Would you like to know what the impact of volunteering is on the communities in the countries where volunteers work?
Join our online event EUAV volunteers' footprints in local communities and you will learn:
- How do local people react to the presence of humanitarian volunteers?
- How to prevent the volunteer's assumptions from being confused with the needs of local communities?
- In times of pandemic, is it possible for online volunteering to equally replace volunteer presence in the community and much more?
Join our 90-minute roundtable on 25 February to hear from our guests, EU Aid volunteers. You will have the opportunity to find out how issues such as violence against women, the physical health of people from disadvantaged backgrounds or computer literacy are being addressed through volunteering in different parts of the world.
The language of the event is English and French (simultaneous interpretation).
Registration information can be found below
Guest: Michaela Rossmann, Senior EU Aid Volunteer in Nepal
Michaela was seconded by EUAV to Volunteers’ Initiative Nepal (VIN), where she spent 6 months before her pandemic prematurely ended her secondment. As Senior Volunteer Coordinator and Manager, she implemented best practices for volunteer management in the processes, support structures and trainings of the host organization. An important part of her secondment was to conduct workshops on sexual harassment and violence against women in collaboration with other volunteers.
Janek Samberg, EU Aid volunteer in Ghana
Janek was seconded to Northern Ghana in 2019, where he is working as a digital competency teacher at an ICT centre set up in partnership with the Estonian non-profit organisation Mondo, KoCDA and the Ghana Education Service. His secondment was put on hold for some time due to the pandemic, but he is now back in Ghana where he continues his good work. His main task is to maximize the sustainable use of the centre so that the schools and the community as a whole can benefit as much as possible from it. He coordinates the work at the centre and also mentors the incoming coordinator and helps him to keep the centre open and functioning well for the benefit of the whole community.
Arancha Ferrer de la Cruz, EU Aid volunteer in Albania
Arancha is currently on her second deployment as an EU Aid Volunteer in Albania. Her role is to provide physiotherapy to those who do not have access to it due to social exclusion or economic reasons. During her first year, she worked with 30 patients aged between 3 and 80 years old who suffered from functional mobility impairments, which limited them in various activities. In addition, she was involved in training sessions where she trained 30 unemployed women in home care for family members with disabilities.
MODERATOR: Boba Markovič Baluchová
Dr. Boba Markovič Baluchová works as a communications manager for the Slovak platform of development organizations - Ambrela. In the past she has worked for the UN Development Programme in Europe and CIS, Caritas Slovakia, ADRA Slovakia and several European universities. Boba also conducts trainings for international volunteers in community development, global journalism as well as media and information literacy.
How to register?
The event will take place via Zoom. A link to the event will be provided after registration.
Places are limited and registration is open until 24 February 2021 at this link:
-for English-speaking participants: https://forms.gle/Ltd27UGan7RYkSWz7
-for French-speaking participants: https://forms.gle/rSGF7oLuT2iXqN1S7
If you have any questions about registration or the event itself, please contact us at volunteering@adra.sk.
About Us
The event ‘Footprints of EUAV volunteers in local communities’ is organised by three humanitarian organisations: ADRA Slovakia, ADICE - Association pour le Développement des Initiatives Citoyennes et Européennes, MTÜ Mondo.
This event is part of the HVA - Humanitarian Volunteers in Action and SUDHAV 3 - Sustainable Development through Humanitarian Volunteers 3 projects.
For more information: https://www.adra.sk/…/hva_humanitarian_volunteers_in…/
The project is funded by the European Commission under the umbrella of the EUAV programme, which is managed by the Education, Audiovisual and Culture Executive Agency in cooperation with the EU's Directorate-General for Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations and the Directorate-General for Sport, Youth, Culture and Sport.
For more information: https://eacea.ec.europa.eu/eu-aid-volunteer_en
We look forward to seeing you!
What footprint did our 4 guests, EU AID volunteers, leave in their host communities?
(26.2.2021)
Michaela in Nepal, Janek in Ghana, Andrea in India and Arancha in Albania revealed at yesterday's discussion what their volunteering has given to the locals, but also to themselves. Moderator Boba opened the topic from several perspectives. For example, our guests answered what their footprint was in numbers, how many people their activities reached, or how the feedback they received from the volunteers speaks volumes about their impact. How much their activities, innovations or changes are able to endure over time, i.e. after their departure, also says a lot about their footprint. And what have been the responses?
Some interesting thoughts:
- „You can't be a real asset without first really understanding how the locals work and how everything around you works“;
- „Sometimes we have to accept that some things cannot and should not be changed. We have to adapt and do what can benefit these people“;
- „The shift doesn't happen overnight, people need to be drawn in and feel that what we are building really belongs to them and serves them“;
We have not bypassed the topic of the impact of the pandemic on their postings. While Michaela was unable to resume remote activities after her forced departure, Janek's departure and the big break after his return helped him see a real shift and most importantly he was able to resume his activities without difficulty. Arancha persisted in Albania, although she was unable to attend to patients for some time, she made the most of her time to help the local government during the first wave of covid-19. Andrea's covid-19 thwarted the implementation of her micro-project, she did not give up and supported colleagues in remote activities.
We thank our guests for the stimulating discussion and wish them every success in their continued posting or in their future lives!
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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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