The project „ Europe grows closer“ within the European Voluntary Service gives young Europeans and people in Germany an understanding of other cultures and supports their acceptance, tolerance and respectful acquaintance. As the foreign participants will live in Germany for 10 months another aim is acquiring competences to manage daily life abroad, dealing with a foreign culture, rules and traditions, far away from home and family. It means meeting big challenges. Possible results are strengthening the self-assuredness of volunteers, responsibility for their own acting, working in a team, and organize their own life. For the participants and all German people involved being part of this activity means, to deal with their own wishes, ideas and prejudices regarding the work in their hosting organizations, the daily life in Germany , the culture of this country, and to accept being changed by this. The 8 young people in the age from 21 – 25 years will come from Ukraine, Belarus, Russia and Italy. They will be hosted in chidren care centres and a youth club. During their voluntary service they will learn about different methods how to work with their respective target group. They will gain some experiences about wishes and goals of young people in Germany and may compare them with their own lives and the way of living in their home countries. All people involved will get some insight into a country that so far they have only known as tourists or never before have travelled to. The participants will achieve social and cultural competences. With the tutors’ support they will learn how to plan and facilitate own projects. The young people will get acquainted with all fields of work and involved into practical activities. The hosting organizations thus get the opportunity, to give their clients an understanding of Europe; this is not pure theory, but will be done through practical experience. The volunteers will live with other European and German volunteers in shared flats. In this way they will not only learn about Germany, but also about other cultures of Europe and about living together in a community. At the end of the voluntary service there will be an evaluation meeting with tutors, volunteers and mentor in the hosting organizations. In this meeting they will look back to the beginning of their voluntary service, their goals and wishes at this time, their way during the voluntary service until the end. Developments will become visible and they can check whether their goals and ideas about the voluntary service have become true. This meeting is the basis for writing the Youthpass, which every volunteer will receive at the end of their service.