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Australian Workcamp
"The experience changed my life, cementing some choices
but also sending me off in new directions ...Immense and sincere
thanks."
Shalom Workcamp volunteer
IVP
today...
IVP was established as part of the SCI network in Australia in 1988.
There are branches, groups and partner organisations in over 50
countries worldwide.
More than 5000 volunteers participate in hundreds of workcamps each year.
The
United Nations awarded SCI the title of "Messenger of Peace"
in 1987 in recognition of its work in furthering peace and international
understanding.
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In
the beginning . . .
IVP
is the Australian contact for Service
Civil International (SCI), an international non-governmental voluntary
service organisation established in 1920 at the inspiration of the famous
Swiss pacifist Pierre
Ceresole.
Ceresole organised
the first workcamp in Verdun, France. In 1920, volunteers from Germany,
Switzerland, Great Britain and Hungary worked side by side to rebuild
a village destroyed during the First World War, fostering grassroots reconciliation
between the former enemies.
About Us
IVP is a
non-profit local community group with an international perspective, having
contact branches in over 50 countries worldwide. IVP focuses
on organising work camps around worthwhile community needs and causes,
for which it recruits participants from Australia and all across the world
through its global network. IVP activities are aimed to encourage
understanding among peoples and to promote discussion and an appreciation
of the problems that different communities face in their struggles for
social justice and environmental harmony.
In the past, IVP has
assisted athletes with disabilities at the annual Narabeen Push and Power
games, helped with school maintenance and classroom assistance at an Aboriginal
and Torres Strait Islander School in Townsville and undertaken repair
and gardening work at a community center in the Blue Mountains. IVP
also sends out volunteers abroad each year to work on a diverse range
of projects in Europe, the Americas, Asia and Africa.
How does
IVP contribute to peace?
Workcamps are organised by IVP (SCI) to promote peace.
Workcamps provide an opportunity for individuals to combine their energies
and together address problems vital to our shared global future. Workcamps
aim to increase tolerance and facilitate the questioning of values. Having
space to reflect on the philosophy of IVP (SCI) as a peace-building organisation
will be an integral part of the workcamp.
If
you are an Australian or are living in Australia, please apply for membership
and workcamps through us. If not, see the SCI contact list - Service
Civil International (SCI) - for your own country or region contact.
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About Us