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Our Principles

 

1. Usefulness of the program for everyone involved

 
It is important for us that everyone involved will benefit from our programs.
 
a) When selecting all the project activities and operational bodies for Volunteering, Community Tourism and Theses abroad , it is important for us that:
 
  • the projects have a true and sustainable positive impact on the situation of humans and/or the environment at the target destination
  • the work of volunteers is of realistic use for the projects
  • the projects are carried out following ethical and environmental guidelines, and that the projects are directed by or employ local people
  • the projects of indigenous people are led or co-operated with local people
  • the person in charge of the project is experienced in his or her duty and will be a valuable contact person for the volunteers/interns. Volunteers/interns will be introduced to their work in an adequate way and will be guided during their work. However, we have to mention that after an introduction, it is also expected from volunteers and interns to be able to work independently, which means there will not be a tutor standing next to you and instructing you about every little detail. Often, you will be given a task or an objective only that you have to reach and implement on your own. Such a degree of independence should not scare you, but rather motivate you, because it is the most effective way for you to learn and achieve something. The project leaders and our coordinators will always be there to assist you with doubts and questions.
  • the volunteers/interns are being integrated into the projects as full team members and it is possible for them to make contacts with other individuals who work on the projects, so they can learn from them and thereby get a worthwhile technical and personal compensation for their effort.
  • the projects and organisations are interested in mutual intercultural learning
  • in research projects, the results of the research are of benefit on site
 
b) When selecting volunteers/interns and planning their placement into projects, it is important for us that
 
  • you have the best possible learning opportunity as an intern
  • the formalities of your university are respected, so that you get credit for your internship
  • an employee with appropriate qualifications is available as internship advisor and spends an appropriate time and effort for your care
  • the internship organization is in compliance with ethical and environmental guidelines
 
c) When selecting our participants for volunteering, internships, Voluntourism, Working Holiday programs, their placement in projects/organizations and their preparation, we make sure that:
 
  • participants and projects will fit in the best way possible. We try to reach this by analysing CVs, by communicating with applicants, and by being in permanent and close contact with the persons in charge of the projects as well as current and former World Unite! participants
  • the participants have an appropriate attitude about their stay abroad and their project work (please read our article about the "right“ attitude) and are sufficiently prepared and informed about processes of cultural learning.
  • we try to achieve a seamless rotation from one volunteer/intern to the next one. Placements which only take place once can be pointless if the work initiated by one volunteer/intern won’t be followed up or accomplished by the next one.
  • through our trouble-free package travel, accommodation, formalities and flow of information will be as smooth as possible, so that volunteers/interns can dedicate themselves entirely on their project work, and that the participant will get an appropriate cultural orientation about his or her host country.
 
d) When selecting partners for homestay, host families, travel and transfers it is important for us that:
 
  • the safety and well-being of the travelers are guaranteed
  • the guest can learn as much as possible from the hosts and that the host is also tolerant towards potential peculiarities of the guest
  • by accepting to have you as a guest staying in their family, local people will have an additional income which might ensure their financial independence. The money you pay to your host family for instance will often be used for the education of the family’s children.
 

2. Transparency, Honesty and Dialogue

 
We oblige ourselves to be transparent and honest to all partners involved and not to intentionally detain any relevant information to anyone.
 
We want all participants to be happy with our services and we look for open dialogue. Only happy participants will be of benefit for the projects and will result in world-of-mouth recommendation, guaranteeing the continuous support for charitable projects whose positive outcome is our concern.
 
However, a service such as World Unite! includes many people - yourself, the people in charge and further staff at the organization where you will be volunteering or doing your internship, host families and providers of accommodation, further locals you will meet, and ourselves with all of our staff. All this takes place across several continents where cultural differences are obvious, and we use languages which aren't our mother tongues. For this reason, it is almost impossible that during your stay there won't be any misunderstandings or situations which might be different from what you expected. In this case it is important that you keep a positive attitude and that you talk with us - we will listen to you, mediate and help you.
 
Marketing
 
Our presentation of all projects has the goal to give clear information, allowing potential participantsto find a placement which suits them. When selecting pictures and texts we try to portrait people with dignity. This includes that we avoid using images and texts which give the impression of superiority of the developed world over developing countries, or which have the aim to create pity. We bind ourselves not to intentionally use false claims about the usefulness or sense of certain programs, or to state that we, our participans or the projects themselves can “change the world”.
 
We try to facilitate that participants can easily get in touch and communicate with each other. With a short text and some images on our website only, it is normally not possible to present a volunteering/internship activity in a way which gives you the full picture. Therefore, we want to encourage all our participants to share their experiences, for instance through reports, pictures or videos that they can publish on our Facebook Page.
 
As everything in life, our offer "World Unite!" is subject to permanent and continuous learning and improvement. Only with your feedback can we try to reach perfection.
 

3. Safety, Health and Well-being

 
The safety, health and well-being of all participants are central aspects of our programs. When selecting projects it is important for us that during the actual project work, on the transportation to work and at the place of accommodation potential sources of danger will be minimised, both for the participants of our programs and for everyone else involved. Our trouble-free package will inform you about possible safety and health risks, about the recommended vaccinations and about travel health insurance. Our local coordinator will show a medical centre to everyone arriving, will check the proper condition of the accommodation, and will keep in touch with all participants during the whole duration of their stay. Additionally the local coordinator will be reachable 24 h by phone in cases of emergency. In that way we try to minimise all health and safety risks. However we have to clarify that as a matter of fact every participant is responsible for his or her own personal safety, and health and that responsible behaviour forms the basis for safety and health. We have summarised basic information concerning the topics of health and safety in tropical developing countries here.
 

4. Cost consciousness

 
We know that many of our participants travel on limited financial resources. At the same time, most projects into which we place participants have financial difficulties and it is not our concept to squeeze profit from bringing volunteers/interns and placement organizations together.
 
To achieve the maximum benefit to reach our mission, we try to keep the costs for our participants and our operational costs as low as possible.
 
We try to organise ourselves as efficient as possible and we almost only make use of low-cost online presentation and word-of-mouth recommendation. We don’t produce expensive glossy brochures, office rents at expensive inner city locations and other luxuries. We pass over the cost advantage resulting from this to you.
 

5. Responsible travel

 
We prefer to work with such local coordinators and providers of transportation who have a clear understanding of the importance of responsible behaviour towards the environment and local population and who comport accordingly. Part of this is for instance to plan transportation in the most efficient and petrol-saving way possible and to ensure that as much of your money will stay in your host country, contributing to its development by involving local people in a fair way.
 
At the same time we want to encourage the participants of our programs to inform themselves about responsible travel and to choose such additional travel and tourism providers who are committed to responsible travel.
 

6. Political and religious independence

 
World Unite! is not close to any particular political or religious ideology. We avoid cooperation with organizations which are characterised by politically or religiously motivated singularity.

Our Partners

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Programs

Auslandspraktika Internships Abroad

A wide selection of internships in many countries. Read more...

 
Volunteering Volunteering

Charitable placements worldwide. Read more...

 
World Learner World Learner

Learn your host country's knowledge. Read more...

 
Aktivreisen Active Travel

Your alternative holidays. Read more...

 
Academix Academix

Dissertations, intercultural learning. Read more...

 
Work&Travel Working Holiday

Working Holiday in Japan, China and Germany Read more...

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