Step Up (Age 14-15)

The Step Up! Camp encourages young people to take a leading role in organizing multicultural activities. Using the CISV Peace Education the  camp’s themes, such as identity, democracy, or environmental protection.

The Step UP! Camp invites nine delegations from around the world. Each delegation consists of two boys and two girls plus their adult Youth Leader. The Step Up! Camp is planned and run by adult staff of the hosting CISV Chapter in collaboration with the delegations themselves.

Taking part in Step Up! Camp gives your child the amazing opportunity to learn about intercultural issues that affect us all. How can we make groups of people realise we are more alike than different? How can we promote peace? What difference can one individual make in a community?

Children are encouraged to think about how they themselves can use their newly acquired knowledge and leadership skills to make positive change in their own school or community.

Above all, we believe children can only learn about these challenging issues by having fun and actively working together. Therefore, Step UP! allows ample time and opportunity to have fun and make new friends from around the world.

Maybe we can ask Juliette?

The Step Up! Camps are typically hosted at a school hostel that is vacant over the summer holidays. The children share a room with at least one other child of the same biological gender.

During the weekend children stay over at a host family. The host family is a member of the local CISV Chapter.

In line with our CISV values, we strive for mutual respect and equality. Kindly inform the Program Team about your child’s (tendency to) gender dysphoria so that we can anticipate on this.

A Step Up! camp of 23 days has been proven to be the time needed for children to fulfill the Peace Education goals of the Step UP! programme. First we give the children time to adjust to their new environment. Once they feel comfortable, the activity program can move to the deeper Peace Education aspects.

While more than three weeks may seem long for parents and care-givers, children report that the weeks “flew by”. The children are entertained with discovering new things and making new friends. From their point of view the time passed quickly.

Yes, the children’s designated supervisor is their delegation’s (adult) Youth Leader. The Youth Meeting is planned and run by the adult staff of the hosting CISV Chapter and the Youth Leaders.

All adults who are physically present at the Step Up! Camps and interact with the children are checked on good behavior following the child protection policy and procedures.

You will bring your child to an pre-agreed upon location to meet his/her delegation and (adult) Youth Leader. The Youth Leader then travels with the delegation of four children to the Step Up! Camp by public transport. This can be by train, bus and/or airplane. The mode(s) of travel and itinerary are jointly decided upon by the parents and caregivers of the delegation’s children.

CISV has been successfully organising Step Up! camps since 1985. We have a child protection policy and procedures, which are regularly reviewed and updated.

CISV Belgium has its own additional child protection procedure that is in line with the Belgian national legislation and requirements.

Our child protection and risk management procedures ensure that:

• All programme staff and leaders are dilligently screened and police-checked, in line with national procedures and international standards
• All programme staff and leaders are locally selected and trained to international standards
• Confidential references are reviewed locally
• All children under 16 travel with an adult leader aged over 21
• Hosting families are carefully screened by CISV members

The cost of the Step Up! camp consist of three components, next to the CISV membership:

• Step Up! cost as set by hosting CISV Chapter. The Chapters aim to keep the fee standard. In 2024 the going-rate was €? per child per  Step Up!. This fee is “all-inclusive”, and covers: accommodation, three meals a day, drinks and snacks, supervision and entertainment.
• Travel cost for your child from home country to the hosting country and back. Please read “how will my child travel to the Step Up! Camp” for more information.
• 25% of the youth leader’s travel costs, insurance, a national fee and an international fee.

Only children who are a CISV Belgium member are eligible to attend a  Step Up! Camp. Our yearly membership fee is €80 per family. A CISV membership is non-binding for both parties; meaning, a membership (i) does not guarantee that your child can attend a  Step Up! nor (ii) binds your child to attend a  Step Up!.

The cost of attending a  Step Up! in 2023 were:

CISV is a Peace Education Program with so-called “Chapters” all around the world. Some countries have multiple chapters. The Chapters decide for themselves whether or not they are going to organise a Step Up!.

The Step Up! Camp is organised by adult volunteers, who are mostly parents and care-givers of current CISV members, as well as former CISV children who are now adults. The Youth Leaders of the eight delegation also guide the children.

CISV Belgium makes an inventory of the invitations received, which delegations they can form and can send out to Step Up!. Below you can read more about the formation of delegations and who can go where.

In February/March 2025, the CISV Belgium’s Programme Team, shares with its members:

• from which countries we have received Youth Meeting invitations
• which children form a delegation together
• which delegation attends which Step Up! Camp (when and where)

Please read “How Step Up!s are organised” and “Selection criteria” for more information on how the Program Team’s decision-making process, procedure and guidelines.

The Step Up! camps take place during the summer holidays. The exact starting date is determined by the host country. In February/March it is announced to which Step Up!s our Belgian delegation are invited. We then receive the starting date and the Step Up! cost.

All camps are the same all over the world. Only the location, starting date and travel costs vary. CISV Belgium does not offer you the possibility to choose the Step Up! your child is going to attend.

However, when signing up for a CISV membership, you can opt for a “European destination” or an “Out-of-Europe destination”.

In 2025, CISV Belgium is not hosting a Step Up!; for sure, the Step Up! will be outside of Belgium.

A CISV Membership obliges your child and you to nothing. We can also not guarantee that your 14- or 15-year old can attend a Step Up! Camp.

Please inform us when your child is having second thoughts in the lead up to the Sleepover Weekend in February. If your child in the end did enjoy the Sleepover Weekend in February, then (s)he can be certain that (s)he will enjoy the Step Up! Camp abroad.

When the Sleepover Weekend proved to be “too much” then, please inform us immediately as the delegations are formed at this time. Once delegations are formed and assigned to a Step Up! Camp it is difficult for us to make changes.

We strive to give all 14- and 15-year-old members the opportunity to attend a Step Up! Camp abroad. It can occur that we have to make a selection between candidates for a Step Up! Camp. In CISV Belgium, we apply the following selection criteria:

• Age: only 14- and 15-year-old members can attend a Step Up!
• Maturity: your child needs to show a level of maturity congruent with her/his biological age.
• Motivation: at the CISV local meetings, our youth leaders observe your child’s attitude towards interacting with others and her/his engagement in the activities. It should be clear that your child enjoys our events as it’s a good precursor of how likely it is that your child will enjoy (similar activities at) a Step Up! Camp Note, shyness and introversion are not selection criteria.
• Taking part in the preparation activities (critical): first, we only feel comfortable sending children abroad whom we believe will enjoy a  Step Up! Camp abroad. For this, we need to know your child and cannot send children abroad who we have never met. Secondly, at the local events, children can bond with other (potential) members of their delegation, giving children confidence and a sense of safety when going abroad. Thirdly, the local meetings prepares your child for a Step Up! Camp

When all criteria mentioned above are met, we maintain the following prioritiy ruling:

• Family involvement: active involvement by the caregivers of our child members. CISV is a volunteer-based organisation; by supporting CISV, you give other children an opportunity to go abroad. It is in this spirit that children whose caregivers actively support CISV mission receive priority over others.
• Date of subscription: Children whose family membership have been completed, which includes membership fee payment, before 31 December of the previous year have priority to candidates that subscribed closer to the starting date of the  Step Up! Camp.
• Belgium-based: while we do not look at candidates’ nationality, we do give priority to children living in Belgium.

When all criteria mentioned above are met, we maintain the following prioritiy ruling:

• Family involvement: active involvement by the caregivers of our child members. CISV is a volunteer-based organisation; by supporting CISV, you give other children an opportunity to go abroad. It is in this spirit that children whose caregivers actively support CISV mission receive priority over others.
• Date of subscription: Children whose family membership have been completed, which includes membership fee payment, before 31 December of the previous year have priority to candidates that subscribed closer to the starting date of the Village.
• Belgium-based: while we do not look at candidates’ nationality, we do give priority to children living in Belgium.

Taking part in the local events perpares your child for her/his Step Up! experience abroad. These meetings help your child get acquainted with CISV and meet peers with whom (s)he may form a delegation.

We consider these meetings mandatory. It allows us to observe who seems motivated and ready to go abroad independently and which children have a natural attraction to one another.

A so-called Delegation Hang Out is organised for a delegation that will go to a Step Up!. This event allows the children to get to know each other better prior to their adventure abroad. The hang out is organised by the youth leader and is only with the delegation.

Our goal is to form delegations of children who will enjoy attending a Step Up! abroad.

Typically, the meetings take place on a Sunday afternoon, once a month during the school year.

In autumn a family day is hosted for children and parents and care-givers to meet one another.

In the beginning of the year a weekend away within Belgium is organised. This weekend allows the Youth Leaders and the children to spend quality time together and really get to know each other. Participation is mandatory with only school travel obligations or sickness being a valid exception.

The common language at the Step Up! Camp is English. The stronger your child’s English comprehension and speaking abilities the more likely it is (s)he can make friends and will enjoy the camo.

We encourage you to make your child familiar with English, boosting their (social) confidence when abroad. Though the camp is not a language camp, the international experience will improve your child’s English tremendously in a short period.

We invite parents and care-givers to come and meet us at multiple occassions throughout the year. These occassions are indicated on the calendar. CISV Belgium representatives are happy to introduce you to our organisation and answer all your questions.

There are several information sessions for parents and care-givers and we advise you attend all meetings.
Usually the last weekend of September, we convene a general information session.

In February/March, at the start of the preparation weekend, we hold a second information session where we provide preliminary costs of camps and ask parents and care-givers to confirm whether you expect your child to go in Europe (this includes Belgium in 2025) or outside Europe.

In March, we convene a meeting to announce who will be attending a Step Up! Camp, with whom your child forms a delegation, the location, starting date and cost of the Step Up! Camp.

The Program Team is happy to answer your questions. You can reach us at: info-participants@cisv.be

Please take into account that the Program Team consists of volunteers, mostly parents and care-givers of CISV members. We wholeheartedly support the CISV Peace mission while juggling a busy family and work life. We do our best to answer your question as soon as possible.