Teen photo marathon in Iceland
Reykjavik, Iceland 10 projects from June to September
Volunteer project: This is the 18th year (since 2008) that series of International Photo marathons are organized! Throughout the year, participants from all over the world come to Iceland for an immersive photography-focused learning camp. The coordinators help the participants to develop their unique photographic skills through workshops and feedback sessions on technical settings, compositional considerations, as well as to create conceptual frameworks highlighting each participant's individual style.
Participants will have time to put the theory about photography into practice while exploring the city. At the end of the camp, the best photographs from each participant will be selected for an online exhibition.
While learning about photography, the participants have the opportunity to explore Icelandic culture through active participation: capturing it, engaging with it, and showcasing their work throughout the camp. One of our goals is to empower young people to use photography to highlight environmental and cultural subjects and issues.
Participants should be ready to spend time outdoors walking medium distances during activities and working within a flexible time schedule. They will be photographing in their free time outside of workshop hours with images to be discussed at group feedback sessions. Participants should bring their own digital cameras, lenses, tripods and laptops if possible.
This project is open to participants aged 16 to 20. The program combines learning, sharing, getting to know Iceland and its culture, and having fun while exploring the city and some of the most stunning natural attractions in the Golden Circle and Reykjanes Peninsula excursions. We will visit spectacular waterfalls, geysers, impressive coastline, a volcano crater, the Thingvellir National Park and much more.
Please note that this project is a learning/sharing camp and not a regular workcamp; it has a smaller work part and emphasizes the personal learning process over the community impact. We may be able to organize some outdoor voluntary work, but it depends on our partners and the weather conditions.
Language: English
Leisure time: Additional excursions (e.g. Hot River Hike or the South Shore) can be arranged at discount fares depending on time availability, weather conditions, and the number of participants interested in joining them.
Accommodation: The participants will stay in a house in Reykjavík. The facilities are basic with an equipped kitchen, dining and living room, bathrooms, showers and a washing machine. As participants sleep in shared rooms with up to 6 people, everyone is expected to behave considerately. Please note, the food provided is vegetarian.
Location: Reykjavik is a dynamic, modern city which lives in harmony with nature, using renewable energy sources. The world’s northernmost capital bridges the Atlantic between Europe and North America. Reykjavík is spread across a peninsula with a panoramic view of the mountains and the Atlantic. It is an international city with a lively cosmopolitan cultural scene surrounded by beautiful nature.
The projects in June and July happen around the summer solstice, when the sun hardly sets and the nights are almost as bright as the days. The bright nights are magical and staying awake enjoying the beautiful surroundings is a unique experience.
Terminal: Closest international Airport: Keflavík/Reykjavík (KEF). Bus station: Central Reykjavík (BSÍ).
Age range: 16 - 20 years old
Extra fee: 550 Euro for the project from June 5; 650 Euro for the projects after June 14;
The fee includes transportation from the meeting point to the project site (on the first day), as well as the Golden Circle and Reykjanes excursions.
The extra fee is intended to support the local host of the project and needs to be transferred no later than one month before the start of the project.
All available dates for this project:
June 5 - June 13, 2025
June 14 - June 22, 2025
June 23 - July 1, 2025
July 2 - July 10, 2025
July 11 - July 19, 2025
July 20 - July 28, 2025
July 29 - August 6, 2025
August 7 - August 15, 2025
August 16 - August 24, 2025
August 25 - September 2, 2025
Nature experience camp for teens
Vassieux en Vercors, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, France July 13 - July 26, 2025
Volunteer project: The project is based in an outdoor nature camp in the heart of the Vercors Regional Natural Park, a protected area of forested mountains in the Rhône-Alpes region of southeastern France. All kinds of projects have been hosted here through the years, with one goal: to allow everyone to discover life outdoors. The site has become an educational eco-place about the biosphere and renewable energies. Since 2011, the camp has been hosting groups of young volunteers who have come to carry out work in the context of environmental protection and renewable energies while living a collective outdoor experience.
Last year, a shared pond project was initiated on the site in order to provide response to periods of drought. You will therefore participate in the preparation, installation and filling of the pond (creation of gutters, installation of the liner, etc.) The second week, you will participate in the organization of the puppet festival by creating a theatrical event. This project will allow you to use your creativity and your sense of responsibility. You will be supervised by two campleaders as well as volunteers.
Language: English
Leisure activities: With the help of the group leaders, you can organize numerous leisure activities: group games in nature, hiking, visit to local producers, visit to a recycling centre. The Vercors plateau was a major site of the French Resistance during the Second World War. A museum dedicated to the history of the maquis will allow you to discover this part of local history.
Accommodation: You will be accommodated in tents on the camp site and you will have sanitary facilities and showers on site. An outdoor kitchen and living space will also be available. To facilitate relations within the group, cell phones, by mutual agreement, will only be available for one hour per day. With the help of your campleaders, you will actively participate in the organization of daily life. As much as possible, meals will be prepared using local and organic products corresponding to the special attention paid by the camp to the management of resources, waste on site and the origin of food. In this context, you will certainly reduce your consumption of meat during the project, and thus your impact on the planet.
Location: The campsite is located a few miles from Vassieux en Vercors, a mountain village at over 1000m altitude.
Nearest bus/train station: Die
Age range: 14 - 17 years old
Extra fee: 430 Euro