European Voluntary Service in social facilities in Berlin is a project of the Internationale Jugendgemeinschaftsdienste (ijgd), which is the coordinating and supporting voluntary organisation in the EVS. A group of all together 18 volunteers (this application includes 6 of them) from all over Europe are active in hosting NGOs who work in the social field. The focus of the engagment is work with children, refugee aid, social work and homeless care. The EVSprojectpartners in Berlin are non-profit organistions: Kindergartens, churches, a facility for sociatherapie, day-cares, a free school, a refugee home, a circus for children. The acitivities are: work with children, social work, refugee aid and homeless care. Most of the facilities are located in districts with social problems (Neukölln, Kreuzberg, Wedding and Friedrichshain). The aim is to improve the living conditions of the local people and to make a contribution to intercultural understanding, European awareness, against discrimination and social exclusion. The volunteers are invited bring in their cultural background and interests into the project. They experience the everyday life and the role of smaller local social NGOs in civil society in Berlin. The European volunteers live together and independently in shared flats and will be supported by ijgd throughout the year. ijgd is contact point and offers shared activities, networking, workshops, help and support to the volunteers.