Invitation to the ONLINE ROOTS ROUNDUP WITH EU AID VOLUNTEERS
WHAT: Volunteering during the covid-19 pandemic: Stories from the field
(Online roundtable with EU Aid volunteers)
WHEN: 15.12.2020, 18:00-19:30
WHERE: ZOOM platform. The link to the event will only be sent to registered participants (see below).
HOW: in English and French
DESCRIPTION OF THE EVENT:
Wondering how the global pandemic has affected the missions of foreign volunteers on the ground? Whether they were evacuated or stayed in the host country because of the covid? Join our 90-minute discussion on December 15 to hear the stories of volunteers sent to Turkey, Kenya, Morocco, Albania, and Georgia.
HOW TO REGISTER?
Registration is open until 13.12.2020 via this link: https://forms.gle/4nqfJooUA5UGHykD6
We recommend that you book your place as soon as possible, as capacity is limited. Only registered candidates will be sent a link with an invitation.
PANELISTS
Laura Naw, volunteer at ADRA Albania
Laura spent more than a year in Albania, where she supported the ADRA team in project management. Her secondment was extraordinary not only because of the pandemic but also because of the devastating earthquake in Albania. She recently returned to Italy from her volunteer placement.
Martin Pavelka, volunteer at Small Projects Istanbul
Martin is now in his second year as a senior EU Aid volunteer. During the pandemic, he stayed in Turkey, where he leads a team of 30 local volunteers who help with educational activities for Syrian refugees. In this talk he will discuss how the new pandemic circumstances have changed the dynamics of the work in his host organisation.
Ronan Lucas, volunteer at Association Issaaf Jerada - Solidarité Et Développement in Morocco
During his deployment, Ronan faced a protracted first wave of the pandemic in Morocco. His role in the host organization is to identify opportunities for new projects with an emphasis on social impact activities. Ronan is also studying social economics and conducting his own research on Moroccan civil society.
Andreia Silva, volunteer at Western Focus Community Organization in Kenya
Andreia is a senior volunteer in the Shianda area of Western Kenya. As part of her secondment, she focuses on capacity building and raising awareness of the rights of children with special needs in the communities. We would be hard pressed to find a volunteer who has been more impacted by covid-19 than Andrea.
Karolina Buszko, volunteer at Association Merkuri in Georgia
As a mental health professional, Karolina has developed and implemented programs related to psychosocial support, monitoring and evaluation of projects. Within her host organization, she mainly assisted in a home for victims of domestic violence and in a centre for families. The outbreak of covidu-19 only highlighted the demand for Karolina's expertise, but she had to evacuate back to Poland. Fortunately, she was able to find a way to continue to support vulnerable communities in Georgia.
MODERATOR: Boba Markovič Baluchová
Boba M. Baluchová works as Communications Manager at Ambrela - Platform of Development Organizations in Slovakia. In the past she has worked for UNDP for Europe and CIS, Charity Slovakia, ADRA Slovakia and several European universities. Boba also trains international volunteers in the areas of community development, development journalism as well as media literacy.
If you have any questions about the event or registration, please contact us at volunteering@adra.sk.
ABOUT US
This event is organized by three humanitarian and development organizations ADRA Slovakia, ADICE - Association pour le Développement des Initiatives Citoyennes et Européennes, MTÜ Mondo.
The event is part of the HVA - Humanitarian Volunteers in Action and SUDHAV 3 - Sustainable Development through Humanitarian Aid Volunteers 3 projects. For more information: https://archiv.adra.sk/en/hva_humanitarian_volunteers_in_action/
The project is funded by the European Commission under the umbrella of the EU Aid Volunteers programme, managed by EACEA (The Education, Audiovisual and Culture Executive) and DG ECHO (EU Directorate General for Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations). For more information: https://eacea.ec.europa.eu/eu-aid-volunteer_en
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17.12.2020
What did volunteering, especially during a pandemic, give our five guests, volunteers from Turkey, Kenya, Georgia, Albania and Morocco?
„Accept reality as it is. Gratitude every day. Resilience. The experience of working with colleagues, people from different cultures.“ These were the answers of our guests. Martin, Andreia, Ronan, Laura and Karolina accepted our invitation to participate in an online discussion to answer how they have managed to cope with the impact of the coronary crisis on their postings, their work in their host organisation, but most importantly on their work with the local communities. Their attitudes, their ability to assess the changed reality and especially their role in it were a great inspiration for us.
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The online event is part of the project Humanitarian Volunteers in Action (Humanitarian Volunteers in Action), which is funded by the European Commission under the EU Aid Volunteers and managed by the European Education and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA) in cooperation with the EU's Directorate-General for Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations (DG ECHO) and, from 2021, the Directorate-General for Education, Youth, Sport and Culture (DG EAC).
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