INCLUSIVE VOLUNTEERING PROJECT
The Inclusive Volunteering Project that aims to build intercultural understanding and solidarity through practices of volunteerism that embrace multicultural understanding and solidarity
ABOUT INCLUSIVE VOLUNTEERING
The Inclusive Volunteering Project is a joint project with Loesje Berlin, Ljubljana Pride, YIHR Croatia & YIHR Serbia aims to build intercultural understanding and solidarity through activities involving local communities into practices of volunteerism that embrace multiculturalism understanding and solidarity. It enhances the effectiveness of EU policy tools on inclusion and diversity strategy by positioning volunteering of marginalised groups (especially LGBTIQ+ and racialised people and national/ethnic minorities) as a key tool for promoting solidarity and multiculturalism among EU citizens and beyond.
This is done 3 collaborative events ways:
– Study visit In Ireland
– Conference In Slovenia
– Experimental Seminar in Croatia
These events create a space to explore the concept of solidarity and the importance of volunteering in vulnerable groups and how to support them. The projects have extensively engaged with how volunteering can be used as an effective tool to eradicate homophobia, xenophobia and racism and how to create inclusive environments when working with different stakeholders.
The project highlighted good practice volunteering examples of young people coming from marginalised groups that affected real change in local context, especially in areas of intercultural understanding and solidarity. It emphasised the diverse approaches, methodologies and tools that are employed to promote the concept of inclusive organisations and to strengthen volunteering practices as tools for intercultural understanding and solidarity.
PUBLICATIONS
VOLUNTEERING AS A TOOL FOR AN INCLUSIVE SOCIETY
“Volunteering as a tool for an inclusive society” aims to build intercultural understanding and solidarity through activities engaging local communities in practices of inclusive volunteerism. This project explores how to use volunteering as a tool to deal with homophobia, racism, and xenophobia in the context of NGOs and local communities, as well as how to create inclusive environments when working with different stakeholders. Volunteering of marginalized groups is a key tool for promoting solidarity among EU citizens and beyond, as well as to cultivate more inclusive organizations.
With this manual, the partner organizations want to share useful tools for all sorts of CSOs, with specific value added for the youth sector and local communities particularly interested in getting young people involved in their volunteering activities. The collected best practices they have established in their projects or organizations when it comes to volunteering are a tool for an inclusive society.
RECOMMENDATIONS ON INCLUSIVE VOLUNTEERING
“These recommendations were developed as part of a transnational partnership, funded by the Europe for Citizens (EFC) – European Commission program, involving organizations from Croatia, Germany, Ireland, Serbia, and Slovenia.
Between March 2021 and September 2022, five organizations (Youth Initiative for Human Rights Croatia, INAR Ireland, Loesje Berlin, Ljubljana Pride, and Youth Initiative for Human Rights Serbia) collected recommendations on inclusive volunteering, both via an online survey and during physical events. The majority respondents are young people coming from marginalised backgrounds and identities themselves. We collected 2540 responses and 915 recommendations for decision makers. A lot of recommendations were similar so we compiled them in a way to express their core idea.
EVENTS
OUTSIDE-IN: PRACTICE SHARING IN INCLUSIVE VOLUNTEERING CONFERENCE
Day 1 of the conference was characterised by powerful presentations from a diverse range of organisations. Comhlamh offered the work their organisation does to support value-led international volunteering and development work. You can find their presentation here. Cork Volunteer Centre offered insights from their research on Inclusive Volunteering while drawing on their experience as a provider of placement services for volunteers. On the other hand, Muslim Sisters Eire offered detailed insights into their different programmes, including the Homeless Project and the transformative impact of their work. You can find out more about their work on this flyer. Insaka-Ireland touched on their important work in integrating migrants into Irish society through football. Their presentation can be found here.
On Day 2, Volunteer Ireland shared on European Projects they are involved in focusing on the inclusion of marginalised groups in volunteering opportunities and the benefits of such. You can find out more about this from this flyer. Dublin Volunteer Centre showcased a variety of their volunteer programmes as well as projects tailored to individuals in their old age seeking to give back to society. Bronwyn April shared her experience working with international volunteers on the Score Project during the 2010 World Cup in South Africa. This was focused on centering projects on the agency of the community and allowing them to determine the trajectory of the initiatives. Finally, Farah Elle showcased the healing power of music, exploring the cross-cultural communicative power of songs and the intercultural similarities of such processes.
Building on the showcases, the participatory nature of the conference spurred a lot of insights into what needs to be done to ensure that volunteering is inclusive. After each day of the conference, we asked all the participants to use their experience and what they have learnt to briefly complete the phrase “In order to be truly inclusive, we must…” The responses have been compiled in the wordcloud below.
FESTIVAL OF OPPORTUNITIES FOR YOUTH IN CSOs
This event was hosted by YIHR Croatia, and consisted a series of workshops as well as interactive and networking events. The goal was to promote Civil Society Organisations as inclusive and attractive places for employment, apprenticeship, and other types of volunteering for students and young NEETs. At the same time while increasing the employability of young people who have completed social sciences and humanities qualifications and connecting them with civil society organizations that find it difficult to reach quality staff.
The event a wide variety of events ranging from panel discussions on what it takes to work in CSOs and how to make CSOs inclusive. There were also creative and skill development workshops. Together with our friends at the National Youth Coucil, INAR hosted the Hear Truth Workshop, an interactive workshop exploring how art can be used as a tool for bringing out change.
