Preparing a humanitarian project: the Freepackers educational kit
Charters, a carbon footprint guide, training and funding guides: every Freepackers document to help you prepare your humanitarian project abroad, ready to download.
Our teaching materials are designed to give you everything you need to make your humanitarian project abroad happen. Here is a summary of the documents and the information you cannot do without when starting a social or environmental programme.
Freepackers charters and guides
When choosing an organisation for a humanitarian project, it is normal, and indeed necessary, to compare and to gather as much information as you can about it.
At Freepackers we stand for transparency, and telling you about our work, our values and our commitments is fundamental. In that spirit, and to help you know us better, we make available the documents setting out our recent work in favour of ethical, eco-friendly, solidarity-based travel.
The VVE code of conduct (eco-responsible travellers and tour operators)
The Ecovolunteer Charter
Started by Cybelle Planète, this charter, written in 2018, sets out to hold professionals to account and to inform the public about what they are committing to before they leave. With around fifteen other organisations in the sector, Freepackers co-wrote and signed it.
Freepackers project ethics charter
The Carbon Footprint Guide
How do you travel sustainably and responsibly? It is a question that comes up often, and it matters. We know that crossing the world to discover new horizons can have damaging environmental effects, such as the carbon emissions that drive climate change.
At Freepackers, though, we believe mobility and sustainability can go together. Every action counts, which is why we take concrete steps to offset and reduce the carbon emissions generated when our members leave on a programme. By choosing to travel with Freepackers, you take an active part in our drive for a greener, more responsible way to explore the world.
To find out more, take a look at our Carbon Footprint Guide, full of practical advice and useful information to help you reduce your footprint and travel with purpose.
Our training
At Freepackers, we are committed to preparing our volunteers properly. A humanitarian programme is not something you improvise; it calls for serious preparation and commitment beforehand. That is why we offer training designed to inform and prepare you as well as possible before you leave.
Training for research projects
Anyone wishing to join an environmental research or wildlife conservation programme must complete 15 hours of online theory training, in English. It is built around three main strands.
Leading teams for Impact
You will explore the role and responsibilities of a team leader. This module helps you build the skills needed to lead a team.
Careers in Sustainable Development
This module gives you the keys to spotting job opportunities in sustainable development. You will answer a set of questions and work through case studies to help you identify the kind of role that suits you.
Wildlife Conservation
The wildlife conservation course teaches you how interactions between animals and their environment keep a whole ecosystem working.
Cultural training and preparation for your humanitarian project
Alongside the theory training, we support participants step by step before they leave. We are here to answer their questions and give them everything they need to settle in and make the most of their programme.
- The Intercultural Integration Handbook, produced with Tingua Argentina, is one example of the documents we make available to prepare you for arriving in another country. It gathers everything useful to know before starting a programme in the city of Córdoba, Argentina.
- Whatever destination you choose, we strongly recommend reading as much as you can on the subject and going through every document we have created to help you. You will then be far better placed to understand what is at stake in the programme and how you can add to its impact.
You will also find plenty of stories and useful information on the Freepackers journal. Do browse it: it will help you picture yourself there.
Whether you want to travel on your own, as a family, in a group or on a youth camp, take a look at all our programmes to find the one that fits you best.
Funding guides
Want to run a humanitarian project abroad on a tight budget? Do not worry, we are here to help. We have put together two documents gathering every funding scheme for international mobility.
Freepackers funding guide
In this document we set out every existing route to funding your project and making it happen.
Specific visas, international programmes, state support, tax relief or fundraising: you will see there are more funding options than you imagine.
Student grants
This second document brings together every scheme available in France for young people who want to join a humanitarian programme abroad. It sets out the grants awarded region by region, with the eligibility criteria and the amounts available.
Our aim is to provide as much information and as many resources as possible, so that international programmes are open to everyone.
Talks and workshops in schools and universities
Because we firmly believe that information and awareness are essential in our sector, we do not just answer the phone: we come to meet you, all across France.
Throughout the year we run talks in schools and universities, attend student and professional fairs, speak at business and engineering schools and take part in events dedicated to employment, inclusion or environmental responsibility.
These sessions set out to inform, to answer questions, to explain what is at stake in a humanitarian project, to present case studies and to share first-hand stories. For us, meeting students and sixth formers to present our programmes is hugely rewarding. It is a rare chance to talk about our values and our hopes for ethical mobility that is environmentally responsible and respectful of people and places.
Do get in touch to arrange a visit to your school or organisation. We adapt our presentations to your projects, your audiences and your courses.
See an example presentation given to nursing students at French Red Cross schools.
To keep up with our news and where we will be, follow us on LinkedIn.
