EFIL, the European Federation for Intercultural Learning, is the umbrella organisation of 26 AFS organisations in Europe, founded in 1971. AFS Intercultural Programs began as the American Ambulance Field Service (later to be known as the “American Field Service” or “AFS”), which was founded in April 1915 to offer help to the wounded during the First World War. Today, AFS is an international, voluntary, non-governmental, non-profit organisation that provides intercultural learning opportunities to help people develop the knowledge, skills and understanding needed to create a more just and peaceful world. AFS’s activities include the long-term secondary host family and school-based exchanges of students and volunteering abroad programmes.

EFIL contributes to Europe’s future by providing intercultural education, European citizenship and the active participation of European citizens in the continent’s life. EFIL provides AFS organisations in Europe with services in 3 areas:

• ADVOCACY

• INTERCULTURAL LEARNING

• ACTIVE CITIZENSHIP
  

Priorities

Expanding access to inclusive and high quality intercultural mobility
Increasing inclusivity, diversification and quality of intercultural learning opportunities
Fostering active citizenship through volunteerism and intercultural learning experiences

Projects

Peace through Exchange and Active Citizenship Education (PEACE)
Volunteer Summer Summit (VSS)
Forum on Intercultural Learning and Exchange (FILE)

Empowering Teachers for Automatic Recognition (ETAR)
From local to European: a Trainers Network for Active Global Citizenship (TAC)