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Lunaria offers international volunteering experiences on a short, mid and long term basis. Such projects are based on the co-operation with associations and local communities, groups of Italian and foreign youngsters, organizations and international networks. These activities allow the transmission and promotion of civil and social commitment, forms of active citizenship, the development of relations between countries and the exchange of experiences between youngsters from different cultures through their involvement in projects of social utility. Between 1996 and 2003 about 10.000 youngsters have subscribed to our activities. For a lot of them, international volunteering is only one of the many possibilities to create the “other possible world”. It is a way to get in touch with local communities, associations, people from other countries, to compare ideas, projects, lifestyles, and to imagine a model of development which suits everybody.


Voluntary Work camps are short term projects (2/3 weeks), which are intended to meet a need of primary training, cultural exchange, solidarity education and to involve youngsters between 16 and 30 years old.


Mid term (2- 6 months) and long term ( 6 months – 1 year ).
These are international projects which can take place in any part of the planet and whose access is restricted to youngsters of at least 21 years of age, with a preference to people with previous experience in international or social volunteering.


European Voluntary Service
Since 1996 this programme gives youngsters between 18 and 25 years of age the possibility to carry out a volunteering experience in a country of the European Union, Eastern Europe or of the Mediterranean basin for a period that goes between 6 months and a year.


Projects for Senior volunteers
International volunteering projects can enrol people of any age: since 2002 Lunaria experiments mobility projects for adults of 50 years of age or above.

Lunaria promotes voluntary work abroad for youngsters and adults who want to experience a direct commitment in a project promoted by civil society. We are convinced that social commitment, in Italy like abroad, is a way of getting to know local regions, grasping its necessities and problems; bridging the gap with institutions and learning how to get involved as citizens. Volunteering provides the possibility to relate and interact with different people and cultures, learning transversal expertise (team work, conflict management, interactions with stakeholders, local area analysis, etc.). On the whole, it is chance to become aware of the complexity of our world and to challenge oneself.
In a time when traditional training agencies have difficulties in fulfilling their role, international volunteering offers the possibility to take an active part in a collective project, and interpret the global issues from an original point of view. The projects offered by Lunaria are promoted by local authorities and organisations, they are non-confessional and aimed at real sustainable social development.


Lunaria offers to young adults between 18 and 26 years old the European Voluntary Service (EVS). The EVS is a volunteering experience which can last from six months to a year in a European country (but there are also projects in other countries). It includes language training, full coverage of travelling expenses, board and lodging. To take part in such a project no specific skill or expertise is required. The only requirement is to be able to adapt oneself to new situations and a strong motivation. It is for this reason that Lunaria promotes the access to the programme to youngsters with a low level of schooling or with problems of socio-economic disadvantage.


Another possibility to undertake international volunteering is offered by mid- and long-term volunteer projects (MLTV). These are international projects which can take place in any area of the planet. Youngster aged 21 or older, who possibly have already had an experience of social or international volunteering are eligibly for such projects. This kind of experience has a duration between one and twelve months, giving the volunteer the possibility to get to know thoroughly the civil society and culture of the country where he/she is hosted. To take part in this kind of programme there is, generally, no age limit. In this case, volunteers will have to pay to Lunaria the subscription fee of 95, plus 25 euros for the association card. They will also have to cover their own travelling and insurance expenses, while board and lodging are generally guaranteed by the host organization. In some cases (fortunately rare ones, the participation to MLTV projects requires the payment of a supplementary fee to be paid to the partner association/organisation on the arrival.

The ideas underpinning international work camps are solidarity and international co-operation. Giving youngsters from all over the world the chance to meet and work practically every day, international work camps are example of how you can really live the values of peace, dialogue, and coexistence.
The work camps were set up and have developed as a tangible possibility for local communities and authorities to undertake non-profit social activities, involving youngsters and local social forces. The volunteer’s work within the camps, besides involving the achievement of concrete objectives, has a training and an educational value for social and co-operative relations, common responsibility, civil commitment and solidarity.
Lunaria offers every year more than 1300 projects in about 40 countries of all continents. This is possible thanks to its membership to the “Alliance of European Voluntary Service Organisations”, a network of organisations which promote international short-term voluntary work. The projects’ quality is guaranteed by the consolidated knowledge of our partners, which operate and work in close co-operation with local communities and associations. Every year an average of 400 Italian volunteers take part in these projects. Lunaria organises in Italy an average of 40 work camps a year, placing 400 volunteers, with the col-operation of environmental, cultural, antiracist organisations, local authorities and youth groups operating in various Italian regions.


European Voluntary Service and Long- and Mid-Term Voluntary Service.


Lunaria promotes voluntary work abroad for youngsters and adults who want to experience a direct commitment in a project promoted by civil society.
We are convinced that social commitment, in Italy like abroad, is a way of getting to know local regions, grasping its necessities and problems; bridging the gap with institutions and learning how to get involved as citizens. Volunteering provides the possibility to relate and interact with different people and cultures, learning transversal expertise (team work, conflict management, interactions with stakeholders, local area analysis, etc.). On the whole, it is chance to become aware of the complexity of our world and to challenge oneself.
In a time when traditional training agencies have difficulties in fulfilling their role, international volunteering offers the possibility to take an active part in a collective project, and interpret the global issues from an original point of view. The projects offered by Lunaria are promoted by local authorities and organisations, they are non-confessional and aimed at real sustainable social development.


Lunaria offers to young adults between 18 and 26 years old the European Voluntary Service (EVS). The EVS is a volunteering experience which can last from six months to a year in a European country (but there are also projects in other countries). It includes language training, full coverage of travelling expenses, board and lodging. To take part in such a project no specific skill or expertise is required. The only requirement is to be able to adapt oneself to new situations and a strong motivation. It is for this reason that Lunaria promotes the access to the programme to youngsters with a low level of schooling or with problems of socio-economic disadvantage.


Another possibility to undertake international volunteering is offered by mid- and long-term volunteer projects (MLTV). These are international projects which can take place in any area of the planet. Youngster aged 21 or older, who possibly have already had an experience of social or international volunteering are eligibly for such projects. This kind of experience has a duration between one and twelve months, giving the volunteer the possibility to get to know thoroughly the civil society and culture of the country where he/she is hosted. To take part in this kind of programme there is, generally, no age limit.
In this case, volunteers will have to pay to Lunaria the subscription fee of 95, plus 25 euros for the association card. They will also have to cover their own travelling and insurance expenses, while board and lodging are generally guaranteed by the host organization. In some cases (fortunately rare ones, the participation to MLTV projects requires the payment of a supplementary fee to be paid to the partner association/organisation on the arrival.