My year in Norway doing EVS

Do you volunteer on a regular basis? Let me tell you about my one-year volunteering experience in Norway!

What is EVS?

EVS (European Voluntary Service)?enables young people aged 18 to 30 years to live up to 12 months in another country working in a non-profit organization. At the time I applied, it was up to 28 years, and it was the last year I could join. You basically connect with the local association accredited to organise a service and apply to as many host organisations you want to, in the countries or regions you want to work in, in the EU and a few extra countries.

I wanted to start again in Norway and decided to select only one place: Dale i Sunnfjord, a small village in a region that boasts a vibrant cultural life, with - among other things - a design centre, an art residency centre and an international high school. I was honoured to have been chosen to work there for a year.

What did I do?

I worked for several hours a week at the local school and kindergarten, helped with a series of projects at the library, had a stand at a music festival, ran a café during some weekends, and helped out during cultural events. I was living in a house with up to 3 other people from various countries, had access to Norwegian classes, and received a small allowance.

Pros and cons

The good things:

• You learn the language in almost complete immersion
• You seriously grow your network
• You learn new skills and get some time to discover things about yourself or work on personal projects for your future

The not-so-good things:

• You can feel really isolated
• Not all work you are “volunteered” to do is actually satisfying or even proper volunteering (yes, sometimes, you need to complain as you’re replacing paid staff)
• It can be a long time without getting a salary or being able to choose where you live. Make sure you have enough money saved up, a plan B, and actionable goals for the next year. Remember that this does not count towards your retirement or, closer to you, any kind of unemployment benefits when you go back home or while you try to find a job in your home or host country.

The proof in a picture

Here are a few highlights from my EVS year and after:

• I aced a C1 Norwegian test after less than three years in the country
• The village was gorgeous and I was able to bathe in the fjord from the beginning of May to the end of September
• That was the Megaphone, an artistic project that didn’t survive a storm
• I worked at the Nordic Artists’ centre of Dals?sen and often visited the exhibitions
• The bust of Jakob Sande, a famous local poet
• You can feel slightly isolated in the winter
• Love to walk in the mountains? Try geocaching
• The United World College lies on the other side of the mountain. I volunteered there during a summer camp (it was awful; it was at the time of the 22nd of July and we had to hide newspapers from the kids)
• Some artists from the design centre Transplant were gathering testimonies for their book “Why Dale?” and I contributed some artwork
• I was serving food and drinks during my first National day, on May, 17th.
• I was later recruited by the Youth Association to do face-painting
• The statue of Vesle Daniel, a young character created by Jakob Sande, who went to see the world

In conclusion…

All in all, I would really advise you to make the most of every opportunity that exists to help you travel and work abroad. You simply need to check and double-check where you are being sent.

Do you have some experience with the EVS programme? Where did you go and how was this experience for you?