I NTRODUCTION LETTER C ULTURAL V ALUE R ESEARCH (VOLUNTEERS)
If you just want to get an overview of the issues described below, just read the summary at the end of this letter!
Hello folks,
Are you in any way interested in multiculturalism and traveling in general, and in living and working abroad for a longer period in particular?
So, then, this questionnaire is for you! In this Cultural Values Questionnaire, you place yourself into the position of becoming a volunteer. "What is a volunteer?" you will ask.
A volunteer is a young person aged between 18 and 25 who has decided to go abroad for a period of half a year or longer to work voluntarily with an organisation of his/her choice. There are many different programmes promoting voluntary service, and one of them is the European
Voluntary Service Programme (EVS). This Programme is part of the EU Youth Action
Programme. Your stay is funded by the EU and every young person of the appropriate age can practically take part in it. Participating countries are Eastern and Western Europe and the
Mediterranean. EVS in the Mediterranean is part of the Euro-Mediterranean Youth Programme, an independent initiative which is part of the Barcelona Process being implemented in 1999 by the European Commission and the Euro-Mediterranean (MED) Committee to promote mutual understanding and increase cohesion between young people from Europe and the
Mediterranean.
This questionnaire specifically focuses on voluntary service in the Euro-Mediterranean context. So, if you live in Europe, you might think about going to one of the 12 Mediterranean countries included in the programme: Algeria, Cyprus, Egypt, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Malta,
Morocco, Palestine, Syria, Tunisia or Turkey .
If you live in one of those Mediterranean countries, you might think about going to one of the 15
European countries included in the programme: Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France,
Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, Sweden or United
Kingdom.
Why is there a Cultural Values Questionnaire (CVQ)?
The CVQ is designed to explore cultural values of young people in Europe and the
Mediterranean. We don't know much about these values yet, earlier research has pointed out some trends but this questionnaire is far more detailed. That is why the questionnaire is quite long and it takes some time to fill it in. Cultural values become considerably important when being confronted with other cultures. That is why it is so important to explore the values of young people being attracted to a multicultural experience. The results of the questionnaire shall be used to design an intercultural training as a preparation course for future volunteers who will take part in
EVS (in the frame of the Euro-Mediterranean Youth Programme).

Who is conducting the Cultural Values Research?
My name is Sophie Schaarschmidt, 24, a university student at the University of Nijmegen, The
Netherlands. Originally, I'm German, coming from the Eastern part of Germany, but I have lived in the Netherlands now for about 3 years. My specialization is Cultural Psychology, and in the frame of my thesis project I'm conducting this questionnaire research which will help me to set up the intercultural training course.
Having been an EVS volunteer myself in 1997 in Wolverhampton, U.K., I guess I've got some inside information about this experience. Later on I was involved in the establishment of an association for Ex-volunteers in Germany, I have advised young people for the EVS and did an internship at the Dutch national agency for the EVS programme. At the moment, I am an intern at the Euro-Mediterranean Youth Platform (Malta), doing this questionnaire research.
Will the data be kept confidential?
Yes. This is a very important issue. You do not have to put your name and when you send back the questionnaire by post, you do not have to put a sender either. Just send an e-mail at the same time telling me that you sent your questionnaire in by post (so that I know it is you who replied). There is also the possibility to fill in the questionnaire on the internet. This questionnaire is only available in English. When you submit the web-questionnaire, it will be sent to me in an email, not showing your name or e-mail address. In this case it would be helpful, too, if you could send me an e-mail telling me of your reply.
All the data will be processed in a spreadsheet format, so individual answers will not be presented in the results. Still, it is of great importance to answer all the questions carefully and read the instruction very well!
Will I get informed about the results?
At the end of the questionnaire you are asked to indicate whether you want to be informed about the results. There you can give your e-mail address (optional) or you can send me an e-mail later asking for the results. I do not want to burden everyone with a thick information e-mail about the results as not everyone might be interested. So please indicate whether you're interested or not!
Summary
This questionnaire is:
- part of a my thesis project
- designed for young people interested in living and volunteering abroad (especially in
Europe and the Mediterranean)
- strictly confidential
- used for designing an intercultural training
- Please indicate whether you want to receive an e-mail with the results (analysis) of the
questionnaire!
E-mail me: s.schaarschmidt@student.kun.nl