What is the Voluntary Social Year useful for?

There are many reasons to do a voluntary social year.

One reason is social commitment. During an FSJ, volunteers get to know our society from many different perspectives, they develop an understanding for the perspectives and situations of others, and they are committed to working together.

Another reason is personal development. During this year, the volunteers develop enormously, they get to know their personalities better and can strengthen them. They also meet new people with different backgrounds and stories. Thus, their openness, curiosity, flexibility and team and communication skills are developed and strengthened, they encounter difficulties and actively work on conflict or problem solving. In addition, they learn to work independently in many areas and strengthen their self-confidence and independence. Furthermore, the FSJ can be used as preparation for vocational training or university studies.

The FSJ also serves as a career orientation, because depending on the placement, the volunteers get to know different job profiles and areas of activity, where they can also discover new interests and help them with their career orientation.

In addition, an FSJ puts practical experience in the foreground. Volunteers are fully integrated into the daily work of the respective organisation and get to know all the processes of the organisation, in which case the FSJ can help them to find their way more quickly in a new working environment later on.

A final reason for doing an FSJ is that it can be used as recognition for training or studies. Depending on the area of activity, the FSJ can be credited as a (pre-)internship or a year of recognition for certain training and degree programmes, and it can also be cited as a waiting period. In addition, many colleges and universities award special points in the application process.

The Voluntary Social Year in Culture thus offers all young people interested in culture a look behind the scenes of a cultural enterprise and the opportunity to get to know professions in the cultural sector, especially at museums, theatres, opera houses, libraries, cultural administrations or orchestras, as well as various culture-related foundations.

Through the discovery of individual areas of responsibility and the deepening of various activities, the FSJK offers great help in recognising and pursuing perspectives for further professional life.