EVS Project summary The Pater-Damian-Grundschule comprises a nursery school and a primary school; the school forms a compound with a special school in Eupen, which is the capital town of the German-speaking Community in Belgium. We would like to host a European volunteer during the school year 2015-2016, on the one hand to support the learning activities in the nursery school as well as in the special school, and on the other hand to give volunteers the opportunity to gain some reality-based, practical experience regarding interaction with nursery school children and children with special needs. For this purpose, our school has selected a volunteer (18 years old) in cooperation with the sending organisation “4YOU” in Austria; as a matter of fact, she would like to experience an EVS in preparation of her pedagogical studies in Eupen. To achieve these objectives (i.e. to support the learning activities in the school compound, to give volunteers the opportunity to gain some reality-based, practical experience regarding interaction with nursery school children and children with special needs), the volunteer is going to be involved in all duties, which determine the everyday life in a nursery school as well as in a primary school, i.e. participation in the reception, breakfast, lunch, hygiene education, assistance for children speaking another language, learning activities, social integration of children, activities during breaks in the nursery school as well as in the special school. In this way, the volunteer is able to develop pedagogical skills. After the introduction and a short training period, she will get the possibility to become more active and to address the needs of the children rather autonomously, fostering entrepreneurship along with it. By means of participation in team meetings of the pedagogical staff, she may strengthen her teamwork skills; through contact with the children’s parents, she may improve her communication skills. In addition to the improvement of those skills, we hope to foster her independence as she travels alone and is also going to live in her own flat; hopefully, the experience is going to expand her horizon by the intercultural exchange. The value for the coordinating institution consists of the volunteer’s support in learning activities in the nursery school and in the special school as well as the gain of international experience as an organisation.