Youth for Development

YfD applications are now closed. Applications will be re-open in October 2008. For more information contact enquiry@vso.org.uk or tel 0208 780 7500

Sharing experience & learning through international placements

YfD is a one-year overseas programme that provides an opportunity for young people to work with VSO’s partners in any one of 34 countries.

YfD is a valuable experience for those interested in overseas development work, the promotion of international understanding and supporting VSO’s development goals.

"Youth for Development has many good outcomes. Some are immediate in the placements and through the relationships and mutual learning which are so much part of them. Others come over many years through contributions volunteers make later."
Robert Chambers, Institute of Development Studies, University of Sussex.

See more testimonials on the impact YfD volunteers can make.

• Spend 12 months living and working with VSO partners in any one of the 34 countries in which we work
• Take ownership of the process by telling us where your strengths lie and letting us know how you would like the programme to contribute to your professional and personal development
• Fundraise £900 with the support of the VSO fundraising team
• Complete a Global Education Project, which will raise awareness of global issues, challenge stereotypes, and promote international understanding. The project begins in the UK, continues whilst overseas, and is completed upon return to the UK.
• Have the experience of a lifetime if you are up for the challenge!

• Pay for your training, visas, travel, medical checks, injections, accommodation
• Give you training and support to make sure you are fully prepared for your placement
• Provide you with a modest living allowance whilst you are on your placement.
• Match you to a placement based on your skills and experience
• Help you to identify and achieve your personal development goals as far as possible
• Don’t ask you to pay for the experience – instead we ask you to fundraise £900 towards VSO’s programmes
• Provide support when you return to the UK to help you to acclimatise, to provide career guidance and to explain the many opportunities there are for you to continue to work with VSO to fight poverty and disadvantage.

What are the objectives of Youth for Development?

• To provide VSO’s overseas partners with youth volunteers who will work towards the achievement of VSO’s development goals in the areas of education, disability, health & social well-being, HIV & AIDS, participation & governance and secure livelihoods.
• To provide worthwhile, practical and relevant experience for young people who are committed to volunteering and are interested in international development work.
• To channel the volunteer experience into the promotion of international understanding and greater awareness of development issues.