For over 10 years, the German-Russian Exchange has been working to facilitate the exchange of innovative ideas and experience between activists and non-profit organizations in Russia and Europe. Together with its Berlin partner organisation Deutsch-Russischer Austausch e.V., GRE is currently implementing projects involving volunteers, school and cultural exchanges, and human rights education. Our youth activities involve a wide range of various programmes and projects. Among them is a "Tolerance" program which includes film festivals, discussion clubs and sport activities (football, table tennis), aimed at promoting tolerant consciousness and behaviour by means of joint actions. Another direction of our youth activities is developing civic society initiatives: we run an on-going debating society, film and discussion clubs, organise a series of seminars for students and young researches on the topic of EU-Russia relationships (EU Study seminars), support creative initiaves and ideas from active youth groups and private individuals. In addition to that we're promoting environemental awareness among youth groups by involving them into international environemental and cultural activities (one good example is Moving Baltic Sea project).

Coordination of Volunteers:

For the past ten years, the Nemezko-Russky Obmen (NRO, German-Russian Exchange) has arranged placements for young Western European volunteers in St.-Petersburg and the North-West Region and for Russian Volunteers in Western Europe. In just the last 2 years, more than 120 young people have volunteered in more than 30 non-governmental organizations in the North-West Region of Russia and in Germany, Sweden, Poland, and Italy, and have gone through a 3-part training seminar on volunteer management. Additionally, the NRO agency offers assistance to host organizations from the North-West Region in all matters concerning their work with foreign volunteers.

Russia in Europe, Europe in Russia!

Our Goals:

The GRE in St. Petersburg, just as its partner organization, the German-Russian Exchange in Berlin, was founded in 1992 by a group of activists from Germany. The primary goal of the GRE from its founding has been the development of volunteer services and the support of organizations from the third sector, which are essential for an open and democratic society.

  Today the GRE implements four basic projects: volunteer exchanges, school exchanges, cultural exchanges and educational programs on human rights. Graduates of our programs, unique and talented young people, develop their own substantive projects today in the social and cultural spheres. These volunteers, our alumni, were given the start for such projects that include the club “Dacha” and “Upsala Circus.”

Our Projects

Volunteer Exchange...
... every year offers scholarships to Russian young people, who want to become volunteers in public organizations and who are fluent in German. We also invite volunteers from Europe, who work with the homeless, physically handicapped, children and with different NGOs in the northwest region of Russia. Since 1999, more than 500 people from Russia, Western and Eastern Europe have takes part in these exchange programs.

School Exchange...
... is intended for Russian and German students who are between 16-18 years old. Russian participants in the program live with a guest family during the school year, study in a school, and learn both the language and culture of Germany. Families in St. Petersburg also have the opportunity through this program to host a German student.

Translation Project...
... is a network of more than 80 virtual translator-volunteers from Europe and Russia, who gratuitously translate texts into German, English, and Russian for Russian community organizations.

Cultural Projects...
...create the possibility for creative, energetic young people to experience the role of art-managers and organizers of film-screenings, musical concerts, poetry nights or exhibitions. Our main projects include the international festival “REmigration,” photo-exhibitions in the hall of the GRE, and “Movie Mondays.”

Education on Human Rights...
...includes educational programs for participants from public organizations of the northwestern region of Russia, including students from higher classes, university students and teachers. The programs have different formats: from series of seminars to an international summer camp. The GRE prefers interactive teaching methods and works with skilled and creative trainers.

 

  Print