Planet Club F.A.Q. (Frequently Asked Questions)

1. About the Planet Club and the www.planetclub.hu website
2. A community based on support
3. Organizations and opportunities
4. Articles and essays
5. The network
6. Consultation
7. Going abroad
8. The basic functions of the webpage
9. Organizations accepting volunteers

1. About the Planet Club and the www.planetclub.hu website

1.1 Who runs the www.planetclub.hu?
www.planetclub.hu is the website of the PLANET Club Hungary, which is run by PLANET Foundation, a non-profit foundation, located in Budapest, Hungary.

1.2 What is the mission of the PLANET Club?
The goal of the PLANET Club is to provide a platform for long term intercultural experiences (see 1.4), which can help to shape us into people ready to accept the challenges of living in a multi-cultural society and to understand the world around us better. PLANET Club supports the entry of its members into the non-profit sphere (see 1.5) and the responsible for-profit sphere, by the means of publishing volunteer ships and internships in these realms on the www.planetclub.hu website.
In this, the PLANET Foundation supports the running of the Club and the website, through its database of opportunities and the financial support of members going abroad.

1.3 Who founded the Planet Club?
The PLANET Club was formed in August 1999 by 95 fresh college graduates from 34 different countries. The Club members were paired up, one Hungarian with one international student and each international student spent a half-year working on an internship in Hungary, following which the Hungarian spent a half-year performing an internship in the country of their pair. The original members also took part in six international conferences, in which the recurring theme was sustainable development. It was in 2003 that the PLANET Club received a new impulse of activity, when it adopted the mission and the sphere of activity that it has today as a Foundation.

1.4 What is an intercultural experience?
To spend an extended period of time in a culture that is different from the one in which you have grown up – your home culture. According to the EU definitions, this involves a minimum of at least three months spent in the given culture. In this period, it can become possible for the person to pick up new customs and even a new outlook on life. At the same time it can become possible to view the home culture also from the point of view of someone looking from the outside in.

1.5 What is Civil Society?
Civil society contains foundations, unions, organizations that handle issues that are either marginally dealt with by state or for-profit organs, or not dealt with at all. Civil society groups serve the interests of either all or a particular segment of society. Civil initiatives are frequently brought about through the cooperation of individuals and citizens, but other types of initiatives exist as well, for example George Soros’s Open Society International (OSI). In these cases as well, it is important that the organization represents interests and deals with issues of value to the population at large.


1.6 What is the PLANET Foundation?
In 2000 Planet Foundation was registered as a not-for-profit foundation, which yearly offers volunteer opportunities and intercultural experiences (see 1.4) to and ever increasing number of people.

1.7 Who can become a member of the Planet Club?
One of the requirements is to come in for a personal meeting and registration at the Planet Foundation office. We kindly request a call before hand, so that we can be sure to allow the necessary amount of time needed for registration. In a nutshell, we tell the enquirer about us, ask a few questions from him/her, such as his/her wishes for volunteer placements or any special needs he/she has. They also have a small form to fill out. This meeting is important from the point of view of clarifying our work, finding out more about the applicants, and thus being able to offer the best possible service. Registration usually takes less than half an hour. Our office is located in Budapest, Wesseleny Street 26. Please call beforehand at this number: (+36)1-268-9856.

In the event that you don’t live in the Budapest area, we will of course still be able to accommodate you, simply drop us a line by email or call us on our office phone.

1.8 Can I also invite somebody to the Planet Club community?
Certainly. As a member of the Planet Club, you may invite anyone whom you think would be interested to become a member. He or she will still need to go through the regular registration procedure (see 1.7)

1.9 Who can see my personal information?
Apart from the Planet staff, only other Planet Club members can see your personal information.

1.10 Who can see my telephone number, address, birth date?
Certain pieces of information, such as telephone number, address, birth date, are up to the member to decide, whether they can be seen even by other members of the community. Random surfers on the net can not see them in any case. And if the member decides so, then only the Planet Foundation staff will be able to see them. One can determine these things in personal settings.

2. A community based on support

2.1 What is a support-based community?
The most fundamental aspect of this community is the ability for the members to share knowledge with one another. A certain field of knowledge that one Planet Club member possesses can be beneficial to another member, as far as providing general questions about volunteering, handling certain issues or planning for the trip abroad. The community brings together people who have questions with those who have answers. Planet Club members can be searched for according to various criteria which belong to the personal profile of each member. The profile was developed at the point of registration and possibly updated later on.


2.2 Why should I share my experiences?
An economics principle:

Knowledge is the only asset that if you give to others, it won’t run out, but multiplies!

That which has been described and phrased into words has more significance than the experience that we simply carry around within ourselves. Shared knowledge, available at a suitable location, can inspire many. A developing discourse can bring new knowledge to the surface, causing everyone to benefit.

2.3 How can I support others?
Complete your profile in sufficient detail, write articles and essays about your experiences, upload organizations and opportunities to the website that you have come into contact with and finally, respond to members of the community who approach you with their questions.

2.4 How will others support me?
In the same way, the information and experiences that others have shared are available to you as well, as you peruse the articles listed on the site. If you have particular questions, then contact the appropriate person via member search, and chances are you will receive the answers you are looking for.

2.5 Why is it a closed community?
The community is not all that closed, as membership is open to anyone (see 1.8). It is simply a community based on an initial personal contact, where we are able to find out more about the members and their needs and wishes, as well as helping them to better understand how the Planet Club functions. Another aspect of the personal introduction is that as we get to know the many new members, we are continuously learning more about the desires of the community, while receiving new ideas on how to best manage community life.

2.6 How does the community organize itself?
The community life is generally organized through the Internet. Instances of community life can be both online and offline. We consider personal points of contact, such as slide-show evenings or community events, to be of great importance. If you are looking for points of contact with others, based on your goals, dreams or experience, or even if you just want a good party, don’t hesitate to contact others. Community life is also organized through the forum and the newsletter.

3. Organizations and opportunities
3.1 What organizations/opportunities can I find on the website?
A manifold of organizations active in civil society around the world as well as responsible for-profit organizations are listed on our pages.

3.2 How do new opportunities appear on the website?
From two sources: Ongoing research and development of international contacts on behalf of Planet Foundation, as well as the opportunities that the Planet club members have found.

3.3 How can I apply for an opportunity?
Announced opportunities need to be applied for individually with the hosting organization. Help in this area can come through the experience of other members, consulting with the Planet Foundation staff, as well as the related topics in the forum or articles.

3.4 Can I also upload opportunities/organizations?
Yes. In fact this is one of the best ways you can contribute to the lifeline of the community.


4. Articles and essays

4.1 Why are so many articles listed on the website?
Articles are one of the main formats in which the knowledge of members are made available to others through the website. You can find many useful and interesting facts as well as find pleasure in reading travel accounts.

4.2. Why shouldn’t I write about my experiences to the forum?
A well-written article can more easily provide the full picture as well as being easier to locate under a single heading.

4.3. How many articles should I write?
As many as are needed to usefully and precisely share your experiences with others. It is advised, especially regarding practical matters, to write in a way that can be easily read and digested by others, thus offering useful and sometimes powerful advice.

5. The network

5.1. How is Planet Club a network?
Every member of the community knows at least one other person at the time of registration (for instance the staff member present during registration). In the course of time, any two arbitrary Club members will almost certainly have some connection through their respective networks of acquaintances. The offline programs also allow for points of personal contact and further networking among volunteers and would-be volunteers. We also support the existence of subgroups or working groups, as long as these correspond with our general goals.

5.2. How do I find acquaintances?
You can search according to name in the name search, or you can wait until someone searches for you. You can also search for other members based on their location, languages they speak, regions of the world they wish to travel to and more.


6. Consultation

6.1 What does a consultant do?
It is the job of a consultant to offer help to the Planet Club members. You can turn to them with any question you have at any time. Planet Foundation employees are generally the ones offering consultation.

6.2 Can I also be a consultant?
In the future we will further develop the scope of consultation and the number of consultants. Meanwhile if you have any questions or ideas, write to us at info@planetclub.hu.

7. Going abroad

7.1 How can I go abroad?
You can respond to any of the opportunities listed on the Planet website. If an organization gives you the green light, then you already have an opportunity waiting for you abroad. Furthermore, the Planet communities as well as the Planet Foundation employees are there to offer support and encourage you in your attempts.

7.2 How can I apply for financial support with the PLANET Foundation?
Planet Foundation on occasion offers the opportunity to apply for scholarships to support travel costs. Such an application is made together with a positive response from an organization, or based on the particular conditions given in the scholarship announcement. When such a scholarship is up and running, it will be posted on the website as well as announced in a newsletter. We also encourage club members to research other possibilities for support, especially during the periods where we are unable to provide travel scholarships.

8. The basic functions of the webpage

8.1 The newsletter

8.1.1 How can I sign up for the newsletter?
The newsletters sent out to the whole community are sent to every email address. We will also send you an email announcing a new volunteer opportunity, in the country or within the field of activity of your choice. These are automatically generated when we upload a new opportunity, and you can configure your preferences in the personal settings area.

8.1.2 What does the newsletter contain?
Newsletters, sent from time to time, inform our members about local events, scholarship opportunities, special programs and other things of interest to the Planet Club community.

8.2 My personal settings

8.2.1 How can I change the information given in my personal profile?
In the personal settings area you can change and update everything, as often as you like. We would also encourage you to update your profile, in the event that you are currently abroad, engaged in a new voluntary assignment, or if there is anything else happening in your life that could be of interest to the rest of the club members. This way you can be in a better position to help others, and the same will be valid vice-versa.

8.3 The forum
Is the forum moderated? No. But we would like to encourage you not to exceed the limits of decency and common courtesy, as this can only produce an unpleasant atmosphere and eventually lead to exclusion.

9. Organizations accepting volunteers

9.1 What kinds of organizations generally contact us?
Planet Foundation has built an international network of hosting organizations worldwide. We are looking for international organizations that could offer various work experiences to our volunteers in wide range of social fields. Besides the primarily work experience of the volunteers our aims are to raise awareness of young people in Hungary towards social and global challenges facing a many different societies and communities in the world and to strengthen their skills to the civic participation.

9.2 How does it work?
If you are an organization that would like to provide us with a job or voluntary work opportunity to make known to our Hungarian members, please contact us via email: info@planetclub.hu. We will publish your announcement on our website and e-mail our suitable candidates about the opportunity.

9.3 How can an organization change its own information?
Send us an email with the new information (info@planetclub.hu). Soon it will be even easier after registering your organization on our website.