Are you planning a longer stay abroad or are you unsure for other reasons whether you can "commit" yourself for 2 years? Contact us, we will find a solution for almost everything.

Below you will also find an outline of the program and the time required (subject to change).

2023: In the first year of the program, you will meet with the other participants for the first time at a preparation weekend in November. You will deal with urgent topics such as peace, justice, education, environmental protection or intercultural sensitivity. You will also form a tandem with an international youth ambassador and exchange ideas with him/her.

2024: In the second year you are part of the two-week visit of the international youth ambassadors in Switzerland. As a host, you will discuss with them the issues that concern you and experience fellowship with people from over 10 countries. You will also prepare for your trip abroad.

2025: In the summer of 2025 you will travel for two to three weeks in a small delegation to a partner country of Mission 21 in Africa, Asia or Latin America. You will gain insight into the local way of life and get to know the projects of Mission 21's partners. You will make international friends, acquire transcultural skills, and share your experience with others around you.

It is very difficult to give exact times for the effort of the program, because not everyone needs the same time for the same tasks. We ask you to take this into account. We calculate the following average effort:

2 physical weekends per year
First weekend in March and November, Friday afternoon to Sunday afternoon.

Approx. 20h per year
For online calls, individual self-study, participation, preparation visits/trips, reflection reports.

2024: 2 weeks for visit
The visit to Switzerland is expected to take place from June 21 - July 8, 2024.

2025: 2-3 weeks for foreign travel
Summer, exact date not yet defined

It is not necessary to be religious to participate in the program. Likewise, all religious affiliations are welcome. You have openness and tolerance towards religions and related issues. Since Mission 21 has a Christian background, we also work with many partner organizations or partner churches with a Christian background. Therefore, the trip usually leads to a religiously influenced context. Some participants of the program will travel to Switzerland from this context. Therefore, there may be devotions or church service visits during the program.

Mission 21 works with foundations for the overall program and strives to keep costs low for participants. As a participant you pay 800 CHF as a total amount (200 CHF per year, plus 200 CHF solidarity contribution for people with low income). This includes: Airfare for the trip, as well as room and board during the trip, the weekends and the visit.

Travel costs to the weekends and insurance costs, as well as possible medical clarifications before the trip are also at the expense of the participants. If these financial hurdles are too high for you, please contact us and we will check with you how we can proceed.

The preparation weekends will be held in German. For the contact and the visit with the international youth ambassadors, as well as your trip abroad, a good knowledge of English is also necessary. If you want to make your trip to Latin America, knowledge of Spanish is an advantage.

The following requirements should be met for the 2023-2025 Youth Embassy Program:

• Age: between 18 and 30 years (1995 - 2006)
• Good command of English
• Openness, motivation and willingness to engage in intercultural encounters and embrace new perspectives.
• No health restrictions relevant for travel to Asia, Africa or Latin America

Will you be of age by the time the international youth ambassadors visit (June 2024)? Then please contact us anyway!

Part of the international youth ambassador program is a certificate for inter- and transcultural competence from the Institute for Communication and Leadership (IKF) and Mission 21. To receive this certificate, the youth ambassadors* participate in the preparation and evaluation workshops.

IKF Institute for Communication & Leadership

Mission 21 is engaged in 20 countries in Africa, Asia and Latin America within the framework of sustainable development cooperation as well as emergency aid and reconstruction. This worldwide commitment is combined with programs for intercultural exchange and interreligious cooperation as well as for the promotion of an understanding of global interrelationships. One of these programs is the Youth Ambassador Program, which is organized and implemented by young@mission21. Young@mission21 offers young adults around the world the opportunity to network and thus advocate for sustainable development.

Mission 21 (mission-21.org)

How does Mission 21 relate to its past?

Mission 21 reflects critically on its past and deals with it intensively. That is why Mission 21 manages the in-house research archive on mission history. Likewise, Mission 21 offers various events on this topic, such as the event series "Mission-Colonialism Revisited". It is therefore important to us to do decolonized international cooperation. Mutual learning is in the foreground. In the Youth Ambassador Program, this is reflected in the fact that young adults from Africa, Asia, Europe and Latin America participate and can all take a trip abroad. The program also offers the opportunity to learn about the history and current international cooperation of Mission 21.

On the event series "Mission-Colonialism Revisited".