Introductory Social Engagement Workcamps

Introductory social engagement workcamps are for school or community groups who want to learn about volunteering by undertaking a project in Quebec or abroad. Chantiers jeunesse offers its experience, support and contacts.

Each year, groups of young Québécois aged 15 to 17 that are in a high school or youth centre or groups of adults aged 18 to 30 who are doing a project with a youth employment centre (carrefour jeunesse-emploi) have the opportunity to learn about social engagement and live a rewarding volunteering experience in Quebec, France or Nicaragua.
Taking part in an initiative for social engagement means to learn about the local community and contribute to its well-being by carrying out a project. 
 
Examples: renovating a lighthouse on Île Verte in the Bas-Saint-Laurent, restoring a medieval castle in France, planning school activities for children in Nicaragua.
 
Taking part in an introductory social engagement workcamp also means taking part in an intensive group living, acquiring new knowledge and learning to be an active committed citizen!
 
Workcamps
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During the project, you’ll live in a group of 10 to 13 young people and you’ll work approximately 30 hours per week on community development projects. So for one or two weeks, you’ll help out a local organization while discovering a new region of Quebec, France or Nicaragua.
 

Getting ready
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The first part of an introductory social engagement workcamp is to learn about the local community and prepare your group’s workcamp. This step enables you to familiarize yourself with social engagement. You’ll identify the relative issues while planning the workcamp and organizing a fundraiser.
 
Also, to be ready for this volunteering experience, your group needs to participate in training workshops, which some are given by Chantiers jeunesse. During the next four or five months, these activities will allow you to get involved, develop a project that best describes who you are and connect with other young people in your group.
 

Project implementation
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This step enables you to live both a great volunteering and an intensive group living experience in an organization located in another region of Quebec or abroad. With your school or youth centre contact and a Chantiers jeunesse camp leader, your group will integrate a community so it can support a non-profit organization.

 

Accommodation and meals
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Your group will live in the same accommodation, and deal with the food and activity budget themselves.

Duration
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A workcamp is one to three weeks.

Coming back and social engagement
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A debrief session allows you to spend some time looking at what happened and what you learned. At this point, we encourage you to do different activities related to social engagement.

For example, you can raise awareness around you by sharing your experience with the neighbourhood youth. You can also make them volunteer by planning a project that will benefit the community.