What is the Voluntary Social Year in Culture?

There are numerous opportunities for voluntary service in Germany. The FSJ Kultur is just one of them. Before I explain what the FSJ Kultur is, I would like to give a brief overview of the different volunteer service options.

On the one hand, there is the Federal Volunteer Service, the BFD was introduced after the abolition of compulsory military service and can be used by people of all ages who want to get involved practically and socially.

The Diaconal Year Abroad is a programme of the Evangelische Freiwilligendienste gGmbH (Protestant Volunteer Services), where young people work on church, diaconal and social projects abroad.

In addition, there is the European Solidarity Corps, which replaced the European Voluntary Service in 2018 and is intended to promote European solidarity and mutual cooperation and understanding between young people.

There is also the possibility of doing a peace service abroad, where volunteers work on projects that promote peace, international understanding and reconciliation and create amounts for justice, development and environmental protection.

The Voluntary Ecological Year offers young people with a passion for nature and the environment the opportunity to get involved in various areas that deal with all topics related to nature and the environment.

The Voluntary Social Year offers volunteers the opportunity to work in social institutions such as kindergartens, retirement homes, schools and many other institutions.

Most of these voluntary services can also be completed as part of a Voluntary International Year abroad and deal with the general areas of activity: Peace and Development, Refugees, Craft and Technology, Children and Youth, Church and Community, Sick People, Culture, People with Disabilities, Nature and Environment, Politics and Administration, School, Senior Citizens, Social Services and Sports.

Back to the FSJ Culture: The FSJ Culture is the Voluntary Social Year in Culture. It is a subset of the ‘normal’ Voluntary Social Year. In this year, young adults aged 16 to 26 work full-time in a cultural institution. For all volunteer service options, there are sponsoring organisations that are responsible for the respective services. For the FSJ Kultur there is a sponsorship in Berlin, the Landesvereinigung kulturelle Jugendbildung e.V., which arranges FSJK placements among volunteers and is the contact for all matters concerning the FSJ Kultur.