Big Society without borders. This is the way how the International Citizen Service (ICS) is called in England. The fact that youngsters spend their sabbatical year abroad brings double benefits. On one hand it contributes to poor country’s development, on the other hand it enables youngsters to gain an highly formative experience for her Majesty’s volunteers. Lunched in 2010 ICS provides for 1,080 positions in 27 different countries for youngsters between 18 and 22 years old with the chance of travelling without any cost, especially for those who have an annual income lower than £ 25 thousands. Since it has been introduced, the think tank Demos published a study that tries to shape the typical volunteer’s profile. The result is a female, white and from a high estate. Government and civil society are eager about the programme but a lot has to be done. A youngster out of 5, for instance, when returns at home has declared that when on mission he felt not useful to the cause. Others admitted that when on mission they felt the sensation of remarking the stereotype of the western charities which instead of helping actually make poor countries even more dependent on the rich ones. Hence, Demos suggests government to improve the quality of the projects and strengthen the training of the staff who assist the youngsters involved.
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