International Youth Association EstYES

International Youth Association EstYES is non-profit non-political NGO established in 1991 with the purpose to promote youth and cultural exchanges for better understanding and fair world. It is a pioneer organization in the field of international voluntary service in Estonia.

Our objectives

• to increase international understanding and solidarity between countries and people;
• to promote continuous dialogue between people all over the world;
• to enable young people by living and working together to learn from each other, discover the variety of cultures, broaden horizons – thus building bridges over differences;
• to promote international voluntary service in Estonia as a tool for local development;
• to apply international voluntary service as a powerful method of non-formal education of the population;
• to promote global education as one of the resources for young people in the globalised world.

Our activities

• organize voluntary camps in Estonia and send Estonian volunteers abroad;
• send Estonian volunteers to mid- and long-term voluntary services abroad and host volunteers from abroad on mid- and long-term projects in Estonia;
• participate in EVS/ ESC program as sending, hosting and coordinating organization;
• organize and run youth cultural exchanges of different kinds, study visits/ group stays with various themes for youth foreign groups in Estonia and for Estonians abroad;
• take part in conferences, seminars, trainings abroad and organize those in Estonia.

Every summer EstYES runs over 50 voluntary camps in Estonia hosting around 600 volunteers from abroad. Annually we receive over 40 volunteers from different European countries to the long-term EVS/ ESC project (up to 12 months) in the field of social services, youth work and education. Every year EstYES gives chance to about 200 young Estonians to take part in various project abroad (voluntary camps, youth exchanges, EVS, training activities, seminars, youth meetings, etc.)

Target groups EstYES works with
EstYES works mainly with young people 14 – 30, but not only with them. Actually EstYES voluntary projects are open to people of all ages without limits. Young people with fewer opportunities are the group of special consideration of EstYES.

Our partners
From 1994 we have exchanges with branches of SCI (Service Civil International) and from 1995 – with members of Alliance of European Voluntary Service Organizations, and their partner organizations. From 1999 we cooperate with ICYE (International Cultural Youth Exchange). In 1997 EstYES became a member of Alliance and in 2007 a member of Coordinating Committee of International Voluntary Service (CCIVS) by UNESCO. Most of our partner organisations belong to these networks. Over past years EstYES has been intensively developing cooperation with youth and voluntary service organisations in South East Asia and China as well as with Mexico through EU Capacity Building projects.