IYV joint campaign

Feedback from the Action Week



Italy

LUNARIA – workcamp season 2001

lunaria's logo

Workcamp selected for the IYV JOINT CAMPAIGN:

LUN 08 – Ca’ Roman island (Venice) – 20-31/07/2001

7 volunteers + 1 camp leader

Volunteers’ activity: supporting play-schemes in summer holidays for disabled

Camp leader: Paolo Maddonni

General evaluation of the camp

Due to some misunderstandings occurred in the preparation of the camp, volunteers got the information that they were supposed to work with children and teen-agers with physical disabilities.They discovered that the guests of the holiday village on the seaside were adults with light mental problems. This reduced their chances to interact with them because of the language barriers and the weak level of understanding. Nevertheless the camp turned in a successful human experience for everybody. The highly motivated volunteers (from six different countries) formed a nice group and they supported the social workers in the daily routine with the guests. Work was not hard at all, and most of the time was spent on the beach, having fun and walks with the guests. In the evening games and songs were shared and once the guests were sleeping a deeper exchange among volunteers and the young social workers could take place.

IYV activities

The camp was held in a small island in the Venetian lagoon, where during the summer only holidays schemes for disabled are organised. No chance to have contact with an audience outside the camp a part from the social workers or the local staff. In addition, material for the IYV activities arrived two days before closing the camp. This is what it has been possible to implement with the 7 volunteers:
· presentation of the campaign
· debate on the theme “Accessibility of Voluntary Service”
· pictures of the “Human chain” and of the camp


DEBATE: "Accessibility of Voluntary Service"

The one-hour debate started in letting the volunteers think about the statement proposed in the IYV JC leaflet. The opinions expressed were sometimes in opposition,while sometimes the agreement was totally shared.

1) Should volunteers pay to participate in the projects?
-“If you are a student, the fee requested could be a problem for you. It’s hard to accept that the money you pay to your sending organisation is not for covering your food and accommodation on the camp but just for administration”.
-“I didn’t get the right information: they told me that the fee were exactly for covering my food and accommodation on the camp!”.
-“I think that the fee are reasonable. You’d pay more as a tourist in a youth hostel”.
-“The worst is that you have to pay before been placed and accepted. So you are forced to accept any camp they proposed you, unless you loose your money”.
-“I didn’t pay anything because I’m from South Africa. They explain me that people coming from Europe and Usa pay an extra fee when they come to my country for supporting my sending organisation. It sounded strange to me, because I could afford easily an inscription fee”.
-“The fee themselves are not particularly high. But you have to add the costs for visas,travel,food and accommodation outside the camp and genuine tourism before or after it”.

2) Only people who have a lot of experience can do a voluntary service abroad.
- “No! You have to start somewhere…”

3) A person doing voluntary service must have a clear idea of his/her future plans.
- Yes, it could be useful for getting the best results from the camp. If you intend working professionally with disabled,a camp with disabled represent a very good experience for you”.
- No, motivations and expectations of every single volunteer can be very different from each other and all of them have to be accepted.

4) People older than 30 years should not participate in an international voluntary service.
- “No! Meeting different kind of people is one of the most attracting points of a camp”.

5) English should be compulsory to do a voluntary service.
- “Very good English is not necessary, but at least a basic level of understanding is really useful. In alternative, knowing the local language can allow you to integrate with the local community”.

6) To do a voluntary service is better than to be unemployed.
- “In any condition, if you have free time, practising voluntary service is good for you and for the others”.




Nepal

NIFC

The "New International Friendship Club" -Nepal (NIFC-Nepal) organized various activities in an international "Action Week"(August 6th to 12th). In this way we realized the importance of the IVY Joint Campaign, launched by Alliance, AVSO, CCIVS, ICYE, SCI and YAP on the occasion of the International Years of Volunteer 2001.
The international volunteers from Germany, France, Italy, Japan, Canada, Belgium, Netherlands, USA and Korea who were working with us, participated actively however due to landslide problems in highways several other volunteers could not join with us in the program. And it was a pity we could not received the IYV Joint Campaign documents in time.
Even we got it late but we are using these documents in our discussion program and we are planning to visit Embassies in Katmandu to give them a few "Volunteer Visas" and to make a special request for a Volunteer Visa arrangement.
We will continue this campaign in Nepal throughout the year.

MASS MEETING ON 6th AUGUST

NIFC-Nepal organized the Mass meeting on 6th of August 2001, an opening day of the international 'Action Week' of IYY Joint Campaign. The opening day (August 6) was very significant for us because since 1996 we are organizing a "Hiroshima Day" program in Nepal. The meeting was organized in Sankhu town of Katmandu district. Our Japanese volunteers brought some photographs of Hiroshima and Nagasaki massacre.
We organized a small photo exhibition for local student and people in Evergreen English School located in Sankhu.
Since ancient period Nepal remained a peaceful country. Nepal is the birthplace of Lord Buddha, a symbol of Peace. The visitors were very shocked to see destructive phenomena of nuclear weapons. Then they wrote their peace message to the people of world. We have collected their messages on a white clothes. If any organization, that works for peace, would like to exchange the messages let us know. We will be very glad to exchange it. In the meeting volunteers from each country explained about peace activities in their country and the conditions of nuclear weapons or power stations.
As a chief guest of the program NIFC-Nepal president Mr. Prakash Babu Paudel appealed to all peace loving people of the world to work together for peace and harmony in the world.
He also stressed on the elimination of all nuclear weapons from the world.
Mr. Paudel also highlighted on IYV Joint campaign and International Year of Volunteer 2001.

At the end of the program a cultural performance was organized by local school students for the international volunteers.

The meeting remained succeed to draw attention of participants on the importance of peace and on going activities on the occasion of the International Year of Volunteers 2001. Several newspapers published news about the program with color pictures.


What we are going to do in future:

1. A 5 days workshop on 'Role of Workcamp Leader in the Year of Volunteer 2001' for October 10-15 2001 in Chitwan.
2. Campaign to distribute volunteer's visa to the government and diplomatic missions in Kathmandu on the second week of October 2001.
3. A one-day photo exhibition on voluntary service in Kathamdu on the 20th of December 2001.

Conclusions:
The IYV Joint campaign has been launched in a very appropriate time.
The campaign succeeded to identify various problems in the field of voluntary service. Our experience of the 'Action Week' remains very positive and we do hope we will get cooperation from government and public in the future.
We also would like to have more volunteers exchanges from Asia to Europe, Africa and Latin America. Exchanging volunteers from developing countries to developed countries is a big task.
Sometimes it seems unfair to receive volunteers only from developed countries to developing countries. The visa and travel costs are the main problems in this regard.
Let's work together to provide more voluntary opportunities in the world.


IYV Joint Campaign Group
New International Friendship Club Nepal
Post Box No. 11276 Maharajgunj
Katmandu
Nepal
Tel: 977-1-427406 Fax: 977-1-429176
E-mail: nifc@mos.com.np


Russia

World4U

Camp code: W4U-11 Children Center, Korolev
Camp dates: 16/07 – 08/08
Camp objectives: Korolev Center for handicapped children wanted to make some minor renovation in the building, some landscaping and make some wooden construction work outside (e.g. playground)


After receiving the call from CCIVS about the Action Week we decided to devote the whole W4U-11 camp to the IYV.
Taking into consideration the situation with voluntary movement and ideas in Russia, which is very weak and underdeveloped, World4U sees extremely important to promote volunteering and the voluntary vision of the world among youth and also among hosting organizations, both actual and potential.
So the group of 6 international volunteers from Poland (Paulina, OWA Poland), France (Thibault from UNAREC and Renaud from Concordia), Italy (Francesca, SCI), Czech Republic (Suzana, INEX), and Russian campleader (Anna, World4U) got really not an easy task!

On 5th of August we ran a seminar devoted to IYV and particularly to the topics:

- “What is V.O.L.U.N.T.E.E.R.I.N.G. for YOU?”
- “Is there any future for the volunteering in former USSR and Russia itself?”
- “Volunteering as the way to live entire life. Enlightenment or madness?”
- “Accessibility of volunteering”

It was at the same time an evaluation meeting, because as it seemed to be it has been one of the most “adventurous” and difficult camp due to a set of typical obstacles that volunteering meets in Russia.
This camp turned out to be a very sharp pointer on all kinds of differences between European and Russian vision of volunteering.
Thanks to this camp we have got a chance to see that the majority of Russian authorities do not understand what volunteering is, many of them have never even heard about that and even after all the discussions we had before the season began, when the camp started, we had all kinds of misunderstandings.
Korolev is our new hosting site, we trembled at the idea of starting our season with them and thanks to our "Action Camp" we see clearly how much work we still have to do.
At the beginning there were several crucial and unexpected changes made by the hosting organization about the type of work, location and tasks of the camp. Then volunteers were confronted with a profound misunderstanding that volunteers normally come to apply their good will and CREATE something very useful and not just to rest and somehow spend their time in the country.
Another very important point was that the hosting organization, which seemed to understand the goals of volunteering finally stopped to think that they were doing a favour to us, hosting some international volunteers.This kind of attitude destroys the idea of a workcamp. Thanks to the enthusiasm and to the strong will to DO SOMETHING USEFUL ANYWAY volunteers found every day the way to join their efforts and give also some UNEXPECTED HELP to the campsite, taking care of football and basketball grounds and a club building.


In spite of all these obstacles volunteers expressed a solid opinion that it’s possible to develop volunteering in Russia.
Paulina: The situation looks quite similar to what happens with volunteering in Poland. I'm definitely the first volunteer in my town! I felt really frustrated for the way hosting organization sees the tasks of the voluntary workcamp, although they are wonderful people and treated us really lovely.
Suzanna: I was disappointed with changes in the type of work in the camp, but I really realized that it takes a lot of time and energy to change a very profound belief of post-soviet minds and I understood that voluntary work without any ideology besides but just a good will is something, not just a twist of sobriety!
They assumed that there’s still a need to make some profound changes in minds of older generation of Russians and that the very idea laying underneath all voluntary actions is maybe the only way for the future of the planet (the idea of borderless world with awareness and love and peacefulness as profound values).
Unfortunately all those things are still beautiful words laying somewhere apart for many many “adults”…
One of the most difficult points in Russia for volunteering is that the talented and energetic youth of the country, which was under extreme pressure of ideology for 80 years, can’t cope with any kind of ideological movements or organizations. It’s like a swing of the pendulum – being obliged to stay within ONE communist youth organization, many young people now tend to be “rugged individuals” and run away from any kind of group ideology.
There are many different (and sometimes very extremist) communities of youth in Russia now, but the majority of them lies quite far from constructive concept of joining the world after all these decades of isolation, of peaceful non-violent creative interaction with the rest of cultures, of global and ecological thinking, personal responsibility towards the world around.
Volunteers came to the conclusion that, although it sounds paradoxical, volunteering is a kind of “non-ideological” ideology, it should be the most non-oppressive way to show people a totally new approach for treating the world.
The existing voluntary organizations show different approaches to this idea in their activities, but it sounds like none of them didn’t come exactly to the point so far.
Volunteers came to the agreement that volunteering can be the lifestyle in itself, although just very few of them want to apply it in their own lives, running all-voluntary schools, or orphanages, or renovation communes.This idea appeared to be very fascinating for all of us and we discussed the ways to implement volunteering as a lifetime project and to invent ways to bring volunteering as wide as possible; but some lack of objective, such as economical problems and education, kept us from some major fundamental conclusions.

Renaud: I want to devote my entire life to volunteering. I’m going to organize something like all voluntary schools, where to children will be taught the right concept of volunteering from the beginning.
Thibault: I don’t think I’ll be a volunteer for long, although it’s an essential lifetime experience.
Ina: I’m trying to figure out how to stay in volunteering as long as possible, but for now I don’t really see how to do it. I want to have my own family and be able to “fundraise” for it. I don’t need much money and I definitely don’t run for any illusions like career.
Suzana: I think I’ll be a volunteer again and again from time to time in my life.

It was remarkable that our "Action Camp" met all those problems, because the rest of our camps went just as usually rather smooth. Volunteers gave very precious hints about what can be done towards more profound promotion and bringing people to understanding what volunteering is.


Mexico

SIIJUVE- Cuernavaca, 1-4 August 2001


SIIJUVE (Servicio Internacional para el Intercambio Juvenil A.C.), Mexican member of ICYE, took part in the Action Week organized in the frame of the International Year of Volunteer 2001 Joint Campaign.

SIIJUVE is a non governmental organization whose principal goals are:
I. To create programs that promote youth exchange in the five continents, in multicultural terms.
II. To promote the defence of human rights on favour of youth world-wide.
III. To fight for the equality among cultures, nations and sexes.
IV. To promote experiences that enrich international understanding between cultures and people.
V. To help participants to be aware of existing problems in their local and national community, in order to better understand the world problems and to take actions to find solutions.
VI. To cooperate with national and international organisations oriented to cultural exchange, specifically to those organisms committed to peace

SIIJUVE's main instrument to achieve these goals is the international volunteering through worldwide youth exchanges. We let young Mexican people to go abroad on volunteering and at the same time we host volunteers coming from different foreign countries to realize a social service here in Mexico. All this through the ICYE Federation, of which SIIJUVE is a full member.

At the beginning of August the introduction camp for in-coming exchangees in Mexico took place in Cuernavaca, from the 1st to the 4th of August.

According to the guidelines sent by the team in charge of the IYV Joint Campaign, we planned an activity that could:
-inform our exchangees/volunteers about the IYV,
-give them some inputs for reflections and discussions,
-make them participate in a debate, expressing themselves and listening to other points of view
-make them feel a small but active part of a global world wide movement

Here you will find a short report of the activity.

SIIJUVE’s participation in the Action Week, IYV 2001 Joint Campaign

Place and date: Cuernavaca, 1-4 August 2002, Introduction Camp for incoming exchangees.

Participants:
People participating in the activity were SIIJUVE’s volunteers and trainers, volunteer exchangees coming from different countries (such as Germany, France, Switzerland, Italy, Sweden, Denmark, Austria, Great Britain) for a total of 22 persons.

1-Seifried Annette (Germany)
2-Speidel Felix (Germany)
3-Baumann Vera Franziska (Germany)
4-Skorka Kaja (Germany)
5-Rosahl Katrin (Germany)
6-Zuber Claudia (Austria)
7-Hansen Monika (Denmark)
8-Bataille Alexandra (France)
9-Deris Leo (France)
10-Forgue Anna (France)
11-Berggren Emma (Sweden)
12-Schlapfer Christian (Switzerland)
13-Emery Virginie (Switzerland)
14-Thi Du Nguyen (UK)
15-Bleaney Isabelle (UK)
16-María Cristina Ruiz (Mexico)
17-Luis Arturo García Laguna (Mexico)
18-Anselmo Alcántara Gonzalez (Mexico)
19-Claudia Bravo Zárate (Mexico)
20-Hesiquio José Mendoza Oviedo (Mexico)
21-Daniela Lapenna (Italy)
22-Giuliano Mischi (Italy)

Activity’s steps:
1.General explanation about the IYV
2.Confrontational debate
3.Human chain

1-General Explanation about the IYV:
SIIJUVE’s executive director, Miss Cristina Ruiz, introduced the IYV 2001 Joint Campaign to all participants.
She talked about the activity’s background and the first steps to make it real, giving some information concerning the different organizations participating in the project: Alliance, AVSO, CCIVS, SCI, YAP, ICYE.
She briefly told about the aims and the means of the campaign, explaining that it is a global movement regarding all kind of volunteers all over the world. Referring to SIIJUVE’s programs and activities she also linked the voluntary service to the concrete experience that each exchange will live during the next months.

2-Confrontational debate:
After that a confrontational debate took place. During the debate different statements were made and each participant could express if s/he was in favour or against them by standing in a different part of the place.
The proposed statements were as follows.
1.Do you think that volunteering is a way of political involvement?
2.Should volunteers have the same legal status all over the world?
3.Do your countries have specific laws for volunteering?
4.Does the volunteer movement have an influence on countries’ social life?
5.Do you think volunteering is a “non paid job”?

The first statement split the group in two homogeneous parts: almost the fifty percent of the participants thought that volunteering can be considered a way of political involvement, the rest of the group did not agree and just a couple of persons were not sure about that.
The points of view about this topic were very different: for some of the exchangees volunteering brings people together and this always has political consequences.
Acting in social life is a way of political action because you have “to choose your side”. On the other hand many of the exchangees did not agree because they think that volunteering is something independent above all if you do it abroad. In this case social service is an instrument or a key to a new culture and its social reality.

The second statement produced a very different reaction. Talking about a same legal status for volunteers all over the world the group did not seem to be very sure about their own opinion. One third of the exchangees did not know what to think. The ones who were against an international agreement about social service said that each country has got its own peculiarities and it would not make any sense to generalize something that depends very much on social, cultural and political situation. For other participants it would be very good if volunteer work could be recognized and appreciated all over the world in the same way, but it seems to be an utopia because in many countries (above all with civil wars, social injustice, violation of human rights) volunteers are often persecuted and discriminated. In general everybody thought that volunteers’ duties and rights should be the same.

The third statement was about legal situation of volunteers in the different countries of Europe and Latin America. Some of the exchangees did not even know whether their countries have specific laws about social service or not. The rest of them gave a brief description of the most important acts: in Germany for example there is something like a civil service, both for women and men; in Mexico each young student has to do some months of social service before graduating from University. Some information about EVS programme were given by European participants, as well.

About the fourth statement the majority agreed in considering that the volunteer movement does have an important influence on countries’ social life. A lot of civil organizations wouldn’t exist without volunteers and all the work carried out from many institutions and social communities is the result of volunteers’ presence in society. The governments spare a lot of money because they are often replaced by organizations working in social field.
Some of the participants said that the social contribution in voluntary service is not enough and in many countries people do not even know about it. It would be necessary to organize more advertising campaigns about the importance and value of voluntary activities.

The last statement was about considering voluntary as a “non paid job”. Most answers were negative. In general voluntary service is not considered a job, but a way to help people. In return volunteers learn a lot and receive much more than money because people’s happiness and gratitude are much more worth.
Everybody agreed that voluntary service is such a big issue and that there are too many denifitions for it, so it is very difficult to define it in a few words. The last comment on which all the exchangees agreed was: “You should not be paid for volunteering, but you should not have to pay to volunteer”.

All the confrontational debate about voluntary work were quite successful because we could notice a good and active participation of all the exchangees. They took part in the debate explaining their opinions and often defending them quite strongly.
Among the activities held during our introduction camp it was perhaps the one that mostly helped them to reflect about their role as volunteers in Mexico. Surely they came here to learn more about Mexican culture, but they won't be just tourists: besides their host families, the voluntary work will represent the key to the understanding of Mexican society.

3: Human chain
After the confrontational debate the group formed a human chain, by standing up and taking the hands of each other in order to make a line. One of SIIJUVE’s volunteers took some pictures of the human chain. It was a very nice moment because the participants felt like symbolizing a part of the bigger global volunteers’ chain.


Belgium

VIA Belgium

In VIA Belgium, the flemish branch of SCI, the following actions took place:
-Monday 6th of August 2001 : Debate “Working with International Volunteers”
-Wednesday 8th of August 2001 : Article in “De Standaard”
-Friday 10th of August 2001 : Action at the Foreign Affaires of the Ministry in Brussel
-A petition to sign the statement for a Volunteer Visa
-Radio- interview with “Radio Vlaanderen Internationaal”
-A special edition of our publication Viafoon with the theme : Voluntary work in september 2001
-5-7/10/2001 : evaluation weekend VIA with as theme : Voluntary work

Evaluation of the actions:

1.Debate
In this evening 17 volunteers participated, as well as a journalist of “The Standaard”, a flemish newspaper.
We had interesting discussions how volunteers see voluntary work and the difference between different opportunities. It was also nice to have volunteers in the debate from Portugal, Argentina, Tanzania, Romania, Finland and Russia together with flemish volunteers. This gave the debate an internatonal character. Please take a look at the translated report of the journalist.

2.Action
On Friday, about 50 volunteers met in Brussel to show their interest in the symbolic “Visa for volunteers”. We spread the leaflets around and we asked people to sign our petition. The signatures are part of this report and we will work further collect signatures.
We also went to the foreign affaires to give them an information pack about the joint campaign, SCI and the volunteer visa.
We had a warm welcome here so we hope something worked out.

3.Viafoon
Even if it is in flemish, we send you an exemplar of our Viafoon, who is made in the sign of Volunteers.

4.Weekend
In the weekend, we organised debates on voluntary work with all the VIA volunteers who did a workcamp or an exchange in 2001. We collected signatures for the campaign and provided information on voluntary work and the raised questions in the brochure. You can find the information in our Viafoon.
After this all, we will work further in the battle against the Visa and we hope that one day, we will manage to invite volunteers around the world to voluntary work.

Last but not least:
An overview of the problems we had this year with the invitations of volunteers:

1. In February 2001 VIA invited a volunteer from Bangladesh to take part in our summer program in August. We made the invitation together with the Dutch branch. A lot of problems occured even we gave the embassy a full file with inviations, a letter of insurance, a prove that VIA provided food, accomodation and care, a lot of official documents like copy of passport,…
We had a lot of contact with the Dutch embassy in Bangladesh and the foreign affaires in Brussel but nothing seemed to help the proceeding.
At the end, the volunteer wanted to give up and our German Branch tried to help us by inviting the volunteer through the German embassy in Bangladesh. No reaction in this. At the end, we have to give up and as well us as the volunteer were very sad in this.
Why???

2. This year, I invited 10 Moroccon volunteers to participate in our workcamps in Belgium. None of them could come. They were not permitted to apply for the visa and had to wait for months.
The papers were the same as I use to invite all the volunteers needing a visa but in case of Morocco : nothing.
I contacted again the official services but almost never, I received a reply : this was very frustrating, again for us as well for the Moroccon organisations and the volunteers.

3. With Estonia and Russia, it took very long before the visa was issued with the result that the volunteers joined the workcamps too late. This is not nice because it is not ok for the group dynamics in the workcamp.

4. A visa for a Russian volunteer was refused so no participation in a workcamp.

5. In our long term programme, we have lots of problems with inviting volunteers from Ghana and Nigeria. We have to wait for months to have an answer, again with the result that volunteers come too late in the program and miss a lot. Attention : we start with the invitations in april and the program starts in August but the volunteers even then come too late!!!

6. To ask for a visa, the volunteers are sometime seen as potential terrorist, crooks and bad people. They have to provide all kind of papers and sometimes it is ridiculouos : every prove of insurance, sickness, well behaviour.
One volunteer from Jordania even had to prove a big amount on his bank account even he is a student, it was impossible for him so no issuing of visa.
Attention : this works in both directions : also flemish volunteers have problems. For example : a volunteer that went to Brazil had major problems and had to run in all Belgium to provide the necessary papers. Everytime she went to the embassy they found a new paper needed and the girl had to start again.

7. Big problems in communication with the embassies and the foreign affaires in Brussel.
We have 8 numbers of the foreign affaires and they are always occupied or not taken up. We know that they have too less staff members but it is not nice to call them for 3 days before you get somebody at the phone. We try to work on this but it seems that in case of contact, you almost never find the same person talking to you and this cannot build continuity.

We are going to stop with these examples but we can write for hours!
The feeling you keep is a very frustrating one and we can tell you that it is not getting better in the years.
Ok, we have more information how to manage but something is wrong : definitily!!!


Spain

SIV SCI Madrid

We visited about 15 embassies as well as the foreign ministry, speaking about the campaign and giving them an appeal in Spanish, together with some material about the campaign.
The reactions were different: some were interested, others not at all.
Saturday, 11th of August, we made a small manifestation in the Retiro park, putting up a border and stopping people, asking for VISA, Passport, money,etc. and then informing them about the campaign.
The press was informed but it didn't show any interest.
Discussions and some photos were hopefully made also during the workcamps that took place. We have had little info back on this theme from our camp-leaders. As a conclusion we find the campaign a good idea, but difficult to involve people.
It is only those people very involved in volunteer-policy that understands the problem.
To speak with Spanish people in the street about that we "ask for a legal status for volunteering" is not very easy not feels very logical. This issue is very important, but is more a lobby-issue than a street-campaign-issue.


Togo

UJEC


WORKCAMP AT GAPE DZOGBEDZI-AGOKPO VILLAGE JULY 2001
The workcamp consisted of a creation of a fruit orchard for a future good nutrition for especially children in this village and its surrounding.

THE INTERNATIONAL YEAR OF VOLUNTEERS ACTION WEEK.
During the evening of the action day there was an orientation and explanation of what to be done the nest day. The day was really a special for all our volunteers, considering that the camp was in a city for a good motivated volunteers to manisfest towards the Embassies. However, it was held with a lot of moblised villagers through the street of the village with slogans on sighboards etc...
"CREATE SPECIAL VOLUNTEERS VISA, FACILITATE VISA FOR VOLUNTEERS,VISA FOR VOLUNTEERS, HELP THE MOST NEEDY WITH VISA ETC...
The manisfestation went on for 3 hours and ended in the house of the cheif of the village who was frighten of what the problem was with a lot of slogans and the manifestation.
After a long explanation of the reason of the action, he was very pleased and supported the action.He was really thankful to the IYV JOINT CAMPAIGN GROUP for this important idea for the action.


Ireland

VSI

VSI organised an input at every workcamp, taking place in July and August on the visa campaign issue. We also sent the information to other voluntary groups in Ireland who involve international volunteers.
We didn't receive any publicity in the media but wrote an article for the Sept. issue of our VSI newsletter, which is sent to all our members as well as many other voluntary groups in Ireland.
VSI is planning to meet with the Dept. of Foreign Affairs later in the Autumn to discuss the visa issue for volunteers coming to Ireland. If we have any further news we will, of course, share it with you.


Poland

SCI Poland

Dear friends!
I am going to write you a little about the theatre workcamp I was coordinating this summer and how it contributed to the IYV Campaign.
The camp took place from the 6th till 19th of August in Barlinek, a little town in the north-west of Poland. It was organised in the framework of the International Year of Volunteers.
The main idea of the camp was to promote the voluntary movement, and express the idea of volunteering through different forms of art, mainly theatre, but also dance and music.
Volunteers participated in the theatre workshops and their main task was to make the theatre performance on the issue of voluntary service.
During our theatre work we discussed the idea of voluntary service, the need for voluntary work and also the way we understand who a volunteer is.
We found out how broad is the concept of volunteering, how many aspects it has, how different we can interprete it. Finally we realised how many other issues are associated with the volunteering itself, like peace, solidarity, the need for a mutual help and togetherness.
In our final theatre performance we touched the idea of volunteering in a very broad sense. We stressed especially the necessity for helping each other. We tried to show how much we can create and achieve working and living together with the others. We are all individuals, we are very different, but we are able to overcome all the differances, prejudices, and divisions, to create something together we could never make individually.
During our workcamp I also spread the leaflets about the IYV Joint Campaign and the Action Week.
Though, we didn’t make a typical Human Chain, we formed a Dancing Chain. During our dancing workshops run by the volunteers from the Flemmish Centre of Culture, we learnt how to dance some folk dances. We presented one of the simplest dance to the audience. We were all holding our hands, forming a chain, and making some very easy steps. In the end we encouraged people from the audience to join us. Many of them did, and the chain increased. It was very symbolic and we found it a sign of solidarity and peace.
The media gave a coverage to all those events and that was also the way of spreading information about the volunteering and workcamps.


Switzerland

SCI Switzerland

Dear friends, here you find my very small report, I wrote for the SCI Newspaper in Switzerland (french version).
It was very difficult to motivate volunteers in our camps. Maybe our efforts were to small, but we didn't want to force them.
What we did - and what we want to do
1. Motivate volunteers to discuss the subject in the workcamp and take actions, if they want to (small reactions)
2. Press release
3. SCI Switzerland wants that there will be introduced an official volunteers status, which should make more easy to get a Swiss Visa. This visa should be longer valid than 3 months (like the tourist visas).
We are initiating an effort on a political level: a member of parliament should make an initiative in Swiss Parliament 4. We will organise an action on the 5th of December 2001 here in Berne
Considerations:
1. There were some volunteers (two as far I know), who didn't get the Swiss visa. In both the cases it is very difficult to say what the reason was.
At the surface it looks like - as so often - a misunderstanding between SCI office, the federal office for foreigners and the embassy.
Because of one Serbian volunteer, who asked for asyl in Switzerland after getting a visa through SCI, the Swiss embassy in Belgrade refused all other applications for Swiss visas.
2. I am afraid that the demand for open borders for international volunteers will be much more difficult to push after the 11th September 2001.
Unfortunatly it seems to be that the time is closing the societies again.
3. Anyway: Could it be possible to bring our demand to the European Council?
I will keep you informed!
Martin Leschhorn
SCI Switzerland






 

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