Home » APRIL-MAY 2012

May 31, 2012

April-May 2012

E-IAVE

IN THIS ISSUE

FROM IAVE MEMBERS

FROM THE GLOBAL VOLUNTEER COMMUNITY

IF YOU GO TO OUR WEBSITE ON MONDAY JUNE 4...
…you will find that we have opened registration for the 2012 World Volunteer Conference, to be held in London December 10-12.

You also will see information on hotels that have are being recommended to participants.

We will begin announcing speakers and further program details throughout June and in the months ahead – through special emails, E-IAVE, the website and our Facebook page.

IAVE’S NEW STRATEGIC DIRECTION
IAVE’s board of directors is pleased to share this summary of our new “strategic direction” that will guide our work over the next three to five years.

Our Vision.

IAVE’s vision is of a global culture of volunteering that contributes to a fairer, more peaceful, inclusive and compassionate world.

Our Mission.

IAVE’s mission is to enable leaders of volunteering worldwide to stand in solidarity with one another to promote, support and celebrate volunteering in all of the many ways it happens throughout the world.

Our Value Proposition.

Working with a distinctive global perspective, IAVE is the connective tissue through which leaders of volunteering worldwide can share their experiences, challenges and innovations, drawing inspiration and support for their work. 

Together, with them, we are the global network that promotes, supports and celebrates volunteering in all of the many ways it happens throughout the world.

Our Priority Focus Areas.
 Our members
 National volunteer centers
 Businesses committed to engaging their employees as volunteers
 Youth volunteers and those organizations that enable and support their involvement

Our Core Functions.
 Convening
 Knowledge development and dissemination
 Network development
 Advocacy

Working in Partnership.
We place high value on developing strong, sustained, mutually beneficial partnerships with  NGOs, businesses, multilateral organizations and governments that share our belief in the power of volunteering to change the world.  By making this a primary way of work, it enables us to leverage limited resources into significant global impact.

Our Aspirations.
By 2015, we will:

  • expand and better serve our worldwide membership;
  • put in place the Global Volunteer Centers Network;
  • establish IAVE Youth as a globally recognized way for volunteers age 15 to 30  to connect with one another; 
  • grow the Global Corporate Volunteer Council into a truly global leadership network for corporate volunteering;
  • develop a strong online presence that supports our mission and our programs;
  • sustain and enhance our record of high quality world and regional volunteer conferences;
  • be recognized for developing an expanded knowledge base on national volunteer centers, youth volunteering and corporate volunteering;
  • strengthen our organizational infrastructure to better enable us to build the operational capacity to achieve our goals, secure the resources we need and sustain our heritage of strong, effective volunteer leadership.

TRANSITIONS
With the flow of time comes inevitable change in our personal and organizational lives.  Here is a catch-up of significant transitions in the world of IAVE.

Margaret Bell.  Our World President from 1988 to 1996, Margaret has been named as Patron of Volunteering Australia.  This honor recognizes her leadership service over some 25 years for Australia’s volunteer community and ensures your continuing involvement.  Hooray for Margaret!

Anthony Carlisle.  Anthony, who ran the IAVE International Resource Center in Taiwan for six years prior to its closing earlier this year, has moved on to the Garden of Hope Foundation, the largest women's shelter and advocacy NGO in Taiwan, where he is heading the international section.  Anthony also remains a consultant to the IAVE Secretariat, assisting with our website content and management.

Anthony says he is grateful for the experience and many happy memories he gained working for IAVE, and hopes to stay in touch with the wonderful people he met through IAVE's network.  He can be reached at anthonyjcarlisle@gmail.com or still through info@iave.org.

Lluc Marti.  Lluc, former director of the IAVE Youth Office which was located in Barcelona, reports that he is the new director of a 17-year old NGO working with migrant people, with a paid staff of 18, more than 100 volunteers and six locations across Spain.  It is called Sociocultural Association Ibn Batuta, named after a famous traveler born in Tangier who is the "Marco Polo" of the Arab World.  You can learn more at.www.ascib.net.  Lluc can be reached at llucmp@gmail.com

Yoonae Park.  Yoonae is our National Representative in South Korea.  For several years the executive director of Volunteer 21, she now has been appointed CEO if the Seoul Volunteer Center.  Taking her place at Volunteer 21 is Ms. Jeong Hee Sun who previously worked at Samsung and was director of the Seocho-goo Volunteer Center.

The Arab Initiative to Foster a Culture of Volunteering.  Earlier this year, Patricia Nabti, IAVE Regional Representative for the Arab Nations Region announced the end of the program.  In her announcement, she called special attention to three key supporters – the Arab Thought Foundation that provided most of the financial support for the Initiative and gave it a regional base; the Association for Volunteer Services in Lebanon, the primary implementing agency; and, IAVE for our support and endorsement.  To learn more about volunteering in the region, contact Patricia at pnabti@gmail.com.

Volunteering Australia.  Earlier this month, Volunteering Australia, our National Representative, announced major changes.  Effective July 1, their office will relocate from Melbourne to Canberra, the national capitol, and the current staff, including CEO Cary Pedicini, will be leaving the organization.  In the announcement, Paul Lynch, chair of the VA board wrote, “Volunteering Australia will be seeking to strengthen its capacity to represent the volunteering community through reform of its current governance structures and has determined that the organisation will be better placed to do this based in Canberra.”

THE BIG TENT: CORPORATE VOLUNTEERING IN THE GLOBAL AGE
We are pleased to announce publication of “The Big Tent: Corporate Volunteering in the Global Age,” authored by Kenn Allen under commission by the Telefonica Foundation in Spain.

IAVE is deeply grateful to the Telefonica Foundation for underwriting the development, publication and distribution of the book, further extending IAVE’s knowledge leadership for corporate volunteering.

The book is derived from the Global Corporate Volunteering Research Project, which Kenn led, but is not limited to it.  Rather, he draws on over 30 years of experience in the field, his work throughout the world and the research and thinking of many others. 

In the book, he discusses the critical issues facing corporate volunteering as it rapidly globalizes, raising conceptual and practical challenges that leaders in the field need to confront.  He also discusses the sometimes difficult but always necessary partnerships with NGOs that are critical to the success of corporate volunteering.

The Big Tent is available online, at no cost, at http://www.fundacion.telefonica.com/en/que_hacemos/conocimiento/publicaciones.  At the top of the page, you can select either the English or Spanish and find The Big Tent or La Gran Carpa further down in the list of publications.

Kenn would be happy to hear your reactions to it at kenn@civilsocietyconsulting.com.

FROM IAVE MEMBERS

GCVC Spotlight on Corporate Volunteering

ARCELORMITTAL: VOLUNTEERS MADE OF STEEL
[ArcelorMittal has been a member of IAVE’s Global Corporate Volunteer Council (GCVC) since early in 2011.]

The world's leading steel and mining company with 100 million tons of annual production capacity and 260,000 employees across 60 countries, ArcelorMittal, focuses its commitment to the communities through the ArcelorMittal Foundation. The five year old Foundation has supported around 2,800 projects in 30 countries. Its Corporate Volunteer program has become the main priority of its actions.

The Foundation has added an Emergency Aid program, aimed at providing immediate and urgent help to communities hit by emergencies. For example, within the 48 hours after the earthquake had struck Haiti in January 2010, the Foundation offered support to the NGO Doctors without Borders. Now, two years after the earthquake, the Foundation is still in the Caribbean country, building 2,000 shelters able to be upgraded in the future to full fledged permanent homes. Another example is the financial contribution offered to the Japanese Red Cross after the 2011 tsunami to support medical care and relief assistance to the people affected.

Corporate Volunteer Program
The Foundation also promotes volunteer work among the Company’s employees. According to Asier Marquina, ArcelorMittal Corporate Volunteer Program Coordinator and representative to IAVE’s Global Corporate Volunteer Council, “With the volunteer Work Program, we engage our employees with the communities, and together, they work to solve some of the challenges affecting the most needed people from the communities.”

In the framework of its Corporate Volunteer program, the ArcelorMittal Foundation carries out initiatives that allow ArcelorMittal employees the opportunity of feeling the rewarding experience of volunteering, such as the International Volunteer Work Day, the Solidarity Holidays program and the Mini-grants program.

International Volunteer Work Day
The ArcelorMittal Foundation Corporate Volunteer program was born in 2008. “With the beginning of the economic crisis, I proposed to the Management Board that we celebrate the International Volunteer Work Day every December 5th, as designated by the United Nations. At this point, it was a big challenge, but we faced it with all our passion”, explains Felicidad Cristobal, CEO of the ArcelorMittal Foundation.

“On this day, from the moment the sun rises in China until it sets in our western Unit in Lazaro Cardenas – Mexico- our colleagues will have invested some of their time in volunteering.”

As a result, around 8,000 ArcelorMittal colleagues from 30 countries participate in one of the several activities organized each year.

According to Marquina, “The International Volunteer Work Day allows ArcelorMittal employees from all the Company’s departments and positions to invest some hours working together.  This initiative is also a great team building exercise.”  

Solidarity Holidays Program
In 2010, the Foundation wanted to go one step further. “Why not give our employees the possibility of visiting some of our projects abroad while they are volunteering?” Felicidad asked herself. This was the beginning of the Solidarity Holidays program that has turned out to be one of the most famous ArcelorMittal Foundation initiatives for employees.

Within it, the volunteers spend some of their annual leave volunteering. This program offers them not only the possibility of travelling abroad but also to spend an unforgettable time with colleagues from other countries and with local communities. The Foundation organizes the trip and provides transportation, accommodation, insurance and meals.

Months later, the Foundation launched its two initial Solidarity Holidays projects, one in Mexico and the other one in Senegal. The program was officially launched in March, 2011.

Thus far, 130 ArcelorMittal colleagues have travelled to Argentina, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Brazil, China, Haiti, Liberia, Macedonia, Mexico, Senegal, South Africa, Trinidad & Tobago and Ukraine to participate in 15 Solidarity Holidays projects. The Czech Republic, India or Spain will host the next Solidarity Holidays, among others. 

Valérie Carpentier was one the ArcelorMittal international Volunteers who travelled last March 2012 to South Africa. There, she and her colleagues worked hard during one week to build 10 houses for families in need. After her experience, she says proudly: “I received much more than I gave, and, together, we exceeded our expectations!”

Mini-grants Program
“After realizing our volunteers’ passion and commitment to people in need, we decided to launch a new program: the Mini-grants,” explains Felicidad Cristobal. In this framework, ArcelorMittal employees can request a grant up to US$ 5,000 to support a concrete project carried out by the NGO in which they are actively involved as volunteers.

The first edition of this program was carried out in June, 2011 and 73 NGOs from 17 countries received a mini-grant. The second edition this program has been recently launched and the Foundation Team hopes to receive as many applications as possible.

“Through their support of these initiatives, our employees all over the world have shown their strong commitment to our communities and to the Company’s social programs,” concludes Asier Marquina.

COLOMBIA COUNCIL ON CORPORATE VOLUNTEERING  
[This article comes to us from Maria Teresa Gnecco, former IAVE Regional Director for Latin America.]

The Colombia Council on Corporate Volunteering now has 12 member companies from four different cities – Bogota, Cali, Cartagena and Medellin.

As part of our work plan, we are planning to have a National Conference on Corporate Volunteering in Bogota, October 25-26.  We are expecting around 300 participants. We have joined efforts with a Colombian NGO, "Conexion Colombia," whose main purposes are to raise funds for small NGOs and help companies with corporate volunteer programs. We are very enthusiastic about the conference and think that it will be an excellent opportunity to expand the work of CCVC,  increase the number of members and gain visibility.

To learn more about the conference, contact Maria Teresa at mtgnecco@hotmail.com.

AN INVITATION FROM INDIA
[This comes to us from Indira Dasgupta, IAVE Regional Representative for Asia-Pacific.]

Dear Friends ,
 
“We from India would like to invite you to this year's International Youth Peace Festival, where we will be focused on the best ways to motivate and mobilize youth toward a nonviolent, sustainable future. During IYPF 2012, with the support of global and local partners, we plan to make this the most powerful week of activities, speakers and relationships yet.

“To connect the young people beyond geographical boundaries for common good of all, we bring those leaders together to inspire change during our annual International Youth Peace Fest. As we believe there are capable young leaders in every global community who can become catalyst or Agents of Change.”

The festival will be held in Chandigarh, September 27 to October 2. 

To learn more about the program, please go to www.peacefest.in; about Chandigarh, to http://chandigarh.nic.in.  Email inquiries may be sent to yuvsatta@gmail.com or maninder.yuvsatta@gmail.com

THE EXPLORE CLUB OF NIGERIA
[This article came to us from long-time member Claris Nwaejuafo in Nigeria.  She can be reached at xploclub@yahoo.com,]

Explore Club is a non-governmental organization interested in nurturing and promoting positive, intellectual growth and welfare of young people in Nigeria. Founded in August 2004, its sole aim is to groom and inculcate in the youths and children -national virtues of oneness, love, patriotism, self-control, self-confidence, self-reliance, creativity and the fear of God.

The club is for young, promising, talented and inquisitive students, whose innate potentials are harnessed and channeled into positive, effective, beneficial and educative activities. This is because if left un-channeled and untapped, these youths can direct these potentials toward negative tendencies which could be detrimental to themselves, families and the society at large.

OUR PASSION: To make positive impact

OUR VISION: Knowledgeable children / youths empowered for purposeful living

Our Work in 2011

In October, we marked Nigeria’s Independence with a reading session which featured the Honorable Minister of State for Education, Barr. Nyesom Wike, Chairman Board of NCCE, Dr. Jerry Agada, Director General Rochas Foundation, Mrs.Nonye Rajjis-Okpara, Mr. Cyril Stober of Nigeria Television Authority, Mrs. Irene Mbanefo, a Deputy Director in Federal Ministry of Education and Dr. Mrs. Liz Iheanacho of Arts and Culture read with students of Government Secondary School Gwarinpa – Life Camp. A book on Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe was read.
 
From June through December 2011, we  flagged off the FCT “Grooming  the Champions – Readers are Champions” an educational program aimed at restoring, sustaining and promoting reading culture. Here, students were expected to make impromptu speech on any topic picked.  The contest was of eviction model which started with one hundred and four students/ contestants from all the senior secondary schools in FCT.  . Topics for discussion covered topical issues,  curriculum based subjects, personalities, parastatals / agencies / ministries, culture / ethnic groups,  sports / entertainment, citizenship / patrotism, national development, and environmental issues. This programme encourages versatility and promotes reading culture. It is also aimed at building  the confidence of students.  This academic  program which involves all the Government Secondary Schools in Abuja, Nigeria is shown on NTA Channel 5, Abuja every Friday at 2pm and was  rounded off in December 2011.

KEEP-IN-SCHOOL is an educational/community mobilization campaign aimed at increasing enrollment/ retention of pupils in schools as well as promoting reading culture among young people. To achieve this, our organization solicited for support from kind hearted citizens and organizations to curb the plight of primary school children at LEA Primary School Gwarinpa village by donating books, uniforms and other educational materials. To implement this program we went on an educational visit to the school with educational materials and teaching/learning aids which were given to 25 indigent pupils. Exercise books were shared to all the pupils in the school. National Library of Nigeria donated books to the school library while MultiPro Enterprises makers of Indomie Instant Noodle shared out Indomie packs to all the people at the event.
 
Representatives with goodwill messages came from National Action Committee on Read Campaign, Federal Ministry of Education, National Mass Education Commission, FCT Universal Basic Education Board and the Media. Some donors were also present at the event. The event took place on Thursday, 12th May 2011, which was the birthday of the coordinator, by 11am at LEA Primary School Gwarinpa village Abuja.
 
In August, we flagged off “Grooming  the Champions” an educational program aimed at restoring, sustaining and promoting reading culture. The contest will be among the 36 selected contestants in FCT. The program will run on Television and Radio for a period of thirteen weeks. The flagged off ceremony which was performed by the Honorable Minister of Education ably represented by Mrs. F. Awofisayo, a Deputy Director in the ministry of education was well attended by other special guest such as, the executive secretary, NHIS, representatives from NUC, ICPC, NACA, NBS, NLN, UBEC. NCCE.  The occasion held at Cyprain Ekwensi Hall Area 10, Abuja on the 11th of August 2011 by 10am.
 
RESEARCH ON VOLUNTEERING IN ARMENIA
Adrine Shirinyan, who has served as IAVE National Representative from Armenia, tells us that research she conducted for United Nations Volunteers on volunteering in Armenia has been reported in "Understanding Volunteerism for Development in South-Eastern Europe and the CIS," published by UNV in 2011.  It can be found at http://www.unv.org/en/news-resources/resources/on-volunteerism/doc/understanding-volunteerism-for-development.html.

Adrine can be reached at adrines@mail.ru.

FROM THE GLOBAL VOLUNTEER COMMUNITY

CAN YOU COUNT? -- UNV ADDS UP VOLUNTEER ACTIONS FOR RIO+20 SUMMIT
Have you ever felt like your individual acts of volunteering never get noticed? Does your contribution to society slip under the socioeconomic radar? You know you are part of a wider movement, but instead of feeling like a drop in a great ocean, you feel more like a droplet in an amorphous cloud.

If that’s how you feel, now is the time to make your volunteer actions count. With the approach of the UN Conference on Sustainable Development in Rio (Rio+20), June 20-22 – which will hopefully set the goals for the way we will live on this planet over the next few decades – United Nations Volunteers has launched a campaign called Volunteer Action Counts to log all the individual acts of kindness that make a contribution to strengthening communities, fighting poverty and hunger, improving the environment, and promoting peace and justice.

Using Facebook, Twitter, and other social networking sites, you can register your volunteering activities in a few easy clicks. The results of the project will be presented to the thousands of participants at the Rio+20 conference in Brazil in June. In short, you can let the people in charge know what sustainable development issue you're dedicating your time to, and show them how crucial people’s volunteer actions are for the future of our planet.

To learn more and to participate, please go to http://www.volunteeractioncounts.org/en/ .

REPORT FROM THE UNV-IFRC GLOBAL VOLUNTEER CONFERENCE
In October 2011, United Nations Volunteers and the International Federation of Red Cross Red Crescent co-sponsored the Global Volunteer Conference in Budapest, Hungary as part of the ongoing consultation with volunteer leaders worldwide during IYV+10.

The report of that conference is now available at http://www.iyvplus10.org/content/unv-world-volunteer-web/content/outcomes/GlobalVolunteerConferencereport.html.

IAVE played a major role in support of the planning and the program of the conference, primarily through the efforts of Kathi Dennis, our Executive Director.