Started on 1st January 2009 the Voluntary Service of all Generations (Freiwilligendienst aller Generationen) is a nationwide programme for volunteers of all age groups funded by the Federal Ministry for Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth. The voluntary service is a part time service which can be adapted to the volunteer’s needs. The volunteers commit themselves to enrol in the service for at least eight hours per week for at least six months. They engage in non-profit organisations whose fields of activities vary from youth work and social work towards culture or environmental protection. The qualification of the volunteers (at least 60 hours per year) and a continuous mentoring form the mandatory quality standards of the programme.The voluntary service does not exclusively focus on projects promoting the dialogue between young people and older generations but a lot of the 46 nationwide flagship projects chosen by the Federal Ministry for the initial phase (2009-2011) deal with intergenerational topics.

Website of the Voluntary Service of all Generations: http://www.freiwilligendienste-aller-generationen.de/startseite.html