SERVING ABROAD

The Austrian Service Abroad offers the Gedenkdienst, the Austrian Social Service and the Austrian Peace Service within the framework of voluntary work.
All types of service aim at the permanence of life on earth. The overall key concept is responsibility according to Hans Jonas.

GEDENKDIENST

Gedenkdienst remembers the atrocities of National Socialism and commemorates its victims. Gedenkdiener serve in:

  • Commemoration facilities
  • Museums
  • Think tanks
  • Care homes
  • Non-governmental organizations

relating to the topics of Holocaust, Holocaust survivors, antisemitism and / or the support of Jewish culture and life.

The tasks at the partner organizations for Gedenkdiener are the organization of events, conducting tours, supporting and / or delivering educational workshops, archive and translation work, giving presentations in schools or universities, conducting interviews with Holocaust survivors and their descendants, etc.

Guiding examples of the Gedenkdienst are the Kniefall von Warschau and Simon Wiesenthal.

The core concept of the Gedenkdienst is Memoria (remembrance).

SOCIAL SERVICE

The Austrian Social Service supports people in need, medicine, education, environmental protection, economic development and infrastructure building around the world. Partner organizations of social servants include:

  • Schools
  • Hospitals
  • Rehabilitation centers
  • (Special) care facilities
  • Art centers
  • Rural communities

supporting children, handicapped people, old people, sick people, homeless people and communities.

Guiding examples of the Austrian Social Service are Mother Theresa and Ute Bock.

The core concept of the Austrian Social Service is Misericordia (mercy).

PEACE SERVICE

The Austrian Peace Service serves the attainment and safeguarding of peace. Peace servants work in:

  • Museums
  • Educational centres
  • Non-governmental organizations
  • Libraries
  • Think Tanks
  • Institutions

serving peace pedagogy, peace research, women’s rights, reconciliation and the commemoration of atrocities other than the Holocaust.

The aims of the Austrian Peace Service are the support of minority rights, the non-violents resolution of conflicts, the strengthening of intercultural communication, anti-Racism, the remembrance of native cultures, and more.

Guiding examples of the Austrian Peace Service are Bertha von Suttner and Nelson Mandela.

The core concept of the Austrian Peace Service is Pax (peace).