Join the on-arrival training camp team 13.-19.8.2025

Are you looking for a volunteer activity for the summer? Do you live in Finland? Are you passionate about camp life and cooking for groups? Join the team of the on-arrival training camp!

Maailmanvaihto is organising an on-arrival training camp from the 13th to the 19th of August 2025 for young people coming to Finland from abroad as volunteers. The camp will be held at Antaverkka camp center in Ylöjärvi. We are now looking for enthusiastic kitchen team members to join us. The kitchen team prepares daily meals for the participants.

At this Maailmanvaihto training camp, you will get to know volunteers from all over the world and see how the camp is built. Intercultural learning and conflict resolution are key themes of the camp. We will also learn about the cultures and society of Finland. The language used at the camp is English.

We will provide bus transport to the camp from Helsinki. For camp team members arriving from other parts of Finland, we will reimburse the cost of travel by the cheapest public transport. The camp will be organised by Maailmanvaihto’s Programme Coordinator, the office team volunteers and interns, 2–3 volunteer camp instructors, the kitchen team leader, and 4–5 kitchen team members. The tasks of the kitchen team members at the camp are voluntary activities and a certificate will be issued if desired.

We are looking for committed individuals who share the values and mission of Maailmanvaihto. Our values are global responsibility, intercultural learning, and equality. Caring and inclusivity, reliability and responsibility, and transparency are important principles in our work. Read more about the operating principles of Maailmanvaihto.

We try to organise a planning and briefing meeting for kitchen team members before the camp. The kitchen leader informs the team members about practical matters. The camp follows Maailmanvaihto’s guidelines for safer spaces.

Becoming a kitchen team member

We expect kitchen team members to have basic cooking skills, but no specific chef skills are required. The most important things are taking responsibility and having the motivation to cook for a large group over several days.

How to get involved

  • Send us a free-form application stating that you are applying for the kitchen team and why you are interested in working in this voluntary position at the camp. We will put together a team once suitable participants are found.
  • Please send your application to Mari Takalo, the organisation’s secretary, at hosting@maailmanvaihto.fi. Mari will be happy to provide more information, e.g. on accessibility, by email and phone: 044 318 0888.

We look forward to hearing from you, join us to create an unforgettable camp experience!

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Workshop: Volunteering reimagined: tools to decolonise volunteering

  • Wednesday 4th June at 5.30–7.30 pm
  • Maailmanvaihto’s office, Oikokatu 3, 00170 Helsinki

A warm welcome to a workshop on decolonising international volunteering to test recently developed tools to address this hot topic in discussions.

The workshop is open for all interested and free of charge. No registration is required – you are welcome to just come and join the workshop.

The workshop will be held in English or Finnish, according to the joint wishes of the participants. Join in to reflect and learn together! We will have small vegan snacks and if the weather is wonderful, we can be outside.

The workshop is organized jointly by KVT (Kansainvälinen vapaaehtoistyö) & Maailmanvaihto – ICYE Finland.

Welcome!

If you have any questions about or wishes for the workshop or would like to let us know of your dietary restrictions, please don’t hesitate to contact us at tiedottaja@maailmanvaihto.fi.

Accessibility and safer space

Inside Maailmanvaihto’s office it is possible to move around with a wheelchair, but the office space is not completely wheelchair accessible: there is an approximately 7 cm doorstep at the entrance, and the toilet is not big enough for a wheelchair. Assistance dogs are welcome.

We will follow in the workshop Maailmanvaihto’s guidelines for safer spaces: https://maailmanvaihto.fi/en/guidelines-for-safer-spaces

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Maailmanvaihto’s Spring Picnic Sat 24 May

Welcome to Maailmanvaihto’s Spring Picnic, all friends of Maailmanvaihto!

  • On Saturday 24 May at 12–14
  • in Kalasatamanpuisto park (add. Parrulaituri 1), Helsinki

Join us for a nice Saturday in Helsinki Spring! 🌞

We will meet in Kalasatamanpuisto near the seafront and the street called Parrulaituri. Our spot for the picnic is situated near the World Village Festival (https://maailmakylassa.fi/en/in-english).

Maailmanvaihto will provide small vegan snacks, but you are welcome to bring food to share. Picnic blankets and placemats are also welcome.

We will follow at the picnic the Safer Space principles of Maaimanvaihto. In case of heavy rain, the gathering will, unfortunately, be cancelled.

Further information on Kalasatamanpuisto: https://www.myhelsinki.fi/see-and-do/sights/kalasatamanpuisto-park

If you have questions, please don’t hesitate to contact us. You can reach us at tiedottaja@maailmanvaihto.fi.

See you!

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Maailmanvaihto at the World Village Festival 24–24 May

Again this year, Maailmanvaihto – ICYE Finland will attend the World Village Festival.

A warm welcome to come and say hello to us and learn about current opportunities in our international volunteering programmes and other activities of our NGO. You can find our stand at the Market of Possiblities in Kattilahalli.

The World Village Festival 24–25 in Suvilahti, Helsinki. This year, the theme of the festival is peace. 🕊

https://maailmakylassa.fi

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Join us in creating the MaailmanVaihtoa – Volunteers’ Voices magazine!

Are you interested in writing, brainstorming ideas, photography, editing, or graphics? Would you like to help create a magazine that gives voice to volunteers and highlights international experiences?

We are now looking for contributors for issue 2/2025 of MaailmanVaihtoa – Volunteers’ Voices! The theme of the upcoming issue is environment and international volunteering. The magazine is published twice a year and includes both theme-based articles and recurring sections featuring interviews with participants of Maailmanvaihto’s volunteering programs, Maailmanvaihto co-workers, and alumni.

There are many ways to participate – for example, you can:

  • come up with article ideas
  • write articles
  • proofread or edit
  • take photographs
  • create illustrations or graphics

 If you’re interested, please contact the editors-in-chief Susanna and Tuuli-Maria by May 4th via email: maailmanvaihtoalehti@maailmanvaihto.fi. Let us know how you’d like to be involved – and feel free to pitch your own article idea if you already have one in mind!

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Bite the Culture: Italian Night Wed 23 April (Helsinki) – register now!

  • On Wednesday 23rd April 2025 at 17.30–20
  • In Sumppisali, Loviseholminpolku 8, Helsinki

“One cannot think well, love well, sleep well, if one has not dined well.” – Virginia Woolf, A Room of One’s Own

Do you ever make gnocchi? They are pasta-like dumplings often made with potatoes. They are really easy to make!

On Maailmanvaihto’s Bite the Culture night, we are going to prepare vegan gnocchis! Join us to cook and enjoy a nice gnocchi meal! Don’t worry, there are no special cooking skills needed! The only thing you will need is a kitchen apron.

Since it’s always a good thing to fill both the body and the mind, we will also learn a little bit about the celebration of the 25 of April in Italy “Festa della Liberazione”, a national festivity since 1946. So, we will enjoy some Italian culture outside our plate, too!

We welcome to the event all of you who participate in Maailmanvaihto’s activities – volunteers, Buddies, host families, and people of the voluntary workplaces, for example. The event is also open for all other interested. In the space, there’s room for thirty participants.

The event will be hosted by Nicole, the European Solidarity Corps volunteer of Maailmanvaihto’s office team. The event will be held in English and is free of charge.

Safer space and accessibility

We will follow at the event Maailmanvaihto’s guidelines for safer spaces: https://maailmanvaihto.fi/en/guidelines-for-safer-spaces

If you would like to gain information about the accessibility of the space, please don’t hesitate to contact us at intern@maailmanvaihto.fi.Registration

Registration

Please register for the event by filling in the registration form (Google Forms) on Tuesday 22nd April at the latest.

Come to join us and enjoy a great Italian evening together!

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Workshop on postcolonial political imagination

  • 27.3.2025 at 17-18.30
  • At Maailmanvaihto office, Oikokatu 3, Helsinki

When people from different contexts come together in international volunteering, it is an opportunity to explore and understand different realities with different notions of power, perspectives, and values. The workshop offers support to reflect on root causes and how we could build a more equal world.

In the workshop on postcolonial imagination, inspired by Eeva Mäkinen’s PhD project on political research, Eeva will give an introduction to the research, after which we will carry out a few exercises in political imagination. The aim is to reflect on different possibilities and perspectives and to practice imagining differently. The workshop is aimed at those involved in the field of international volunteering but is open to anyone interested in the topic. The workshop will be held in English and is free of charge.

The workshop will be facilitated by Eeva and hosted by Maailmanvaihto and POLIFA (see https://polifa.org), the founder and director of which Eeva is. POLIFA is an international research and advocacy organisation with a focus on freedom, democracy, and political imagination.

Registration

Register for the workshop by sending an email to tiedottaja@maailmanvaihto.fi. In your message, let us know about any food allergies you may have – a small vegan snack will be provided at the workshop.

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We will follow at the workshop Maailmanvaihto’s guidelines for safer spaces: https://maailmanvaihto.fi/en/guidelines-for-safer-spaces For accessibility information on Maailmanvaihto office, please visit https://maailmanvaihto.fi/contact-information. For more information, please contact tiedottaja@maailmanvaihto.fi.

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MaailmanVaihtoa – Volunteers’ Voices 1/2025: Mental wellbeing in international volunteering

 

Read MaailmanVaihtoa – Volunteers’ Voices 1/2025 (pdf)

In this issue:

5 Editorial: Exploring mentla well-being
6 Kutsu kevätkokoukseen / Invitation to Spring Meeting
7 Kuulumisten vaihtoa / Greetings from Maailmanvaihto
10 Tule mukaan toimintaan
11 Yksi perheenjäsen lisää – vapaaehtoinen arkea rikastuttamassa
13 Join our activities
14 Terveisiä maailmalta / Greetings from Abroad
18 Volunteering around the world: Grenzenlos builds bridges across borders and cultures
35 Tulevat tapahtumat / Upcoming Events

Theme articles

20 Vapaaehtoistyötä ihanan ilmapiirin toimistossa
21 Breaking down stigma and prejudice in Reykjavík
24 Kolme kysymystä alumnille: Rohkeutta, luottamusta ja läsnäoloa
26 Mikä lohduttaisi ilmastoahdistunutta?
29 Ajatusten myllerrystä, oivalluksia ja hetkessä elämistä
31 Vapaaehtoistyö maailmalla vaikuttaa mieleen
33 Dilbar’s rollercoaster

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Maailmanvaihto’s Spring Meeting 28 March 2025

Members of Maailmanvaihto – ICYE Finland and participants in our activities, a warm welcome to the Maailmanvaihto Spring Meeting!

  • Time: Friday 28.3.2025 at 17:15.
  • Place: the meeting will be held at the Maailmanvaihto office, in the address Oikokatu 3, Helsinki. You can also participate remotely via Zoom.

Registration: We welcome registrations for the meeting 25 March at the latest to the email address maailmanvaihto@maailmanvaihto.fi. Please let us know if you would like to participate remotely and we will send you a link to the meeting.

Topics:

  • Approval of the annual report and financial statement for 2024
  • Updated budget for 2025

At the spring meeting you will also hear the latest news from Maailmanvaihto.

Welcome!

On behalf of the board of Maailmanvaihto

Anni Koskela
Secretary General

The meeting will be held in accordance with Maailmanvaihto’s guidelines for safer spaces in Finnish, English or both languages, according to the wishes of the participants. For accessibility information on the office space, please visit maailmanvaihto.fi/en/contact-information and for Zoom accessibility information, please visit explore.zoom.us/en/accessibility. We will be happy to provide further information if required.

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Tampere: Become a host family for a young volunteer from Ecuador

Would you like to

  • diversify your world view and practise your language skills?
  • support international volunteering?
  • make a new friend?

Become a host family! We are looking for a host family in Tampere for Valentina, a young volunteer from Ecuador. We are looking for Valentina to be a host family primarily for the period 1.4.2025–14.1.2026 (9.5 months), but a shorter stay (e.g. 3–4 months) is also possible.

Valentina is an 18 year old young person who arrived in Finland in January to volunteer among the elderly at the activities of the foundation Koivupirtin säätiö. Valentina participates in the International Cultural Youth Exchange volunteer programme.

Being a host family is a voluntary activity that provides an opportunity for cultural exchange at home. As a host family, you get to practice your language skills in your everyday life and see your surroundings from new perspectives.

Becoming a host family is suitable for a family or someone who is interested in getting to know a new person and sharing their daily life with them. The host family provides accommodation and food for the volunteer. Families with only one adult, or where one or both adults are unemployed, students, or pensioners, can apply for a support of €150 per month.

Valentina

”I am a creative being with strong values who seeks to make a difference. Convinced that actions speak louder than words, I am motivated to volunteer to make a positive impact in the world.” 

Interested?

Please, contact us for further information!

Programme Coordinator Mari Takalo
hosting@maailmanvaihto.fi
+358 44 318 0888

Read more about host family activities

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