Lýsing á stofnuninni/samtökunum

Breakthrough Foundation is a non-profit NGO which is founded with the aim to develop and promote active citizenship in the society through citizens. They will make a contribution to approving development and ability, with projects and activities in the context of exchanges, voluntaries, initiatives, training courses and networking.

Speciality of our NGO is participation, coaching and project developing with young people with special needs and fewer opportunities (due to upbringing, living conditions, background, social, fysical, intelectual and psycologic issues, health condition and/or education) and psychiatric disorders or behavior problems. We would like to host and send volunteers who need special help because of a psychiatric disorder, behavioral problem, a dificult childhood, a trauma, economic obstacles, cultural differences, etcetera and help them to built self-esteem through volunteer work, or give them a nice year in another atmosphere to make a new start in life or discover who they are. But as mentioned and explained before we also like to send young people with a better start in life and even more our preference, make a combination of these two groups so they can learn from each other.

We are also interested in working with young people with specific interests or demographics (eg: artists, homeless) and see how they can have opportunities to integrate with people from outside of their usual social groups.

We aim to support communities to increase their skills, knowledge and experiences by helping them to learn and discover other cultures. We work with non-formal learning principles and practice in all of our projects, underpinned by YouthPass Competences and the use of Learning Badges. Our projects are all also designed to contribute to the Global Goals for Sustainable Development.

We believe that we can help people build on the skills that they already have through positive intercultural experiences and the development of self-esteem. Learning must be fun and we understand how to recongise and reward learning through the use of innovative new technologies such as Learning Badges and YouthPass. We want to give people the opportunity to learn through experiences. We also believe that building bridges between communities is vital in the current climate extreme views on all ends of the political spectrum within Europe and the Netherlands, and that youth work and participatory tools are an ideal way to do this.

We understand how important, exciting and challenging EVS can be for young people, especially in a era of polarisation in Europe. However, we are ideally placed to support young people through this fantastic experience. Due to our specialism in working with young people with special needs, we like to enable those who aren't aware that international opportunities are available to them, to have the experience and see how it can change their life in a positive way. Breakthrough want to support young people's participation in various forms of voluntary activities, both within and outside the European Union. We want to develop solidarity and promote active citizenship and mutual understanding among young people.

Our national and international networks allow us to provide opportunities for young people to take part in EVS in a variety of places and locations. We collaborate with the small monumental village Orvelte in Drenthe, PolePosition in Utrecht and freelance youth workers across the Netherlands, as well as partners from across Europe and beyond.

Our team of youth workers and social workers have a vast range of international experience including many Youth In Action and Erasmus+ projects such as youth exchanges and training courses. We are always open to meeting and collaborating with more Dutch young people and youth workers for new projects.