Description of organisation

AFSAI - Association for Intercultural Training, Exchanges and Activities is a no-profit organization recognized with a Presidential Decree, in 1971, that works to promote the no formal education approach through short and long term international mobility activities (youth exchanges, trainings, and volunteering experiences).

It was founded in 1958, in Rome, when a group of people decided to set up an organization fostering youth and cultural exchanges between nations. During all these years, the main goal has been pursued always highlighting the distinctive AFSAI profile: a non-profit association that promotes programs for and with youngsters.

Concerning specifically the EU volunteering programmes, AFSAI across the years has implemented several youth international activities under the previous “Youth for Europe”, “Youth”, “Youth in Action (YIA)” and Erasmus Plus Programs. In particular, it has been active on European Voluntary Programmes since 1996. Since then, as a coordinating organization, we hosted in Italy a good number of international volunteers in different social oriented host organizations and sent many others abroad.
Currently our main target group is represented by high school students (aged between 15 and 18 years old) and young adults (aged between 18 and 30 years old) that might be university students, unemployed people, people living in difficult situations or youth workers.
AFSAI office is based in Rome, where staff works dealing with administrative and management tasks, organizing and coordinating European projects and other international programmes, keeping contacts with partners in Italy as well as other international Youth Organizations. At local level AFSAI coordinates several host organizations that every year host young volunteers coming from EU and non EU countries.

The majority of the activities promoted by AFSAI refer to these main areas:
1) The sphere of intercultural education, through international youth exchanges and trainings, international short and long term volunteering programmes and the high school programme for high school students;
2) The development of a European Citizenship Awareness through projects in the framework of European Youth Programs such us the European Solidarity Corps and Erasmus plus programmes;
3) Promotion of Social inclusion through the coordination of several hosting projects, in Italy dealing with disadvantaged people and the involvement in our mobility activities of "less opportunities young people".
4) Empowerment of young people making them living great learning intercultural experiences, thanks to volunteering and training projects we implement in the framework of the EU funded programmes and other international programmes.