either huts or camper trailers. There is a kitchen with all kitchen equipment at Raad & Daad, and also a fire place, and barbecue available for cooking, and there are toilets at Raad & Daad and at the camp site likewise. Location and leisure The surrounding area of the socioeconomic market gardening is full of culture and an international vibe. Each year an international music festival is held at local hotel with musicians from all over the world. Weekends will be free for you and your new friends to explore the surrounding area. Requirements English will be the only language spoken. All participants must be willing to speak English, even though being from the same country or having troubles with the English language. Try your best! Age 18-30 Terminal Aalborg Train Station Nearest airport Aalborg Airport MS04 – Simple Living Vingsted │ 29/07/2014 – 09/08/2014 │ ENVI CONS CULT │ Partner: The work camp is hosted by Vingsted Historical Workshop. Since 1976 Vingsted has built up a large Iron Age environment with farms and houses just like those in Denmark 2000 years ago. The purpose of Vingsted Historical Workshop is to create, operate and develop practical work, educational and cultural activities where users can have a direct experience with various natural and historical contexts. This summer’s Work Camp will focus on ways to live the simple life, like the people from all over the world did more than 2000 years ago. Work: This year Vingsted Historical Workshop has got a lot of great projects to offer you. Number one priority is a traditional wooden stair/path from one part of the village to the another. You will build like in a traditional manner and learn a lot of different techniques used several thousands of years ago. The other main project is wooden boad made from one big tree log. It will we build with axes and knifes just like back in the days. Another part of the daily work will be preparing for and cooking of food. In the end of the Work Camp the host will invite the local community to visit the Work Camp. You will prepare different work shops for this day, showing ways of cooking, making fur or third thing you have learned during the Work Camp. Vingsted Historical Workshop would like you to think of old ways of living from your home country which you could present on this day open to the public. Please include an idea in your application. Accommodation and food As you will live the simple life of the Vikings, you will also sleep and eat as they did. This means that Vingsted Historical Workshop will create a menu for each day which can be prepared entirely like the Vikings did it. Living the simple life takes time, and therefore a small team will each day be in charge of collecting wood, making fires and gathering food. You will sleep in a big stone house on benches covered with fur from goats. You will not be cold as each part of the big stone house is situated with a fire. Location and leisure Vingsted is a small city close to Vejle in Jutland. The last couple of years the host has borrowed tandem bicycles for all volunteers, and it has been a lot of fun experiencing the surroundings on these. The two camp leaders on this Work Camp were also camp leaders the last two years and knows the area and opportunities very well. Thus they will arrange fun and learning acitivities for you. Requirements Volunteers should have an interest in history and different ways of living in different cultures at different times. Participants should be prepared to live as people did in Denmark during the Iron Age. Volunteers must be willing to undertake work task that can be phsyically demanding and require good teamworking skills. English at a conversational level is required. Age 18-28 Terminal Vejle train station Nearest airport Billund Airport MS05 – Sustainability and History in Lejre Municipality Lejre │ 29/06/2014 – 08/07/2014 │ ENVI MANU CULT │ Partner: The work camp will be placed at Hesselbjerggaard, an organic farm with sheep and cows at Lejre Municipality, just outside Roskilde. The Work Camp Managers are the couple living at the farm and their children and children in-law. When joining this Workcamp you will primarily be working in the nearby Historic-Outdoor-Museum “Sagnlandet”, but there will also be some work at the farm. Work: Hesselbjerggaard is an organic farm. At the farm we focus on sustainability in several ways. We will look at and discuss subjects such as nature preservation, renewable energy and consumption, recycling and so on. Theory will be put into practice by working on the farm and prepare and eat healthy ecological food which is produced locally and are relevant for the season or normally thrown out from the local supermarkets. At Sagnlandet 10.000 years of Danish history is brought to life. We will be working in a beautiful historic landscape in an environment of houses and settings from the Iron Age, Stone Age, Viking Age and 1800th century, where historic workshops, domestic animals, and even volunteer-families are living as they did time back. We will help out with different practical tasks such as weeding, whitewash or paint walls, repair fences and the like. We expect the whole team to work with the mentioned tasks every day from 9 am -3 pm. Accommodation and food You will live as a guest on the farm. Everybody have to sleep together in a big room (no gender separation and no private life at night time if you do not bring a tent). There will only be two toilets/ one bathroom, which we have to share, and we will prepare meals together in teams in an ordinary kitchen. We will primarily eat local grown ecological food, and we will arrange with local supermarkets that we can have the food they normally throw out. Location and leisure We will have a lot of activities to get to know each other, experience each other’s cultures and generally have fun together. Some days the activities will be mandatory while others are voluntary. You do not have time, however, to go sightseeing for yourselves except from the last two days (datoer), where there will be a voluntary program of cultural experiences. One evening we will visit Lejre Townhall and hear the Mayor tell us about how Lejre is the first Danish municipality to implement a comprehensive effort to introduce ecology into all relevant activities. The goal is to make Lejre an attractive municipality to live in, to produce healthy food and to protect nature, climate and water. Moreover, the goal is to inspire other municipalities to follow the same path. Age 18-30 Terminal Roskilde Train Station Nearest airport Copenhagen Airport