LIVE-EX Virtual Exchange

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Exchange and Cooperation for a Living Earth.

2024-2027

Are you ready to make a difference and connect with peers across Sub-Saharan Africa? 

The LIVE-EX project offers you the chance to gain essential digital and soft skills through engaging virtual dialogues and hands-on community actions. Focused on digital inclusion and climate justice, LIVE-EX empowers you to become a global advocate for change. Join us to fight climate crisis, enhance your employability by building your skills, engage in lasting friendships, and drive meaningful impact in your community. 

About the project:

LIVE-EX is an Erasmus+ funded Virtual Exchange project for the period 2024-2027, collaborating with 2 European and 8 partners from Sub-Saharan Africa. The project is a multi-network, transcontinental collaboration, which aims to foster youth engagement and global cooperation for social and climate justice by supporting digital inclusion among IVS organisations in Sub-Saharan Africa. This collaborative effort is designed to offer young people access to high-quality virtual intercultural exchanges, helping them build skills, gain critical thinking, and engage in environmental and social causes at a global level.

LIVE-EX is part of the Living Earth Campaign. If you would like to know more about Living Earth click here: https://ccivs.org/livingearth/

Key Objectives:

LIVE-EX stands for Living Earth Exchange, a project that strives to address the digital and environmental challenges faced by young people in Sub-Saharan Africa. The primary aims and objectives of the project include:

  1. Digital Inclusion: To provide young people with the digital skills and access necessary to participate fully in today’s interconnected world. This includes overcoming barriers such as inadequate ICT infrastructure and high costs of internet services.
  2. Climate Justice: To educate and engage youth on the impacts of climate colonialism and to empower them to advocate for climate justice. The project focuses on creating awareness and driving actions that contribute to sustainable and equitable environmental practices.
  3. Capacity Building: To enhance the capabilities of youth organizations in the region, enabling them to support and mentor young people effectively. This includes training youth workers in virtual volunteering and hybrid project management.
  4. Intercultural Dialogue: To foster intercultural understanding and cooperation among young people from different backgrounds through virtual exchanges and collaborative community actions.
  5. Youth Empowerment: To support young people in developing critical thinking skills, active citizenship, and global competence, ultimately improving their employability and ability to contribute to their communities.

Key Activities:

  • Blended training for mentors: A two-month program focused on mentoring and peer supervision to build capacity for conducting virtual exchanges.
  • Earth Advocacy Mentorship Virtual Exchange: Four cohorts designed to support youth involvement in climate justice activism.
  • Advocacy actions: Online and local community actions to spread awareness and engage young people in advocacy for climate and social justice.
  • Monitoring and Evaluation: Ongoing assessment to measure the impact of the project and ensure continuous improvement.
  • Virtual dialogues: Online events aimed at disseminating project results, discussing issues related to intercultural exchange, and promoting youth empowerment.
  • Youth advisory roles: Encouraging young people to take part in decision-making processes within major IVS networks.

Expected Outputs:

  • Good practices map: A resource to share successful models and methodologies used in virtual exchanges.
  • Minimal standards for virtual volunteering: Guidelines to ensure quality and inclusivity in virtual volunteer experiences.
  • Mentorship curriculum: A comprehensive curriculum and toolkit designed to train youth workers and mentors in conducting effective virtual exchanges.
  • Youth Manual: A toolkit to support the young activists in their action on behalf of life on Earth.
  • Online course: A digital learning platform providing youth with skills and knowledge related to digital inclusion, intercultural communication, and climate advocacy.
  • Newsletters: Regular updates to keep stakeholders informed about progress and outcomes.

Direct Benefits:

  • 2000 virtual exchange participants (pax): Young people engaged in virtual exchange programs, developing skills and understanding of global issues.
  • 25 youth workers: Individuals trained to support and facilitate virtual exchanges in their local contexts.
  • 10 IVS organisations: Organisations in Sub-Saharan Africa receiving direct support and involvement in the project.
  • 32 local communities in Sub-Saharan Africa: Communities benefiting from youth-driven actions and knowledge sharing.

Indirect Benefits:

  • 10,000 young volunteers: Youth across the network who gain indirect exposure to the project’s outcomes.
  • 500 youth workers: Additional youth workers benefiting from shared resources and best practices.
  • 200 IVS organisations: A broader network of organisations receiving knowledge and support from the initiative.
  • Hosting communities in 96 countries: Communities globally, benefitting from the increased participation and advocacy actions driven by the project.

By empowering young people, particularly from underrepresented and vulnerable communities, the Live-X Project strengthens the environmental movement with strong mentorship, diverse participation, and youth-led advocacy for climate justice.

Our Partners:

The partners bring a wealth of experience in international voluntary service and community development. The consortium includes the following countries; if you are from one of these countries, please contact the organisations to find out about how you can become involved!

Kenya: International Cultural Youth Exchange (ICYE Kenya): Runs virtual exchange programs and places volunteers in community projects, fostering intercultural interactions.

Malawi: Community Forum (COFO): Actively involved in virtual exchanges and climate change advocacy, promoting youth engagement and education.

Mozambique: Associacao Juvenil Para o Desenvolvimento do Voluntariado em Moçambique (AJUDE): Works on digital access and intercultural exchange, promoting environmental awareness among local youth.

Nigeria: International Christian Youth Exchange (ICYE Nigeria): Engaged in virtual exchanges and Erasmus+ projects, focusing on diversity, equality, and sustainable development.

South Africa: South Africa Volunteer Work Camp Association (SAVWA): Focuses on the inclusion of disadvantaged communities and environmental actions, including managing community garden projects.

Tanzania: United Planet Tanzania (ICYE Tanzania): Introduced virtual exchange programs during the COVID-19 pandemic, focusing on various volunteer tasks, including marketing and social media.

Togo: Astovot : l’Asociation Togolaise des Volontaires au Travail: Promotes peace and improved living conditions through initiatives in education, environment, socioculture, and health.

Zimbabwe: Zimbabwe Workcamps Association (ZWA): A leading organization in the African volunteer network, with strong local youth engagement and virtual exchange experience.

Calling Youth to Action in a Global Visibility Drive

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The main aim of the Erasmus+ Key Action 2 project “Calling Youth to Action in a Global Visibility Drive” is to promote the value of volunteering in terms of benefits to the host organisation and the volunteer.  The project brings together ICYE member organisations from 21 countries around the world to develop a visibility and promotion strategy that is realistic, cost effective, well-timed and successful.

The project started with the Visibility Kick Off in Berlin (6-9 November 2016), where the team of facilitators drafted the programme of the international multiplier training to take place in Accra, Ghana, 16 – 20 November 2016.

From January to August 2017 all participating organisations will implement a visibility strategy by running promotional campaigns in their respective countries with the support of local and international volunteers.

The project will come to a close at the Visibility Evaluation in Paris, France in September 2017, where the campaigns will be presented and their success assessed.

A Visibility Guide outlining an effective promotion strategy for the volunteering field will be produced at the project’s end with best practice examples for a successful visibility drive.

Project Partners: Grenzenlos Interkultureller Austausch – ICYE Austria, ICYE Bolivia, ICYE Brazil, Centre for Sustainable Development Vietnam, ICYE Colombia, ICYE Denmark, Maailmanvaihto – ICYE Finland, Jeunesse et Reconstruction – ICYE France, ICJA Freiwilligenaustausch weltweit – ICYE Germany, ICYE Ghana, AUS – ICYE Iceland, ICDE-India, ICYE Kenya, SIIJUVE – ICYE Mexico, AJUDE – ICYE Mozambique, ICYE Nepal, ICYE Nigeria, FIYE – ICYE Poland, KERIC – ICYE Slovakia, ICYE Switzerland, ICYE-UK.

 

 

Volunteers at the Interface between Formal and Non-Formal Education

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ICYE’s Erasmus+ Key Action 2 project “Volunteers at the Interface between Formal and Non-Formal Education” aimed to reinforce links between formal and non-formal education. Formal education is the structured education system, we know from schools and other institutionalised forms, whereas non-formal education is not compulsory and is often obtained outside the formally organised school. Non-formal education is about the liberating potential of new forms of learning that are learner-centred, motivating, experiential, and inspiring. The two forms of education are different but complementary. Bringing them together will result in education that stimulates motivation for learning as it focuses on the needs and aspirations of each student.

The aim of the project was to make learning an interactive and collaborative process that inspires young people, in particular youth with fewer opportunities, to partake in learning and acquire knowledge. The majority of young volunteers worldwide are engaged in formal education such as schools, adult education centres etc. This project thus also aimed at strengthening the volunteers’ work and contributions in the formal educational projects. They played key role in supporting teachers and educators to introduce and use new methodology in the classroom to improve delivery of formal educational content.

The project comprised different components:
– International Multiplier Training on Non-formal – Formal education in February 2016
– A long-term EVS project for 8 months from 1 April – 30 November 2016 involving 15 ICYE National Committees, 12 host projects and 14 volunteers
– Training of EVS volunteers on Formal and Non-Formal Education
– Final Evaluation of the project in March 2017

The publications produced within the framework of the project:
Final activity report from Vienna – Training on formal and non-formal education methods.
Non-Formal Learning Handbook for Volunteers and Volunteering Organisations

Youth Work Can Unite: Merging Parallel Realities in Europe

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Europe is presently faced with an extremely difficult and complex situation today: Political and financial instability in many nation-states, the aftermath of a number of terrorist attacks, and the political rhetoric and public discourse on refugees and migrants is fuelling fear, anxiety and resentment within communities, leading to minorities being targeted. It is now more important than ever to challenge a narrative in which refugees, migrants and minorities are a danger to European society, to act against hate, and to work towards a diverse and inclusive Europe.

Youth and voluntary work have the potential to make a difference: To change mind-sets, remind people that the answer to our problems is solidarity, and not division, and to create awareness of populist narratives versus the facts of migration. Likewise, the need of the hour is the integration of refugees and support to local NGOs working with refugees.

The 5-day training Youth Work Can Unite: Merging Parallel Realities in Europe, which took place in Graz, Austria from February 22 – 26, 2017 brought together 25 youth workers from 13 countries (Austria, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Iceland, Italy, Netherlands, Poland, Russia, Slovakia, Switzerland, UK). It provided anti-racism training and served to develop an action plan to support refugees and NGOs working with refuges, as well as identifying partners, and networking possibilities at the EU level. ‘UNITED for Intercultural Action, European Network against nationalism, racism, fascism and in support of migrants and refugees’ partnered in the project and provided valuable information on the situation of refugees and the rise of hate speech across Europe.

The project has been funded by the European Union’s Erasmus+ Key Action 1 Programme and organised by Grenzenlos Interkultureller Austausch – ICYE Austria with the support of the ICYE International Office.

Read the Final Activity Report- Graz Austria February 2017.

Communicating Human Rights in Diversity

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The main aim of the Key Action 2 project “Communicating Human Rights in Diversity” is to develop sustainable strategies to assist youth and volunteering NGOs to infuse a culture of human rights in diverse local contexts and communities. This involves making volunteers active and responsible citizens, who value diversity and human rights, and it means building the capacity of volunteer organisations and creating multipliers of change in the field of volunteering. In working towards a culture of human rights, the project challenges preconceived notions, customs, practices and behaviour based on stereotypes and prejudices. It simultaneously seeks to explore new ways of engaging with the blind spots of our consciousness, with precarious spaces and people at risk. The project commenced with a training for Human Rights Education Multipliers in Copenhagen, Denmark in March 2015. It was followed by local Human Rights Education trainings for the EVS volunteers in this project.

The different components of this project include:

  • European Voluntary Service for 13 young volunteers who are engaged in projects addressing human rights issues from April – December 2015 in Austria, Poland, the UK, Colombia, Ecuador, Honduras, India, Indonesia, Vietnam, Kenya, Nigeria and Mozambique.
  • Local Human Rights Education trainings that aim at facilitating the EVS volunteers’ engagement in their host projects in ways that generate awareness and ensure respectful engagement with vulnerable groups, i.e. the project beneficiaries, and thus breaking down the social hierarchy oftentimes found between provider and receiver of social work.
  • A qualitative study examining the impact of the Human Rights Education on the socio-cultural and personal developments of the volunteers in this project.
  • The Gauging Impact Seminar that will take place in Bogotá, Colombia in April 2016, bringing together once again the Human Rights Education Multipliers from the four world regions to assess the project and its outcomes.

Volunteers’ Quotes from the ICYE Impact study:

“I feel like I’ve helped them a little bit but I’ve gained much more for myself really.”

“It did make me reflect a lot on my culture, it did make me reflect on “Why”. At the beginning, my question for myself will be “Why it is like this” then during the time, it would change to “Why do I think it’s weird, why it is so difficult to me, like why it is important for me to be on time. I will question my own culture.”

“Communicating with people from different backgrounds and with different lives from you, and being able to find something in common, in a place where you wouldn’t necessarily think you have something in common with someone, being able break the barriers about language and culture, and all of that to get to the core and get lovely human interaction.”

“…I have gained the skill to be a leader in a group of young people for more than 20 people as a volunteer and to deal with the cultural shock between them, and to be in the middle and try to manage these things. I think these skills could never have happened in my life if I am not in this kind of project.”

Publications of the project:

Final Activity Report – International Human Rights Training for Multipliers, Copenhagen Denmark (March 2015)

ICYE Impact Assessment – Human Rights in Diversity: Executive Summary Full Report – 

Toolkit: Human Rights Education in Volunteering