International Voluntary Service

Country Information for the Middle East

Morocco

Chantiers Sociaux Marocains is a non profit NGO founded in 1963. CSM is a national association with several sections all around Morocco and a large international relation of cooperation.

CSM aims are to promote community development and encourage participation of community members in activities; to create opportunities to exchange experiences between youth from different parts of the country and the rest of the world and promote international understanding through voluntary services; to encourage the concept of voluntary services as a force in the search for peace equality, democracy and international understanding.

Palestine/Israel

The International Palestinian Youth League (IPYL) is a non-profit, non-political and non-governmental organisation established in May of 1997.

The principal goals of IPYL are:

• to imbue young people with a spirit of independence, creativity and entrepreneurship in social, civic, cultural and environmental spheres and to encourage them to take an active role in their communities;
• to aid and assist the underprivileged sectors of Palestinian society, through the provision of training services, to better access educational opportunities, to find suitable employment and play an active role in their community;
• to promote awareness of the dangers of discrimination including xenophobia, sexism and all forms of racism and to reinforce the importance of equal opportunities in all sectors of society;
• to instill in young people the importance of democracy in the organisation of society, and to enhance their awareness of the principles of human rights as elucidated in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and related international covenants and agreements;
• to encourage young people to recognise the value of cultural diversity, to actively explore other cultures and belief-systems with an open mind and to work with the young people of other countries to achieve a real peace in the region based on mutual respect, justice and equality.

Turkey

GSM-Youth Services Centre is an NGO founded in 1985 by a group of young people. They organise international voluntary projects all around Turkey in cooperation with universities, municipalities and local initiatives. The aim of these camps is to enable young people to come together and exchange ideas while engaging in a public project. Their main aim is to facilitate the collaboration of young people from all over the world in a peaceful and prejudice free atmosphere where they can share their rich cultural backgrounds.