Voluntary Services in the Field of Culture and Education

Voluntary services in Germany are called
Freiwilliges Soziales Jahr (FSJ) or Bundesfreiwilligendienst (BFD).

In the field of culture and education you find the FSJ Kultur, the FSJ Schule, and the FSJ Politik for people under 27 years and the BFD Kultur und Bildung for people over 27 years.

Our voluntary services address everybody, you don’t have to be German and you don’t have to currently live in Germany to participate.

A voluntary service in the field of culture and education means:
Adults voluntarily help in a cultural, political institution or a school for at least half a year.
The cultural institution might be a theatre, a museum or a library.
The political institution might be a memorial sites, foundations or a parliamentary group.
Schools might be elementary schools, secondary schools or comprehensive schools.

In the framework of a voluntary service you can:

  • becoming part of a team with other people,
  • do tasks you like to do,
  • familiarize yourself with the working routines of different kinds of professions,
  • try out which professional tasks and activities fit best for you,
  • plan and realize your own projects and events,
  • find out which professional training or area of study you would like to choose.

Requirements

To do a voluntary service, you have to fulfill the following requirements:

  • You have to complete compulsory full-time education before.
  • You have to make sure that you are allowed to be in Germany during your voluntary service. You will maybe either need a visa or a residence permit.
    That depends on your country of origin. Here you can find more information about what you need in English or German.

Place of assignment

The institutions which offer positions in a voluntary service are everywhere in Germany.
We call them Einsatzstellen (place of assignment).
There are many different kinds of places of assignment in the field of culture and education.
On this map you can see which places of assignment exist in Germany and where they are located.

Agencies

The people organizing the voluntary services work for an agency (Träger).
The employees of the agency look after the volunteers and the place of assignment through the whole year. They also help people from a foreign country who wants to come to Germany for a voluntary service.

Days of education

A voluntary service is not just about working in a deployment location.
Volunteers get days of education (Bildungstage) throughout their voluntary time.
Volunteers under 27 years get 25 days a year.
Volunteers over 27 years get one day a month.
Despite not taking place at the deployment locations, time spent on days of education is regarded as being part of your working hours.
The employees of the agency organize the days of education.
Volunteers do not have to pay for the days of education.

At the days of education you can participate in workshops, in which you can, get to know other places of assignment visit a parliament and get to talk to politicians, have a band project, learn how to do a short film and to go on a trip with other volunteers.

And you get to know many interesting people: other volunteers, workshop leaders, artists and employees of the agency.
The days of education can help you to get a clear idea about:

  • How and where I want to engage myself?
  • What are my talents?
  • What do I find enjoyable?
  • How do I imagine my future?
  • Which profession do I want to go into?
  • Where I want to

There are many advantages to participate

  • You get a monthly allowance.
  • You take part in days of education.
  • The travel costs, food and accommodation for the days of education are all covered.
  • The place of assignmentor the agency pays your monthly legal social insurance (unemployment-, pension- and health insurance).
  • Your voluntary service includes vacation days.
  • At the end of you get a certificate. It lists up exactly what kind of tasks you did in your place of assignment, what you learned, what was your own project and in which days of education you participated.
  • For the duration of your voluntary service you get an ID which gets you discounts at many places. For example for public transport or in cinemas and museums.

Application and contact

If you are interested in a voluntary service in the field of culture und education in Germany you can apply with us.
If you understand some German, you can check here.

If you do not speak German or have any questions we are happy to advise you in English.
Please give us a call or write an e-mail.
Telephone: +49-30-4848-6020
E-mail: info(at)freiwilligendienste-kultur-bildung.de