Sharing Best Practices on Global Volunteerism

SHARING GLOBAL VOICES
FEB 21st - 22nd 2011

REPORT

Table of Contents
Title Page
Background 3
Opening Statement 4
Meeting Objectives 5
Agenda 5
Participants’ Expectations 5
Ice Breaking Activity 5
Official UNV as a Focal Point for IYV+10 Presentation 5
The European Presence 6
2011 Planned Activities 6
Share Fair 7
 Part 1 – 3 minute Presentation
 Turkey 8
 Jordan 8
 Brazil 8
 Rwanda 8
 Belgium 8
 Australia 8
 Poland 9
 Latvia 9
 Ecuador 9
 Malta 9
 Senegal 9
 Burkina Faso 10
 Sweden 10
 Namibia 10
 Nepal 10
 Portugal 10
 Burundi 11
Feedback from the Share Fair (expressed on Day 2) 11
Presentations from Participants 12
o Nepal 12
o Portugal 12
o Brazil 12
o Australia 12
DPI / NGO Conference 13
World Café Group Activity 13
UNV Slogans 14
Social networks for Continued Communication 15
Way Forward 15
Concluding Statement 15
Annexes 17
1. List of Participants
2. List of IYV+10 Team/ UNV Organising Team
3. Sharing Global Voices – Agenda
4. IYV+10 Sharing Global Voices Presentation
5. Recommendations from the World Café Session
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Report for Sharing Global Voices Meeting – 21st - 22nd February 2011

“Sharing Global Voices” Meeting
21-22 February 2011

Final Report

Background

The Sharing Global Voices workshop was convened by UNV at the occasion of the tenth
anniversary of the International Year of Volunteers (IYV + 10) and of the European Year of
Volunteering 2011 (EYV 2011). On this occasion, UNV wished to provide an opportunity for
northern committees and southern committees and coordinating bodies marking the 10th
anniversary of the International Year of Volunteers to meet, exchange experiences, learn
from each other and network with each other.

The main objectives of this two-day meeting co-funded by the Youth in Action Programme of
the European Commission, are to ensure wide information-sharing among participants,
provide an opportunity for mutual learning, share good practices (including through a “Share
Fair”), discuss specific topics related to volunteerism, and share activity plans for 2011 and
beyond. The latter is of special significance as we plan towards two plenary meetings of the
sixty-sixth session of the United Nations General Assembly in December 2011 to be devoted to
follow-up on the International Year of Volunteers and the commemoration of its tenth
anniversary. The Share Fair will also provide an opportunity for UNV staff at headquarters to
get a stronger sense of action ongoing and planned across the world.

The meeting was attended by 17 national committees, totalling 21 participants, as follows:
- 6 national coordinating bodies for the European Year of Volunteering 2011 (NCBs)
from the European Union: Belgium, Latvia, Malta, Portugal, Poland, Sweden;
- 11 national IYV+10 committees from: Australia, Brazil, Burkina Faso, Burundi (2
representatives), Ecuador, Jordan, Namibia, Nepal (2 representatives), Rwanda,
Senegal, Turkey
- The European Commission was represented through the DG Education and Culture,
Youth Program and European volunteer involving organisations promoting the EYV
2011 were represented by EYV Alliance.

Simona Costanzo Sow, IYV+10 Project Manager, and her project team organised the Sharing
Global Voices meeting with the support of UNV. The event was co-funded by the Youth in
Action Programme of the European Commission. Mr Henri Fourcault from Better
Management Practice was the Facilitator of the meeting. The list of participants is attached
in Annex 1.

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Opening Statement

Flavia Pansieri, UNV Executive Coordinator, delivered the opening statement. She began by
welcoming the participants and noting the great achievements of volunteer organisations
around the world since 2001; the International Year of Volunteers (IYV). She reminded the
audience that when the international community first decided, 10 years ago, to celebrate an
International Year of Volunteers, it focused on four key pillars for action: recognition,
facilitation, networking and promotion.

In an attempt to replicating the success of the many and varied committees involved 10
years ago, she explained that this meeting would be the first in the year of the 10th
anniversary of the International Year of Volunteers (IYV+10) to engage a number of IYV+10
national committees as well as some of the National Coordinating Bodies (NCBs) involved in
marking the European Year of Volunteering (EYV2011).

Ms. Pansieri reiterated to the participants that the main objectives of this two-day meeting
were to ensure wide information-sharing among participants, to provide an opportunity for
mutual learning, to share good practices (including through a “Share Fair”), to discuss
specific topics related to volunteerism on a local, national and international level, and share
planned activities for 2011 and beyond.

She outlined the key events planned for this year, including the DPI / NGO Conference
scheduled for 3-5 September in Bonn, and emphasized the special significance of the two
plenary meetings of the sixty-sixth session of the United Nations General Assembly in
December 2011, which will be devoted to follow-up on the International Year of Volunteers
and the commemoration of its tenth anniversary.

She compared the celebration of IYV+10 to potentially being seen in the same light as the
single event of letting off a firework which is beautiful for a certain period but then fades.
She encouraged the participants to instead see this year as the spark that ignites the fire of
volunteering and let their continued involvement beyond 2011 stoke the flames that will last
for many years to come.

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Meeting Objectives

The objectives of the workshop were framed as follows:
 Ensure wide information sharing among participants and deepen partnership;
 Provide an opportunity for mutual learning;
 Share good practices and activity plans for 2011 and beyond and;
 Discuss specific topics related to volunteerism

Agenda

The workshop took place over two full days, starting at 9h00 and ending at 18h30 on the first
day and at 18h00 the second day. The agenda is attached at Annex 3.

Participants’ Expectations

At the beginning of the workshop, participants were asked to state their expectations of the
programme. Their expectations followed similar themes and can be summarised as follows:
 Exchanging good practices among participants in:
 Strengthening the capacity of National Committees to promote volunteering
 Using volunteers to support the MDGs
 Dealing with governments so as to be able to contribute to development
efforts as well as influence policy and legislation.
 Networking beyond the meeting and IYV+10 so that all participants can continue
supporting each other and share information.
 Learning from each other, both when it comes to dealing with difficult situations and
also sharing best practice strategies.
 Raise awareness of the Volunteer networks which can be formed through attendance
of meetings such as Sharing Global Voices.
 To share ideas for planned activities for IYV+10 and beyond.

Ice Breaking Activity

The Facilitator encouraged the participants to engage with each other in an informal manner
by sharing their names, the country they were from, their roles in volunteerism and
something unique about themselves. This activity highlighted for all the breadth and depth
of the calibre of participants present and uncovered some very unique talents indeed.

UNV as a Focal Point for IYV+10 Presentation

Simona Costanzo Sow presented a consolidated view of the ideas behind the declaration of
2011 as IYV+10 along with the four pillars and what they mean in the context of
volunteering. Part of the content also included a list of various stakeholders and planned
activities for the year ahead. The dates and locations of the four regional meetings were
discussed as well as the Global Conference scheduled for June in Kenya. Please refer to the
presentation in Annex 4. A generic presentation on IYV+10 can also be downloaded from
www.worldvolunteerweb.org
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The European Presence

Frode dal Fjedavli, Programme Manager at the Youth in Action programme (DG Education
and Culture) of the European Commission, introduced the European Year of Volunteering
2011 and the European Voluntary Service (EVS). He highlighted that this year was more
about awareness rather than any kind of political undercurrent or agenda. Some of the
challenges he spoke of in the European context were the disparity between what volunteers
wish to do to engage in their community and the opportunities which are available. He also
highlighted the fact that the European Union does not recognise the concept of full-time
volunteers and so government and social benefits such as health care are not extended to
volunteers.

The presentation also brought to the fore the idea that experiences gained by a volunteer
are outside the scope of formalised education and oftentimes this type of learning is not
recognised. Mr Dal Fjedavli outlined the 4 objectives of the EYV 2011 and advocated for the
communications tools which are available for National Coordinating Bodies within the EU to
access. He also encouraged other participants from outside of the EU to access the
information to gain some ideas and further promote their activities.

Céline Barlet, from the EYV2011 Alliance, then presented the experience, challenges and
good practices of the EYV 2011 Alliance, emphasising that the perception people generally
have of volunteers is often not aligned with the full potential of what volunteering can
achieve in a society.

The objectives of the Alliance are to coordinate civil society in Europe, develop a policy
agenda for volunteering in Europe, provide for mobility and capacity building as well as to
disseminate information. Ms Barlet also described the 6 Working Groups of the Alliance
which have two co-chairs per group.

2011 Planned Activities

Using a clothes line as a time line, divided into 12 sections from January to December,
participants were asked to tie with clothes pegs the main activities they planned for this
special year. The result was a colourful long line of hanging papers, each containing an
important activity to mark IYV+10. We will be formatting this into a yearlong representation
of the planned activities.

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Share Fair

The workshop included a share fair- an opportunity for all participants to share information
and materials from their organisations on IYV + 10 and get to know each other better and to
engage each other in one-on-one discussions on their respective experiences, thus enabling
them to learn from each other.

The Share Fair, and it took place on the afternoon of Day 1. The Share Fair was organised as
follows:
- Part I was reserved for participants only and lasted two hours. They first spent half-
an-hour setting up their stand with posters, brochures, bags, snacks, drinks and a few
artefacts. For the remainder of the time, with everyone sitting in a circle, each made
a 3 minute presentation of a few activities, challenges and good practices. It was
quite a moving and bonding experience. They then spent the rest of the time visiting
each other’s stands for more interaction.
- Part 2 was opened to UNV staff for the purpose of giving them a unique opportunity
to meet and get to know better the people and national committees with whom they
interacted by email or telephone from their offices. Around 50 UNV staff came to
the Share Fair. Each National Committee representative made a 1 minute
presentation, after which everyone mingled and engaged in more in-depth individual
discussions.

UNV cameramen were present and filmed the Share Fair and reporters interviewed several
participants.

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Part 1 – 3 minute Country Presentations

Turkey – At present the country is trying to establish an IYV+10 National Committee and
activities for the year ahead will flow from that established body.

Jordan – The National Steering Committee for IVD is now acting as the Jordanian National
Steering Commitee for IYV+10. Although a relatively small committee, they are seeking
government support as youth unemployment is a huge challenge being faced in Jordan. This
poses a large obstacle to volunteerism as it is seen as a threat to gaining paid employment
which is culturally more of an emphasis.
One best practice which was shared was that the Princess Basma Youth Resource Centre liaise
with the private sector to better structure their volunteer programs so that volunteers get the most
out of their experience.

Brazil –The activity which was shared was the visual poster campaign which parallels the
volunteer service that the planet performs to those activities done by volunteers. There is
also a National Conference planned for March which will culminate in a volunteer march.
The challenges which were mentioned included the raising of funds to allow for a nation-
wide survey to be conducted on volunteerism. Monitoring the number of volunteers in Brazil
and also engaging in dialogue with government at all levels was also seen as a challenge.
A best practice which was shared was the alliance formed with the Brazilian Corporate
Volunteer Council to assist in gaining information on how corporate companies deal with
volunteers.

Rwanda – Formalised volunteering is a relatively new concept in Rwanda as it was previously
seen as a social responsibility. A proposed activity for IYV+10 is to recruit a group of Youth
Volunteers who will tour the country to promote the Millennium Development Goals.
A challenge that is faced in Rwanda is that unemployed youth are reluctant to volunteer as it
is seen as a disadvantage in gaining paid employment.
One best practice was the formalisation of a volunteer structure by the Ministry of Youth.
There are also plans to engage in a Volunteer Mapping exercise and there will be volunteer
awards presented during the year.

Belgium – The three language group (German, French and Flemish) all have their own
committees. The ‘I Volunteer’ activity is planned to encourage youth to engage in or
continue to volunteer. There will also be special volunteer activities on the ‘Day of Europe’ in
May.
An example of a best practice is that the makeup of the board draws from many sectors
including social, corporate and government.

Australia – There were many initiatives outlined including the State of Volunteering in
Australia Report, the Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Communities Program and an
online self-assessment program for governments (local, state and federal) to assess how
they can better integrate volunteers and volunteering opportunities into their operations.
A challenge that was articulated was that in profiling volunteers it became apparent that
sometimes it appears the government takes volunteers for granted.

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A best practice which was shared was the Victor Online database which allows volunteers to
be matched with volunteer opportunities.

Poland – During the EYV 2011, Poland will be hosting the closing ceremony in Warsaw. This
will allow the NCB to showcase the different types of volunteering that exists within the
community.
Challenges that exist include the lack of one definitive research paper that articulates the
impact of volunteerism on society. There is also a low level of prestige attached to
volunteering in Poland as it used to be a State ordered activity every citizen had to do and as
a result without adult modelling, the youth have inherited the idea that volunteering is not
‘cool.’

Latvia – The participants were encouraged to visit Latvia on Europe Day in May to see for
themselves how volunteering works in that country as there is an excellent action plan for
volunteering.

Ecuador – The volunteer activities in Ecuador have included tree planting programs to
combat deforestation and the formation of a joint volunteer writing group. It is estimated
that in excess of $1bn worth of work has been completed by volunteers which equates to 45
times the investment by government into community development.
At present there is no concrete law related to volunteering and that is a challenge they wish
to overcome. Aspirationally, there is a desire to have a formal volunteering framework
accompanied by legislation to show that volunteers truly are having an impact on
development of the country.

Malta – Volunteer events occurring in Malta this year include employee supported
volunteering activities during May and a web portal which has been developed to offer
volunteer organisations support.
A challenge has been the need for reform and amendments to the current volunteer laws of
Malta.
A current best practice is the work being done with the Maltese skills recognition committee
to have those skills which volunteers gain during their service be officially recognised.

Senegal – There are many volunteer initiatives already in existence in Senegal including a
large National Committee which promotes and coordinates volunteers. There is also Civic
Services program which allows young people to be associated with volunteer activities for at
least two years and is being used as a way of combating poverty. Senegal is also developing
and promoting the idea of senior volunteers, drawing from the wealth of knowledge and
capacity elders in the community have to provide.
Two best practices which were shared included the use of a Global Village system where
ideas from around the world were gathered and reviewed for use in Senegal. There is also a
program to recruitment Senegalese nationals from overseas to come back to their country of
origin and bring with them their skills, knowledge and willingness to help in the further
development of the country.

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Burkina Faso – During this year, there is a film festival to promote volunteerism and other
such activities designed to attract the attention and engagement of young people. The
Institute of Volunteers have regular meetings which aim to bring people together to
promote and celebrate volunteers and volunteer activities. Burkina Faso has a concrete
volunteer framework and accompanying legislation.

Sweden – Volunteering in Sweden is part of the culture with 50% of the population engaged
in some form of volunteering. There are university degrees and courses available which are
based on the concept of volunteering. This year, the town of Uppsala has offered discount
cards to volunteers and there has also been the development and retailing of a special
volunteer cake.
The challenges faced in Sweden include a lack of funding for volunteer programs yet there is
a constant reliance by government for volunteers to fill in the gaps they leave in community
development initiatives.
A best practice is the regular distribution of a volunteer newsletter that provides information
and updates on volunteer activities and opportunities.

Namibia – The concept of volunteerism has been recently formalised as previously,
volunteering was seen as a societal responsibility. After a meeting in 2008 of the
International Volunteer Day (IVD) Committee, issues were identified and discussions about
formulating a volunteer framework led to the drafting of a volunteer policy document. There
is currently a Volunteering for Development Volunteer Committee in Namibia which
facilitates discussions about volunteering as well as activities and opportunities for
volunteering.
The challenges which are faced include the battle people have to be able to volunteer due to
their impoverished state, however as Namibia is internationally ranked as a middle income
country, it is very difficult to attract funding to further develop volunteering in the country.

Nepal – The formation of the National Development Volunteer Service means that
volunteers have been able to create a link between the community and the government.
A challenge that was identified was the balance between the formalisation of volunteer
activities and involvement and the often times spontaneous need for volunteers.
The best practice shared is the national initiative of a National Volunteer Steering Committee
to oversee activities related to IYV+10 and volunteer activities.

Portugal – The results from two studies which have been done into volunteering have
resulted in a better understanding of local volunteering as well as a bank /interface between
volunteers and organisations which need them. The National Council to Promote
Volunteering is also very active in Portugal. Portugal also has an online volunteer page with
6, 000 people signed up as ‘fans.’
Engaging youth in volunteer activities is seen as a challenge and efforts are being made to
promote it as a ‘cool life practice.’
A best practice initiative is the linking of the preceding and following European Years to EYV
2011.

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Burundi – A commission has been formed in Burundi to decide on the formation of a
National Committee for volunteering as there is currently no formal coordination of
volunteer activities between the organisations active in that country.
Engaging youth is also a challenge in Burundi as this is seen as an obstacle to paid
employment.

In concluding this first part of the Share Fair, Simona Costanzo Sow thanked the participants
for their interesting and informative contributions. She was pleased to see that so many
countries recognised that IYV+10 was not a single event in itself but part of a continuum in a
volunteering landscape which has previously existed and functioned and will continue to do
so beyond 2011. The idea of discounts for volunteers in lieu of payment was cited as a great
initiative as was the idea of Senior Volunteers. Ms Costanzo Sow referred to an initiative in
the host city of Bonn where children teach senior citizens how to master various forms of
technology such as computers and in return the seniors teach the children about the city of
Bonn and its history.

Feedback from the Share Fair (expressed on Day 2)

Mara Basanovic – Australia It allowed for a better understanding of the commonality of the
issues facing volunteerism in each country.
Elsa Maria Pires Chambel – It was a great way to highlight that although the participants are all
Portugal from different backgrounds, they share one spirit.
Dace Ratniece – Latvia The question was asked as to the involvement of the other EYV
2011 NCBs to which the reply was that all were invited but only 6
attended.
Robert Farrugia – Malta The global makeup of the conference was useful so that participants
can learn from each other and see how volunteering is working in
other contexts.
Ertugrul Senoglu – Turkey The Share Fair was found to be a peaceful and friendly platform
from which to gain information and knowledge from each other.
Aleksandra Krugly – Poland Pleased that this event was being framed as the start of contact and
information sharing rather than one single event.

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Presentations from Participants

The following committees made extra presentations on their National Committees
experiences:

Nepal – The existence of several national level trusts dating back to the 1950s was
explained as was the fact that the Government of Nepal also has several volunteering bodies
which oversee activities such as the mandatory graduate volunteer service program;
Nepalese students are required to engage in a period of compulsory volunteering before
being able to attain graduate status.
The rural and private sectors in Nepal also have volunteer representative bodies which allow
volunteers to assist in development all over the country. Volunteers were able to access
areas where the government was unable to during the internal conflict and this has left the
legacy of volunteer work being done particularly in rural areas. Volunteers in Nepal are
usually given a small stipend to sustain themselves.
Volunteer goals are closely aligned with the MDGs and Nepal encourages the presence of
international volunteers as well the return of Nepalese nationals living abroad. Nepal’s
IYV+10 activities and promotions have attracted many members and partner organisations.

Portugal – Pictures of the EYV 2011 event held in Lisbon from the 3 rd – 9th February
were displayed. It was also explained that in August 2010, 51 representatives from civil
society and government formed the National Committee for Volunteering. During IYV+10
there will be 10 volunteer awards, Portuguese television will be promoting 10 programs per
week which feature the theme of volunteering. Further to this, phone cards, stamps and
individual sugar packets have been designed to promote volunteering.

Brazil – The Brazilian Corporate Volunteer Council is made up of members who each
have their own volunteer programs but come together to share ideas and initiatives with
each other to further develop their programs.
A seminar which was held in Rio de Janeiro on the 2nd December 2010 launched IYV+10 in
that country and saw the development of a volunteer campaign. The posters which highlight
the volunteer nature of the planet were displayed during the presentation and there are
plans to share the banners on a world-wide scale so that they may be customised and used
in other countries.

Australia – In 2001 for the International Year of Volunteers, there was a government
representative appointed and a volunteering network was established as well as resource
centres. AUD$42m was spent in promoting the year whereas in 2011, the funding has been
AUD$1m ($200,000 from the Western Australian Government.) This limited financial
assistance, however, has resulted in a creative and collaborative network being formed. At
the meeting of Federal Ministers later in March, it will be highlighted that the challenges
faced by volunteers and volunteering organisations are still the same as in 2001 and that
further funding and that encouraging people to take part in volunteer activities (for which
they should be recognised) should occur in a fun, safe and enjoyable environment.
It was highlighted that 97% of volunteers go online to find their volunteer opportunities and
that 60% of volunteers are between the ages of 18-34.

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Whilst the State of Volunteering Australia (SVA) Report will assist in gaining a national
definition of what volunteering is, however as it does not include statistics on Australians
who volunteer on an international basis, corporate volunteers or government volunteers,
the UNV State of the World Volunteering Report will also be used to lobby government.
Volunteering Australia is still looking for better ways to capture both formal and informal
ways in which volunteering helps the community so as to be able to draw a more holistic
picture.

DPI / NGO Conference

The Chief of the UNV Partnership Section, Marco Van Der Ree gave a presentation on the DPI
/ NGO Conference scheduled for 3-5 September 2011 in Bonn. The Conference Theme will
be “Sustainable Societies; Responsive Citizens”. This event is designed to serve as a liaison
between the UN and other NGOs and will be hosted in the context of IYV+10. There will also
be consideration given to other UN environment agencies which operate in Bonn and
therefore will highlight the sustainability angle. It is hoped that a call for action document is
one of the results of the conference. A request was made that all participants encourage
potential involvement in the DPI-NGO conference by national or international civil society
organizations they are aware of.

More information in relation to the conference will be uploaded onto World Volunteer Web
as well as the Sharing Global Voices teamworks page. The Polish representative also offered
to share the information with the Eastern European and Caucasian Partnership
Organisations.

World Café Group Activity

Most of the morning of Day 2 consisted of a World Café group activity. Four themes were
explored at four tables, each facilitated by a UNV staff resource person:
 Influencing volunteerism policy and research agenda at the national level (Robert Toé
UNV);
 Mobilising different stakeholders and sustainability of partnerships beyond 2011
(Peter Devereux UNV);
 Organising high-level events (Francesco Galtieri UNV);
 Effective advocacy for public awareness (Ibrahim Hussein UNV).

Participants were asked to spend around 30 minutes at each table and come up with
recommendations that they would then bring to a counter that had 4 boards, each with a
theme. If the ‘shop assistants’ deemed their recommendations worthy, they were rewarded
with chocolate money. Before ‘paying’ for the ideas, ‘shop assistants’ were asked to first
check the quality of the recommendations and to turn down duplicate recommendations
which may have already been posted on the thematic boards by other groups. Starting with
an introduction to and summary of the deliberations of the groups having discussed the
same theme before them, in order to build on each other’s content, the facilitators remained
at their table the whole time and engaged each new group around the same theme. In this

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way all table groups, rotating around the four tables, had an opportunity to discuss all four
topics.

In the afternoon, the four facilitators presented a summary of what had come out of the four
groups that had stopped at their table. Following the four reports, it was agreed that the
office of the IYV+10 Manager would summarise the recommendations emerging from the
plenary discussions that followed facilitators’ reports, then circulate them among
participants for additional comments, thus facilitating the production of a single set of
recommendations coming from the workshop. These recommendations can be found in
Annex 5.

UNV Slogans

Philip Sen, the Communication Officer for IYV+10 facilitated a group activity aimed at
identifying the preferred slogan for IYV+10. Participants had to choose between 5 possible
slogans:
 Inspiring millions of others
 Volunteers + 10 : It all adds up
 Volunteering: a whole new world
 Discover what volunteers can do
 Discover the volunteering difference

After several rounds of group selections, two slogans stood out from the others, as follows:
 Volunteering: a whole new world: 11 voices
 Discover what volunteers can do: 8 voices

The Communication Officer indicated that this was not a binding vote, but that the results
would be taken into account to inform the final selection.

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Social Networks for Continued Communication

World Volunteer Web (www.worldvolunteerweb.org) was presented by the IYV+10 Project
Manager as a tool to engage stakeholders. She called for participants to use the tools and
information available on the site to engage further in IYV+10 activities as publications,
including the logo, power point presentation and brochure are all available to be
downloaded.
The UN Volunteers facebook page was also highlighted (www.facebook.com/unvolunteers)
and the participants we called upon to contact Philip Sen if there was any content that they
may wish to have linked or promoted on that page.

Mr Benjamin Kumpf from the Volunteer Knowledge and Innovation Section (VKIS) explained
the Teamworks tool which is connected to the UNDP. A Sharing Global Voices page has
already been created and all participants were invited to join. This will provide a space and
an information sharing platform where documents, photos and discussions can be uploaded.
It is hoped that the Teamworks platform can be used to exchange good practices especially
in overcoming challenges, how to use volunteers to support the MDGs as well as networking
and having continued contact with other participants.

The question was put to the participants as to whether they had any other suggestions for
keeping in contact.
There was a general request for the email list to be distributed and proactive engagement in
the tools discussed was encouraged.

Mara Basanovic – Australia: Suggested that a workshop be scheduled for February 2012 to
reflect on IYV+10 and share ideas for ways of continuing the momentum.

Ertugrul Senoglu – Turkey: Requested that participants invite each other to attend
activities/events/conferences they were involved in or hosting or at least keep each other
informed of such activities.

Way Forward

In her conclusion, Simona Costanzo Sow, the IYV+10 Project Manager, outlined the process
that would be followed to bring closure to the World Café group work articulated around the
four themes that were debated by participants in the morning of Day 2. She also
encouraged participants to stay in touch with each other and urged them to continue in their
efforts at the national level to overcome the challenges they face by staying united beyond
this workshop. She stressed that volunteerism was a largely untapped potential in support
of MDGs and that Sharing Global Voices should be seen as a landmark on the continuum of
volunteer effort and partnership.

Concluding Statement

Naheed Haque, UNV Deputy Executive Coordinator, gave the concluding remarks. She
congratulated participants for their engagement during the two days of the workshop and
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thanked them for their attendance. She also noted the great expansion registered in the
volunteer work around the world since 2001. Ms. Haque emphasised that this year was key
in making sure that the momentum generated would continue beyond 2011. She also noted
that sustainability had emerged as a common theme and applauded the desire of the
participants to initiate ways in which interest generated during IYV+10 could continue.

Ms Haque also referred to paragraph 17 of 2010 MDG summit Outcome Document which
highlights the fact that governments should be committed to recognising civil society
organisations and the impact of volunteerism (“17. We call on civil society, including non-
governmental organizations, voluntary associations and foundations, the private sector and
other relevant stakeholders at the local, national, regional and global levels, to enhance their
role in national development efforts as well as their contribution to the achievement of the
Millennium Development Goals by 2015, and commit as national Governments to the
inclusion of these stakeholders.”).

In particular, she stressed that the two plenary sessions of the General Assembly in
December 2011 in New York, dedicated to the follow up of IYV, would make a big difference
for the cause of volunteerism and that it is a huge honour to have those two sessions
dedicated to the topic of volunteerism.

Ms. Haque reflected favourably on suggestions made during the workshop:
 the possibility of organising a parallel summit in December in New York to bring
together volunteerism and civil society;
 the formation of a World Volunteer Coalition to encourage cooperation on a global
scale, and;
 the possibility of having a volunteer song for the world, that would serve as a rallying
anthem.

Ms Haque also made mention of the multi-media exhibition to take place at the New York
Headquarters during the UN General Assembly in December, in which to showcase the work
of volunteers around the world. She also implored the participants to give thought to the
types of visions and plans of action which might be able to be presented at these General
Assembly sessions in December 2011.

Ms Haque finally thanked all of the participants, staff and interns for their valuable
contributions to the Sharing Global Voices Meeting and closed the meeting.

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Annex 1 – List of Participants

NAME ORGANISATION National Committee Email
Mara Basanovic Volunteering Western Australia Volunteering Australia ceo@volunteeringwa.org.au

Liza Gernaey Vlaams Steunpunt Vrijwilligerswerk, EYV 2011 National Coordinating Body liza.gernaey@vsvw.be
Belgium (Flanders)

Heloisa Coelho Riovoluntario, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil Rede Brasil Voluntario (NCB) direx@riovoluntario.org.br

Ibrahim Ouédraogo National Volunteer Programme of National Committee iouedraogo@fasovolontariat.bf
Burkina Faso

Corneille Ntawurutimana Youth and National Coordinator of Volunteering Burundi leopardcol@yahoo.fr
Youth Centers, Burundi

Francois Xavier Buyoya Red Cross Burundi President of Red Cross National croixrougebi@yahoo.fr
Comitteee

Julio César Benítez Scouts Ecuador Volunteering Round Table, Ecuador julio.benitez@scoutsecuador.org or
jcbenitezr@gmail.com

Jenine Jaradat Princess Basma Youth Resource National Steering Committee for IVD and Jenine.j@zenid.org.jo
Center, Jordan National IYV+10 Comittee

Dace Ratniece Ministry of Education and Science, EYV2011 National Coordinating Body, dace.ratniece@izm.gov.lv
Latvia Latvia (NCB)

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Robert Farrugia Malta Council for Voluntary EYV2011 National Coordinating Body, r.farrugia@eieonline.com
Organisations Malta (NCB)

Jonathan Kambirongo National Planning Commission, Volunteer For Development Coordinating kamunuu@gmail.com
Namibia Committee (V4D-CC) jkambirongo@npc.gov.na

Jagadish C. Pokharel Government of Nepal, National National Volunteer Steering Committee, jcpokharel@npcnepal.gov.np
Planning Commission Nepal

Prem. Bdr. Kunwar Government of Nepal, National National Volunteer Steering Committee, prem_kunwar@hotmail.com
Planning Commission Nepal

Elza Maria Pires Chambel Ministério do Trabalho e da EYV2011 National Coordinating Body, Elza.M.Chambel@seg-social.pt
Solidariedade Social, Portugal Portugal(NCB) Elza.chambel@sopo.pt

Aleksandra Krugly Ministry of Labour and Social Policy, EYV2011 National Coordinating Body, aleksandra.krugly@mpips.gov.pl
Poland Poland (NCB)
Patrick Karangwa Parlement des Jeunes Rwandais, pkarangwa2002@yahoo.fr
Rwanda
Papa Birama Thiam National Committee for the IYV+10 Committee, Senegal datech@sentoo.sn or
Promotion and Coordination of pbthiam@gmail.com
Volunteerism, Senegal
Emmy Bornemark Ungdomsstyrelsen , The Swedish EYV2011 National Coordinating Body, emmy.bornemark@ungdomsstyrelsen.se
National Board for Youth Affairs Sweden (NCB)

Ertugrul Senoglu GSM - Youth Services Centre, Turkey IYV+10 Committee, Çankaya Municipality, ertugrul@gsm-youth.org
Ankara
Frode Dal Fjeldavli EC - Directorate General for Frode-Dal.fjeldavli@ec.europa.eu
Education and Culture
Céline Barlet EYV 2011 Alliance Celine.barlet@eyv2011.eu

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Annex 2 – List of IYV+10 Team/UNV Organising Team

Simona Costanzo Sow Project Manager for IYV+10 Simona.Costanzo@unvolunteers.org

Faisal Yousaf Partnerships Development Faisal.Yousaf@unvolunteers.org
Specialist

Jennifer Bose Intern Jennifer.Bose@unvolunteers.org

Judy Monast Administrative Assistant Judy.Monast@unvolunteers.org

Kristen Pyrz-Brown Intern Kristen.Pyrz-Brown@unvolunteers.org

Philip Sen Communications Associate Philip.Sen@unvolunteers.org

Rosmarie Jah Associate Partnerships Officer Rosmarie.Jah@unvolunteers.org

Yanick Michaud-Marcotte Administrative Associate Yanick.Michaud-Marcotte@unvolunteers.org

Jung Yuen Park Intern jungyuenpark@gmail.com

Peter Devereux Partnership Specialist Civil Peter.devereux@unvolunteers.org
Society

Ibrahim Hussein Portfolio Manager, South Asia Ibrahim.Hussein@unvolunteers.org

Francesco Galtieri Portfolio Manager, Central Francesco.Galtieri@unvolunteers.org
Africa (North)

Robert Toe Portfolio Manager, West and Robert.Toe@unvolunteers.org
Central Africa

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Annex 3 - Sharing Global Voices – Agenda
Sunday Monday, February 21 Tuesday, February 22

Arrival 08:15 Pickup by shuttle at hotel 8:15 Pickup by shuttle at hotel
9:00 Start of meeting Room 2112 9:00 Start of meeting Room 2112
09:15 – 09:45 Opening and introduction 9:15 – 9:45
Opening remarks Info session:
Flavia Pansieri, UNV Executive Coordinator DPI/NGO Conference in Bonn with Q&A
IYV+10 presentation
Simona Costanzo Sow, IYV+10 Project Manager 9:45 Plenary: introducing working groups

09:45 Introduction of participants, 10.00 – 12.30 World café Group work:
Expectations and Objectives exchange of experiences:
(11.00 – 11.30 - Coffee Break)
10:30: Coffee Break
1. Influencing volunteerism policy and research
11:00 – 11:45 The European Dimension agenda at national level

The European Year of Volunteering 2. Mobilizing different stakeholders and sustainability
and the European Voluntary Service (EVS) of partnerships beyond 2011
Frode dal Fjedavli, Programme Manager,
DG Education and Culture 3. Organizing high level events
EYV2011 Alliance, Céline Barlet 4. Effective advocacy for Public Awareness
11: 45 – 12:30
The time line for 2011: highlighting major events

th th
12:30-14:00 Lunch ( 29 floor ) 12:30 – 14:00 Lunch (29 floor)
17.30 Registration and 19.00 Reception ( Hotel)

14:00 – 14:30 14:00 – 16:30
Preparing and setting up the Report from working groups
Share Fair Room 1916 Recommendations based on results

14.30– 16:00 16:30 – 17:00
Share Fair Part 1 Collaborative spaces for staying connected:
Discussions with participants only Introduction to Teamworks

16:00-16:30 17:00 – 17:45
Coffee Break Recap and way forward

16:30-18:00 17:45 Closing remarks
18h00
Share Fair Part 2 Naheed Haque, Deputy Executive Coordinator
Open to all UNV staff
18:00 Return to Hotel
18:30-19:00
End of session – return to Hotel
Dinner offered by UNV at the Hotel Dinner offered by UNV at the Hotel

*The Share Fair is an occasion for participants to share their experiences, highlights the success stories of their
organization and relevant activities with other participants and the UNV staff

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Annex 4 – IYV+10 Sharing Global Voices Presentation

Marking the10th Anniversary
of the International Year of
Volunteers

Sharing Global Voices, Bonn
21st February 2011

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Annex 5 – Recommendations Resulting from the World Café Session

Recommendations - Group 1: Influencing volunteerism policy and research
agenda at national level

Recommendations were divided in two sub-groups
A) Influencing research agenda
 Involve academia in activities around volunteering at all stages to create
awareness on research about volunteerism and not wait to get in touch with
researchers only for research purpose e.g. as members IYV+10 Committees
or other activities around volunteering in order to promote ownership of
volunteering;
 Creating and maintaining a knowledge platform in the form of a central „bank‟
on volunteering research – to connect researchers with practitioners in the
volunteering and civil society arenas and avoid duplications;
 Identify clear research objectives, target the right partners and respect
scientific standards;
 Map research activities being undertaken through forums, meeting and
conferences in order to identify challenges and who is doing what;
B) Influencing policy
 When working on policy on volunteerism, it is necessary to start with a
framework which has been negotiated by consensus and then make sure to
work with the right government institution that believes in volunteerism and
can influence policy-making. Lobbying should permeate various levels of
government. Commitment needs to be encouraged as well as the
sustainability of the framework;
 Have a tangible expression linked to GDP to present to government which
highlights the contribution of volunteering in the country. This will encourage
the government to invest more into volunteerism;
 SWVR should be used to influence government policy beyond 2011.
Recommendations - Group 2: Mobilizing different stakeholders and
sustainability of partnerships beyond 2011

 Identify and define diverse stakeholders – governments, private sector, media
and civil society in order to cultivate the ownership of diverse sectors for
volunteerism;
 Work through participatory processes on an inclusive and agreed definition of
volunteering that captures its meaning and diverse global expressions as a
basis for joint action;
 Use IYV + 10 as a vehicle to bring together national and international
volunteer schemes and initiatives that can contribute to development goals like

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the MDGs eg bringing together people from EYV and the South around a
shared agenda;
 Use activities during IYV+10 to develop and strengthen long term plans and
policy (volunteer infrastructure) eg inclusion of volunteering in school
curriculum;
 Transforming the roles of IYV + 10 Committees into national structures that
continue to advocate for volunteer infrastructure beyond IYV + 10. Work
through existing national institutions, civil society and corporate umbrella
groups to create coalitions that use volunteerism as a tool for civic
engagement;
 Resource mobilization for long term partnerships on volunteerism beyond IYV
+ 10;
 Educate the media on the importance of volunteerism.

Recommendations - Group 3: Organizing high level events

 Checklist for high level meetings to ensure the best use of resources;
 Process, content and opportunities;
Process
 Need to plan early, (media, high level people, venues etc) good team of
organizers, give a value to everyone‟s contribution to encourage
engagement;
 Briefing the high level people attending the meetings;
 Choose credible testimonials to promote the prior connections of
organizations to volunteerism;
 Regular and clear communication of events to interested parties so that
the event is meaningful;
 Communicate effectively towards the event to raise momentum
 Always consider the cultural context;
Content
 Clear objectives prior to each event (specify what the desired outcome
from each event);
 Clearly identify your key audience;
 Design the content in a way to make the event meaningful for participants
 Have a communication strategy;
 Encourage involvement of participants through entertainment/fun, in order
to better mark memories;
 Mark the event with the traditional word for volunteerism;
 More broadly build on cultural ways of volunteering;
 Use culturally specific elements (dance etc) to highlight events as well as
unique/surprising ways of engaging participants;
 Establish a follow up mechanism (to pursue the scope of the event or
monitor the implementation of its recommendations/plan of action).
Opportunities

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 Look at global Calendar and use “marking events” already in people‟s
agendas;
 Use historical days and other meaningful days in each culture to highlight
to role of volunteerism in those areas or in supporting the celebrations of
those days;
 Coordination of complementary events;
 Pick those events that by cultural heritage have a are more natural link to
civic mobilization;
 Organize parallel social event/forum around the UN General Assembly
sessions in Dec 2011.
Success indicators for high-level event
 Level of participation of the targeted audience;
 Media coverage;
 Follow up mechanism / sustainability of the initiatives launched/promoted
by the event.

Recommendations - Group 4: Effective advocacy for Public Awareness

 Use technology advancements (IT, social media and designated portals) to
reach the broader community to mobilize them for volunteer activities as well
as promote public awareness;
 Use the internet to reach hard-to-reach populations, and to involve community
members who can only volunteer their efforts virtually;
 Linkages between national, regional and global efforts;
 Conferences, symposiums, volunteer networks, meetings;
 Caravans campaigns to reach communities through sports, music, other
events promoting MDGs (buses with youth advocates, personalities);
 Participation in high level events;
 Oral transmission by community leaders (priests, Imams);
 Forum theatre and community theatre;
 Use of volunteer role models (celebrities, politicians, sports people) in high
level events and competitions, tournaments etc;
 Offer volunteer services prior to the event to assist in the preparation;
 Volunteer created music/songs/anthem/CD-DVD to capture volunteer effort at
the local level and thoughts around the impact of volunteerism in their
particular community/region/country;
 Volunteer photo-book highlighting the volunteer efforts from around the world
 Collaborating with private sector companies to use their products to promote
volunteerism;
 Arrangement with film advertising volunteering;
 Traditional story telling through media to reach communities (using local
languages);
 Audio books;
 Universal Volunteer colour symbol.

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United Nations Volunteers
Street: Hermann-Ehlers-Strasse 10, 53113 Bonn, Germany
Postal: Postfach 260 111, D-53153 Bonn, Germany
Tel: +49 228 8152000 Fax: +49 228 8152001
Email: information@unvolunteers.org
Online: www.unvolunteers.org
www.worldvolunteerweb.org
www.onlinevolunteering.org

United Nations Volunteers is administered by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).
Le programme VNU est administré par le Programme des Nations Unies pour le développement (UNDP).
25
El Programa VNU es administrado por el Programa de las Naciones Unidas para el Desarollo (PNUD).


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