Thanks to the close cooperation of non-German institutions with the German Friends of Waldorf Education (FWE), FWE has made it possible for an international volunteers service to provide some 7,000 volunteers in over 400 institutions in more than 50 countries since 1993. We are glad that you too are interested in working with us and wish to give committed volunteers an opportunity to become acquainted with your work, country and culture. This page contains information that is relevant for working with us in the area of volunteer services throughout the world.

Your institution should meet the following prerequisites so that volunteers can be provided through the Friends of Waldorf Education for a service period that normally lasts 12 months:

Your institution should be guided by anthroposophic/Waldorf education principles

• Your institution should have a status as a charitable organisation or an organisation established for the public good (proof required)
• Most if not all of the tasks of the volunteers should lie in the social area
• For the period in which you employ volunteers, you will have to provide them with room and board. If your institution is not in a position to offer suitable accommodations, the volunteers can live with a host family provided by you
• You must provide the volunteers with a contact partner during their entire stay; this partner will support them, guide them and be available for questions at all times
• Volunteers from the Foreign Year Abroad (FYA) programme should be paid monthly pocket money by your institution; however, if your institution is not in a position to do this, then please get in touch with us so that we can work together to find a solution
• Please also note that we request a lump sum administrative fee of 1.000 euros per volunteer from each institution that accepts volunteers from the Foreign Year Abroad (FYA) programme; however, if your institution is not in a position to pay this fee, you should inform us accordingly, keeping in mind that all decisions on providing volunteers are taken independently of whether this lump sum fee is paid

During the period of their volunteer service, all volunteers supplied by the Friends of Waldorf Education are covered by world-wide medical, accident and public liability insurance.

If your institution meets the above prerequisites and you are interested in acquiring volunteers through the Friends of Waldorf Education for a period that normally lasts 12 months for each volunteer, then please complete the application form for volunteer services and send it to:

Mrs. Kirsten Schulte de Castro: k.schultedecastro[at]freunde-waldorf.de or
Mrs. Susanna Rech-Bigot: s.rech-bigot[at]freunde-waldorf.de.

In addition, please send us a flyer or other informational material about your institution and give us the address of your website if you have one!
Many thanks in advance!

If your institution would like to acquire volunteers through the Friends of Waldorf Education for a period that normally lasts 12 months, then the application procedure between the volunteers and your institution will be as follows:

1. Interested volunteers first apply through the website of the Friends of Waldorf Education (FWE).
2. Each application is first evaluated by FWE. If it is suitable, it is released for the online application portal, where the applicant can select institutions to which he or she wishes to apply.
3. Our partner organisations also have access to this online portal, in which they can each view the applications intended for them, and either reject or approve them.
4. When you approve an application, you can fill in a binding contract online (PPA − Partner Project Agreement) and have it offered to the applicant.
5. If the applicant accepts, the binding contract is evaluated by FWE and released if it is found to be satisfactory. If changes to the contract should be necessary, the partner organisation will be notified by FWE.

Our Team is readily available for any questions:

Mrs. Kirsten Schulte de Castro: k.schultedecastro[at]freunde-waldorf.de 
Tel.: +49(0) 721 354806-24

Mrs. Susanna Rech-Bigot: s.rech-bigot[at]freunde-waldorf.de 
Tel.: +49(0) 721 354806-145

The Friends of Waldorf Education dispatch volunteers through the German Foreign Year Abroad programme (FYA) and weltwärts, the volunteer service of the German Federal Ministry of Economic Cooperation and Development. The Incoming programme is for volunteers from outside Germany who would like to serve as a volunteer in Germany for a period of 12 months.

• Foreign Year Abroad (FYA): The FYA programme is open to men and women aged 18 or older (no upper limit) who wish to work outside Germany in Australia, New Zealand, Europe (with a few exceptions), Japan, South Korea, North America or Russia or in some of the offices in so-called development and transformation countries.
• weltwärts: This volunteer service was established by the German Federal Ministry of Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) in 2008. Young men and women from 18 to 28 can serve as a volunteer in one of the so-called development and transformational countries. This service is subsidized by the German state. This also means, among other things, that institutions outside Germany can receive financial support for room and board for the volunteers.
• Incoming: Through this programme, people from all over the world are invited to apply for volunteer service in Germany. They work in an anthroposophically or Waldorf oriented institution. Most of them live in the office premises during their service. More About Incoming.

• Application sheet (PDF)