International volunteering is about much more than travelling to another country and contributing to a local project. At Egyesek, we see it as an opportunity to bring people with different backgrounds together, build supportive communities and learn how to make participation more inclusive.
In 2026 we organised 12 international workcamps in Hungary: six supported by the European Solidarity Corps and six organised without EU funding. Throughout these activities, volunteers from different countries and with different experiences came together to work, live and learn alongside each other.
Creating safe and inclusive workcamp communities
When an international group comes together, diversity is part of everyday life. Participants may have different cultural backgrounds, identities, expectations and ways of communicating. This can create valuable opportunities for learning, but it also means paying attention to how people feel and interact within the group.
We aim to create workcamp communities where everyone can participate, feel respected and have space to express their needs and perspectives, regardless of their gender, identity or background.
This means paying attention to group dynamics, challenging stereotypes when they appear, encouraging respectful communication and making sure that responsibilities and opportunities to participate are shared.
For us, gender-inclusive youth work is not something that happens only in a dedicated workshop. It is part of the everyday experience: in the way activities are organised, in how decisions are made, in how responsibilities are shared and in how participants relate to one another.
Making international volunteering more accessible
Inclusion also starts with a simple question: who gets the opportunity to participate in international mobility in the first place?
For young people with fewer opportunities, taking part in an international volunteering project can come with additional barriers. These can be connected to their social or economic situation, where they live, their educational background or simply having limited access to information and support.
At Egyesek, we work to make international volunteering more accessible and to create supportive conditions for young people who might not otherwise have an easy way into international mobility.
Our workcamps bring together people with different backgrounds and experiences. They have the opportunity to contribute to a common project while developing new skills, gaining confidence and building connections with people they might never have met otherwise.
We believe that international volunteering should not only be accessible to those who already have the resources, confidence or networks to participate. Inclusive mobility means creating pathways for more young people to experience what international volunteering can offer.
Creating space to talk about gender-based violence
A safe community also needs space for honest conversations about gender-based violence (GBV).
Youth work and international volunteering can give young people opportunities to reflect on gender roles, stereotypes, power relations, boundaries and respectful relationships. These conversations are important because harmful attitudes and behaviours are not always easy to recognise, especially when they have become normalised.
Through our youth and volunteering activities, we create opportunities to explore these topics and encourage participants to think about how they can contribute to safer and more respectful communities.
For us, prevention starts with awareness: recognising harmful stereotypes and behaviours, understanding and respecting boundaries, looking out for one another and knowing when and how to ask for support.
Inclusion is part of everyday youth work
The PGV Network brings together organisations across Europe working to strengthen the prevention of gender-based violence in youth work and youth projects. For Egyesek, being part of this network is an opportunity to connect our everyday volunteering practice with a wider European conversation about gender equality, inclusion and safer youth work.
Our 2026 workcamps are one part of this ongoing work. By creating more inclusive international volunteering opportunities, paying attention to gender and group dynamics, and opening space for conversations about GBV prevention, we are working towards youth activities where more people can participate, contribute and feel safe.
Because inclusive youth work is not only about who we invite to join.
It is also about the kind of community we create together once everyone arrives.
This action is supported by the PGV Network, funded by the European Union.
