XXVII ICYE General Assembly 2011

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The XXVII General Assembly (GA) of the ICYE Federation took place from 7 to 12 November 2011 in Puntarenas, Costa Rica, and was attended by 70 participants, representing 39 different countries, including partners in Tanzania and Togo.

Highlights: acceptance of new Associate Members in Indonesia, Peru and Vietnam; workshops on ICYE’s vision and goals for 2020, programme development; adoption of long-term development strategies for training, quality assurance, impact assessment and documentation of the ICYE programme.

Our heartfelt thanks to ICYE/ACI Costa Rica for the excellent preparation and organisation of this unforgettable event!

For more information about the XXVII ICYE General Assembly please contact the ICYE International Office at icye@icye.org .

EYV 2011 Volunteering Matters

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In the framework of the EYV 2011, Reports by 16 volunteers

EVS project in EU (Austria, Iceland, Spain, Sweden and Turkey ), African (Ghana, Kenya, South Africa, Tanzania), Asian (India, Philippines, Vietnam) and  Latin American (Brazil, Costa Rica, Ecuador,, Mexico) countries.

16 long-term volunteer placements from April to October 2011.

EYV 2011 – Volunteering Matters, on the occasion of the European Year of Volunteering 2011, aimed to take stock, raise awareness and promote the benefits of volunteering programs and practices in the participating EU and partner countries for young people and for society as a whole. By contributing to the activities to mark the EYV 2011 and the IYV+10, this project was  a unique opportunity for the participating organizations  and volunteers to promote their contributions to social and human development at local, national and international levels and to make volunteering a worldwide-recognized and beneficial practice.  The volunteers were based at the national offices of national and international voluntary service organisations. Besides participating in their daily activities and learning about how voluntary service is conducted in that particular society and cultural context, they were exposed to the work and experience of local organizations hosting international volunteers and carry out research and interviews with volunteers and hosts and carried out surveys about history, recognition and impact of volunteering in the respective host country. The dissemination of the surveys and other project results serve to further promote voluntary activities and active citizenship at national level in the participating EU and Partner Countries as well as at European and international level.

We invite you to read the reports of the 16 volunteers that describe and analyse the issues revolving around volunteering and its impact on volunteers and local communities in their respective host countries:

16 Action Research Reports made by the EVS volunteers during EYV 2011

Young Volunteers Contributing to Combating Poverty and Social Exclusion

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EVS project in EU ( Austria, Finland, Hungary, Iceland, Italy, Poland, Slovakia, Spain ) , African (Ghana, Nigeria, South Africa, Uganda), Asian (India, Indonesia, Nepal, Philippines ) and  Latin American (Colombia, Honduras, Mexico) countries.

20 long-term volunteer placements from August 2010 to May 2011

This reciprocal volunteer exchange project, which is dedicated to the European Year for Combating Poverty and Social Exclusion 2010, engages 12 young people from 10 EU countries in voluntary service projects dealing with poverty alleviation and inclusion in 4 African, 4 Asian and 3 Latin American countries as well as 9 volunteers from partner countries in similar projects in 8 European countries. The volunteers work and live  in a variety of  local host organisations such as shelters for street children, orphanages, micro-credit associations, soup kitchens, vocational training centres working with vulnerable groups, disabled care centres as well as migrant institutions, providing access to basic services as well as participating in advocacy activities of organisations and networks involved in combating poverty and social exclusion. By participating in this reciprocal EVS project, the volunteers will get a better understanding of cultural values and social practices in other countries which will have a  long-term impact on their personal development. The host communities will benefit from the time, energy and practical ideas brought by the volunteers, as well as their personal skills and a different cultural perspective.

Project Documentation

As part of their final report, the volunteers filmed part of their experience abroad. Below you can see nine examples of those short films. Enjoy!