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The latest issue of the ICYE Newsletter is out.  Read here.

XXX ICYE General Assembly 2017

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The 30th ICYE Federation General Assembly took place in Næstved, Denmark, from 23rd – 28th October 2017. Attended by around 60 participants from 40 countries around the world, the 6-day programme comprised enriching discussions on the growth and development of the Federation, on developing an ethical code for our programmes and activities,  a market place for negotiations, and a sightseeing trip around Copenhagen.

The ICYE General Assembly also accepted three new members into the Federation: Subir al Sur/Fundación SES, Argentina, Association Joint, Italy, and GIED – Global Initiative for Exchange and Development Inc., the Philippines. We are pleased to have them on board and look forward to intensifying cooperation with them for the ICYE long and short term programmes.

 

For more information about the XXX ICYE General Assembly please contact the ICYE International Office at icye@icye.org .

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.