Are you interested in internationalisation, but a year abroad as an exchange student, for example, seems like too big a step? There are other paths to internationalisation, adapted to each young person’s own situation.
We help young people to find their own way to internationality
One of our missions is to help young people find their own path to internationalisation and find a way to go international that suits every budget. We are part of the International Youth Work Network and work to promote international youth tourism.
Our international work aims to promote:
- tolerance and acceptance of diversity
- community spirit
- cultural understanding and intercultural dialogue
We also keep internationalism alive in our own working community: our foreign volunteers and trainees keep us going even when we are not hosting international events.
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How can I go international?
If you are under 29 years old, you can participate in international camps in Finland or abroad, or go on voluntary periods abroad. The periods can range from 2 weeks to 9 months.
People of all ages can take part in various events in Hyvärilä, where you can meet young people from all over Europe and practise your language skills.
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Are my language skills enough for internationalisation?
English language skills learned at school are sufficient, as language skills grow rapidly in an international environment. Often English is not the first language in the destination, so others learn to communicate in a different language.
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Can I go to camps or volunteer even if I have no work experience?
You can leave. You don’t need to have any work experience or special skills from your hobbies. Volunteering and camps will teach you how to work.
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How to apply Hyvärilä projects or volunteering?
Stay informed about international opportunities abroad on Facebook or contact Ekaterina Sysoeva for further information, ekaterina.sysoeva@nurmes.fi Tel +358 (0)50 570 8634
International volunteering opportunities for young people
Hyvärilä youth centre has been awarded a quality Label certificate as a supporting, coordinating and hosting organization within the European Solidarity Corps programme.
Every year international volunteers come to Hyvärilä for long-term and short-term programs which allow them to explore Finland and discover their inner potential. Volunteer work includes helping youth workers run activities and programs for young people within camps and Youth house daily work, arranging workshops and cultural meet-ups for local young people in Nurmes area, helping to organize events and camps in Hyvärilä, helping kitchen and maintenance in their daily work.
Hyvärilä helps young people from Finland to find opportunities to volunteer abroad – contact us for more information. International volunteering projects are implemented within European Solidarity Corps programme.
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Annual volunteering opportunities
Individual volunteering
Long-term volunteering for a young person from Finland abroad for 9 months:
Hyvärilä has an opportunity to support you in planning your own project – contact us with your idea and go to a volunteering project of your dream.
Long-term volunteering 6-12 months
Hyvärilä hosts long-term volunteers helping with youth work and running social media volunteering accounts.
2-month volunteering
Hyvärilä youth centre will host two ESC-volunteers from July to September helping with running camp schools and doing creative projects in the field of traditional culture.
Team volunteering
Hyvärilä will host three international team volunteering programs.
Team volunteering: Green Week (April-May)
Green Week is an opportunity for young people who are concerned about sustainability and want to act on it. Volunteers will organize a series of workshops for the local community in Nurmes, Eastern Finland to celebrate the EU Green Week. They will also learn how Hyvärilä youth centre as Green Key certified destination reduces the negative impact of tourism. This is for young people who are eager to raise awareness via social media channels and workshops, who are ready to share their tips on being sustainable, and who are not afraid to get their hands dirty by participating in Nurmes town Spring clean event with the local community.
For two weeks in spring a team of 13 international volunteers explored the issues of sustainable living and consumption and shared their findings with the local community in Nurmes and Valtimo via workshops and creative activities. The team visited three schools, a kindergarten, a vocational school in Nurmes and Valtimo, as well as four different organizations. Volunteers organized 11 workshops for a total of 200 participants, most of them being children and youth. After two weeks of hard work, with new memories and friendships, they returned home to prepare for new international adventures.
Some feedback:
”Participating in workshops in schools broadened my perspective on learning and social planning. Young children know way more than we expect!”
Co-funded by the European Commission within European Solidarity Corps program.
Team volunteering: Talkoot (July)
This team volunteering activity is based on the Finnish tradition called talkoot. Talkoot brings the whole village to help and do something together. Talkoot in Hyvärilä is a good opportunity to bring together generations and exchange skills, stories, and share quality time in a meaningful way. International volunteers are going to learn about local natural and cultural heritage and plan and implement different activities for the local community. Are you ready to learn to scythe, make insect hotels and do social media campaigns about biodiversity? This team volunteering is a modern interpretation of a traditional activity that brings the whole village together.
As a step towards biodiversity education and protection, Hyvärilä youth centre is growing a wildflower meadow. A team of 14 volunteers from all over EU came to help us maintain it and cut the grass with scythe. To keep in with the old tradition of TALKOOT – helping your neighbor do some physically demanding task, they also ventured out to Murtovaara museum to help build a traditional fence, to Juuka to help maintain an animal shelter, helped fight invasive plant species, and organized workshops for the local community and children.
Some feedback: “We learned a traditional way of cutting grass and how to build a traditional fence from Martti Pellikka. I wish this experience lasted longer so we could cut the meadow grass all the way till the end, and that we could do more to fight preventive species”.
Co-funded by the European Commission within European Solidarity Corps program.
Team volunteering: Kekri (October
Kekri team volunteering was organized for the first time in October 2021. Kekri is an autumn festival of harvest, the transition from summer and light to winter and darkness in Eastern Finland. This activity brings together the local community around the topic of traditional harvest celebration. Volunteers are going to explore the Finnish culture and nature, sustainability, creativity and work with the local communities of different age groups from children to elderly people. Are you ready to learn how to cook delicious dishes with local ingredients? Are you ready to help the local community and learn about sustainability? Are you ready to celebrate the Kekri? Let’s raise awareness of the local cultural heritage, community building and solidarity!
Youth exchanges and international camps for young people
One of the best way to meet like-minded young people from other countries is to participate in international camps in Finland or abroad. Pick a theme that resonates with you and plan an international exchange as you want it. Hundreds of young people come together for a week for intercultural exchange and dialogue on different themes: sports, theater, environmental issues, culture and traditions, personal development, discovering nature and making change in the society – sky is the limit! Youth exchange opportunities are open for young people from 13 to 30 years of age.
Stay informed about international opportunities abroad on Instagram
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Recent camps in Hyvärilä
Wellbeing basics: lessons from the rural youth.
A youth exchange devoted to wellbeing for youth living in rural areas brought young people 13-17 years old to Hyvärilä youth centre for a week in March 2024. The youth exchange was designed by the youngsters to share with each other ways on how to deal with living in a remote area where there are just not so many things to do and opportunities for connecting with people are relatively few. Through a week of activities in the nature, reflection and arts, many new friendships started and more ideas for international cooperation and maintaining well-being were born.
Some feedback:
“This experience had (and still has) a huge impact on my personality and everyday life. First and foremost because that week was the best week of my entire life. I met extremely nice people from many different countries, and we could find how similar we are. Since then, I can express my feelings in a better way, and I can make others’ lives a bit better by using the techniques tat I learned in Finland (such as noticing things or finding connection). I also got to love teamwork after the exchange”.
Partners: Polvijärven Nuorisotyö (Finland), AC Amics de la Biblioteca de la Fonteta (Spain), Tudatos Ifjúságért Alapítvány (Hungary), Piliens okeānā (Latvia)
Co-funded by the European Commission within Accreditation for Erasmus+ youth.
World on a plate: youth exchange in Serbia.
A team of Finnish youngsters took part in development and organizing of a youth exchange in Serbia in cooperation with their peers from partner countries that revolves about the best things in life: friendships and food. Participants aged 20-25 years old explored how food impacts our life through peer workshops on food and health and how our diet affects us, food and environment and sustainability choices, how food connects us and what it means in our culture. They exchanged recipes and made food together, and explored how different cultures see food and how similar are our habits around the dinner table.
Some results: it was the first-time cooperation for us with Serbia and North Macedonia. It was very interesting to meet people from different parts from Europe and to learning about traditional Serbian cuisine. It was a great learning experience to plan workshops by themselves and could influence, develop the process, organize an evening. It was a life-changing experience for newcomers especially. The exchange was also an opportunity for the Serbian partner to cooperate on a new level with youth office in Loznica and promote youth exchanges.
Partners: host Udruzenje Svetlost (Serbia), Fundacja Teatr Wschodni (Poland), PEL Skopje (North Macedonia).
World on a plate: youth exchange in Poland.
Finnish youngsters joined a youth exchange in Lublin, Poland, which focused on cultural exchange between EU countries and the southern Mediterranean region: together with young people from Poland, Jordan, and Lebanon they explored cuisine and how it connects with culture. A week in Poland opened a new understanding of how deeply our cultures affect how we think about food and how we prepare food: starting from what we choose in the supermarket and all the way up to gender roles when preparing and serving food. Participants explored food and health issues, global food trends and food waste problems. Team Finland organized an intercultural night for their peers sharing the Finnish vibe and culture.
Some feedback: “We ate a lot of good food, and I am happy that I had a chance to improve my English and meet so many nice people. We learned a lot about teamwork and conflict resolution during the activity. Looking forward to new international experiences!”
Partners: host Fundacja Teatr Wschodni (Poland), Al-Emad Alkabeer for training and development Co (Jordan), Chabibeh Sporting Club (Lebanon).
Co-funded by the European Commission within Erasmus+ program.
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Cooperation projects
Stay Connected
In 2020-2024 in a partnership between Finland and Baltic countries we targeted intersectoral cooperation between the youth sector and schools. With partners from Kirkkokatu School (Nurmes), Nepenmäki school and the School of Eastern Finland (Joensuu) we organized youth camps for 7-8 graders with students of Emmaste school (Estonia), Varena School (Lithuania) and Engure school (Latvia). In each country schools were supported by youth work organizations, such as Alytus youth centre (Latvia) and Hiumaa youth work (Estonia). We explored how non-formal and formal education professionals can exchange knowledge and methods and create better learning opportunities for youth. Thanks to the 8 youth exchanges, young people built friendships and connections with peers from the neighbor country, keeping connected even after the project ended. Within 2 seminars for professionals we discovered how we can use virtual reality glasses in work with youth, and what opportunities for future cooperation we have. In May 2024 the final project seminar took place in Hyvärilä youth centre, with lots of new ideas of cooperation ahead.
Co-funded by the Ministry of Education and Culture of Finland.
Internships for Slovenian students.
In cooperation with Sezana vocational school named after Srechko Kosovel, Hyvärilä hosted a group of Slovenian interns from the department of design. They continued the work started by their school mates in 2023 and created a mural on a climbing wall in Navetta building. The inspiration for the mural was drawn from Kalevala epics, local history and nature. After days of research and creating mood boards and design mockups, students worked hard to prepare the climbing wall for the upcoming camp school season. They explored the surroundings of North Karelia in their free time, and shared their culture with Hyvärilä staff during the opening of the mural.
Co-funded by Erasmus+ mobility for VET.
Mobility and networking for youth workers
International networking and exchange projects for youth workers help develop contacts with professionals from all over the world, improve professional skills and getting inspired for new opportunities and ideas. In our projects we create opportunities for meeting and learning in Finland and abroad. Stay informed about international opportunities on our Facebook group
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Recent international youth worker mobility projects
Pathfinders: helping youth deal with the unknown.
5-8 January 2024 Hyvärilä hosted a team of 35 youth workers from the Netherlands and Finland to explore how we can assist youth better in the unfamiliar situations. Topics of peer learning training including dealing with hard feelings and anger, connecting with nature, reflections methods in group and individual, exchange of best practices from own work, exchange of information about youth work in the Netherlands and Finland, guidance and mentorship – leading through connection and giving an example.
Learning outcomes from participants:
”I learned a lot about how nature challenges can bring personal growth as well as growth in the group”.
”I learned about the Finnish way! How to use nature in my (youth) work. Also the importance of the Finnish history and mentality. This week for me was all about challenging myself and push my limits”.
”I now have more empathy for our youngsters and implementing it in my work”.
”Practical Tools for coaching, confidence to bring myself in, integrate storytelling in training, insights for our camps, working with resistance, nature as a tool for creating peace & connection”.
”Everybody needs this at least once in a lifetime: truly lifechanging!”
Partners: Breekjaar Stichting (the Netherlands)
Co-funded by the European Commission within Accreditation for Erasmus+ youth.
International cooperation projects for organizations
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Current projects
YOUNG CLIMATE CAMPAIGNERS FOR THE EUROPEAN GREEN DEAL (CLICA)
CLICA project is implemented within KA2 of Erasmus+ program in 2022-2024 in a partnership between Hungary, Finland, Greece, Italy, Spain and Cyprus. Our goal is to bring European Green Deal and Agenda 2030 closer to the young people from European peripheral areas. Thoughout the project a CLICA methodology was designed, featuring online micro-learning modules and non-formal learning methods which explain the vision of the European Commission for the more sustainable Europe. read more about the project on CLICA website: https://www.clicayouth.com/ Over a 100 young participants from different parts of Europe are connected on the CLICA platform to exchange their opinions of the sustainability programs for youth and artivism examples on the platform https://youngclimatecampaigners.com/
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Project archive
Find out about international cooperation projects implemented in Hyvärilä in the recent years. Here you can learn about our history of international youth exchanges, volunteering projects, international cooperation projects with schools and organizations.