Circusplaneet is a community circus space where people work together in a creative and cooperative atmosphere. We believe that hosting EVS volunteers greatly adds to the fulfillment of Circusplaneet's mission: developing and spreading circus as an art form, offering young people a chance to develop both physically and mentally, and actively promoting positive projects that are beneficial for the world in which we live. We also want to create a network with other youth circusses in Europe. European volunteers are a stepstone in this proces. Within this European framework, we plan to explore and expand our knowledge of how circus can be used as a tool for community building. The volunteers will be involved in this exploration and will be able to contribute to the research and to the practical realization of this network-project. This project offers 2 volunteers the chance to learn in a non-formal learning environment how to become circus teachers, use circus as a pedagogical, social and creative tool and discover how circus can be used to create a more open and positive society. We selected 2 candidates for this project and strongly believe that both Laura and Sean will benefit from joining our team. Laura Harrison is 20 years old and lives in Glasgow. She has experience in dance, various circus techniques and has already been working with young people from diverse backgrounds and with varying mental and physical abilities. She wants to work on various learning outcomes: learn Dutch, develop teaching skills, improve her personal circus skills, learn how circus has an impact in social inclusion and explore how movement and dance can be incorporated into contemporary circus. Sean Smyth is a 24 year old Irish young man now living in Glasgow. He is currently working with a circus company called Bright Night International as part of the Commonwealth Youth Circus and is particularly interested in social circus (circus trainings and activities with children who have fewer possibilities) as he would like to become a youth worker. During his stay with Circusplaneet, he wil work on learning Dutch, becoming a better performer, and develop Clowning and other circus teaching skills, particularly in a social circus environment. He wants to use Clowning for workshops but also as a tool for enhancing social cohesion in high tension environments. The 2 EVS volunteers will join the Circusplaneet team for 11 months, from October 2014 until the end of August 2015. This way, they will get the chance to experience a complete circus year and all the activities that are organized during that period. The duration of the exchange is also necessary to give the volunteers the chance to become acquainted with the organization, learn the language, become a trainer, learn to work within a small team, organize events and performances and get involved in different social circus projects. At the beginning of the project, a personal learning agreement and action plan will be drawn up to make sure all the parties involved know what the project is about. The participants will be individually supported during their stay by a staff member and a mentor. The progress of the project and the individual learning pathways will regularly be monitored and evaluated. At the end of the project, the volunteers will be assisted in (self)assessing their learning outcomes and completing their Youth pass. We expect this project will have its impact on the EVS volunteers, on Circusplaneet as an organisation and on the participants of courses and social circus projects. The exchange will also increase the knowledge Circusplaneet has about how circus can be used as a tool for community building and will thus enrich the international network of youth circusses we want to build.