EIL Intercultural Learning

Anton Kieffer is the Programme Officer responsible for Volunteer Programmes at EIL Ireland. Born and brought up in Paris (France), he studied Geography and Local Development in Grenoble.
In 2003 Anton moved to Ireland where he obtained his Master’s Degree in Development Studies at the Kimmage Development Studies Centre of Dublin, with a thesis on the World Youth Congress 2005 and the empowerment of young people.
He spent one year in Latin America working in tourism and development cooperation.
In 2007, Anton returned to Ireland and joined EIL Intercultural Learning.

Anton is the Coordinator of the vounteer inbound and outbound programmes at EIL. He is responsible for the recruitment and preparation of the volunteers, for developing new partnerships as well as promoting EIL volunteer programmes in Ireland.
Anton is the intermediary between the people who are interested in volunteering abroad and the staff in the field. “I answer their questions, I help them to find a suitable programme, suggesting the best place for them, in relation to their background and experience. I do interviews, then I transmit the application to the local staff”.
 “There have been more than a hundred volunteers this year involving 15 different countries”, he explains. “The volunteer programmes are usually short term, that means from a minimum of 2 weeks up to 11 months. Most of the volunteers are female, 21 to 35 years old, but the number of older volunteers and males has recently increased.”
“We also welcome volunteers to Ireland from all over the world, such as the United States, Germany, Turkey and Brazil. We would really like to receive as much as we send and have people from all the countries where Irish volunteers go”, Anton says. “Unfortunatly, because of immigration laws, programme costs and bureaucracy, this is not really possible for many countries.”

Having been a volunteer himself, Anton is very enthusiastic about giving people this opportunity. “I love receiving pictures from the volunteers and listening to their stories. Volunteering abroad is a life-changing experience. I’m aware of the positive effects on volunteers and on the communities they will be a part of. Volunteering helps people gain another perspective of the world. This is the reason why I love my job!”