Category : Member Area

24 February 2022

No war in Ukraine! No war anywhere!

We, the undersigned Service Civil International (SCI) organisations, strongly condemn the full-scale military invasion of Ukraine by Russia. We express our solidarity with the people of Ukraine. In particular, we express our solidarity with and support for peace movements and peace activists in Ukraine, Russia and internationally, as they resist the war. 

We are concerned that this invasion leads to a huge number of victims and deaths, injuries and severe emotional distress among civilians and military in the countries concerned. It can cause significant deterioration of infrastructure and the ecosystem, an economic crisis and mass displacement of people.

We call upon the Russian decision makers to immediately stop the violence and withdraw their troops from Ukraine and bordering territories. We call upon the international community and all parties involved to engage in substantial and sincere diplomatic negotiations in accordance with international agreements and place the humanitarian needs of civilians first. We call upon the countries of the European Union to welcome people fleeing the conflict in Ukraine and guarantee international protection.

A war undermines efforts at global cooperation. It leads to an increase in military spending, while resources are much needed to address pressing global issues, such as the climate crisis and the COVID-19 pandemic. Given the technologies available for warfare today, among them huge arsenals of nuclear weapons, de-escalation is the only way forward.

We call upon people within our network and all over the world to stand up against the war in Ukraine. We ask you to join or organise demonstrations for a diplomatic resolution and against a further military escalation of the conflict. Call for an immediate ceasefire as well as a peaceful and diplomatic resolution of the conflict on social media and with decision-makers in your countries.

Peace is a choice that all parties in the conflict must commit to now! Diplomacy is the only real method for conflict resolution! No to war in Ukraine!

Service Civil International is an international peace organisation active since 1920. We are dedicated to promoting a culture of peace by organising international voluntary projects for people of all ages and backgrounds. The organisation consists of 40 branches and more than 90 partner organisations. We oppose all forms of armed conflict and militarization. Since its beginnings, SCI has developed peaceful dialogue between people of all nations, with the vision of a world without armed conflict, hostility and with positive peace. For many years, we have been supporting peace and reconciliation efforts in Ukraine and Russia.

Branches and partners that support this statement:

1. SCI Hellas
2. SCI Austria
3. Stowarzyszenie Jeden Świat – SCI Poland
4. ÚTILAPU Hungary
5. Volonterski centar Vojvodine
6. SCI IVS USA
7. SCI Catalunya
8. Mati Canada (not SCI)
9. SCI Germany
10. SCI Italy
11. GAIA SCI Kosovo
12. IVP Australia

Saturday 26 February 2022 – Thursday 10 March 2022

https://mcusercontent.com/d4734a44b67338c5653614b4c/files/47ba6acb-c6b2-bc1c-6c82-bb254bbffe9d/volunteering_poster_Goulburn_Show.pdf

https://mailchi.mp/b6a0963e29d6/peace-connection-19317893?e=3c97cb7500

https://www.volunteer.com.au/volunteering/174275/hr-volunteer-engagement-officer

Job Description: The task will be to recruit a number of other volunteers to fill roles required by the organisation. Specific tasks are:
• Update existing material on our shared drive, including recruitment processes and flow chart for responses
• Collaborate with committee to write job description for various volunteer positions as required
• Write and place advertisements in suitable places including online
• Record responses and liaise with committee on selection criteria
• Assist with selecting and interviewing applicants
• Review and update volunteer orientation resources

Skills required: 
• Administration and database management
• Good communication skills
• Interviewing skills
• Self-motivation
• Training or experience in HR

Type of work

Administration & Office Management

Suitable for

Skilled Volunteers, Work Experience

Commitment

Regular – more than 6 months

Training

**Induction and support:** An orientation will be provided and an induction to existing systems. Support from other volunteers will be readily available. Your ideas on improving our current systems will be welcome.

Time required

Flexible, up to 4 hours per week

Live in and help out for 12 days at Goulburn Agricultural and Horticultural Society annual show.  

Join a team of 6 volunteers from Sat 26th February – Thurs 10th March 2022

Participation: $75 (covers food, accommodation, insurance, camp leader, sightseeing).  

Host: Goulburn Agricultural, Pastoral and Horticultural Society began in 1880. They organise the Goulburn Show each year, showcasing the very best of agricultural produce, local creative talents, school artwork and related activities. Goulburn Show is one of the largest community events in the region. www.goulburnshow.com.au

Volunteer work: For the volunteers it will be fun and rewarding to work with local community-minded people. The Show will take place on 5th and 6th March 2022. You will work behind the scenes and help put the Goulburn Show together, set up infrastructure for the show and pack away afterwards. The work will be approximately 7 hours per day with tasks as required, mostly physical with some moderate lifting. The work is quite physically demanding so please do not apply unless you are happy to work and take initiative. Together with local volunteers, the work will include erecting tables, setting up displays, fencing, laying carpets, packing and unpacking, raking up straw in the animal enclosures and more.  During the two days of the Show you will help for a few hours, on a rotating roster, to run an information stall for IVP. 

Study theme:  There will be a short workshop on peace at the personal and community level. 

Cultural activities: You will have free tickets to the Show. You will learn about agricultural issues, in particular wool growing which has an important place in the history of Australia and Goulburn. There will be a whole day sightseeing trip, possibly to Canberra, and time after work for local sightseeing / shopping.  Local IVP volunteers will assist with transport and sight-seeing where possible. You will meet local people and may be invited to visit farms and there will be opportunities to see local wildlife and a variety of farm animals.  

Accommodation: The team will live together in a small building at the showground. Stretchers, mattresses, sheets, pillows and blankets will be supplied. There will be a roster for shopping, cooking and cleaning. Toilets, showers and a washing machine are in the building. The town centre is a 20-minute walk away and there you can find supermarkets, post office, cinema, nature walks and a swimming pool.

Arrival and departure: Nearest international airports are Sydney and Canberra, from there it would be train or bus to and from Goulburn Railway Station, which is conveniently located in the centre of town. Detailed information about train times will be given closer to the start of the workcamp (in case of change of timetable). Please aim to arrive in the afternoon of 25th February 2022. On arrival there will be a group welcome and orientation to get to know Goulburn, the project and your hosts. There will be a walk around the grounds to familiarise you with the surroundings. Work will start from Monday 28th March and will finish on Tuesday 8th March. The next day Wednesday 9th March there will be an evaluation, excursion and farewell barbeque with the local volunteers. Thursday 10th March is the final day, time to wind down, pack up, you can plan to leave any time on this day that suits you.

What to bring: Wide brimmed sun hat, closed work shoes/boots and appropriate work clothes. The weather can be very changeable, one moment very hot and the next, a cold snap, so bring clothes for all climates, including possible rain. We will have some emergency clothes in case you can’t carry clothes for all possibilities.  We will also have sunscreen and you must wear it as the sun in Australia is ferocious and you can develop preconditions for skin cancer with 10 mins exposure in the middle of the day.

Requirement: You will be working with children during the camp, therefore the Australian authorities require you to have a Working With Children Check. Please, apply for that online here, prior to arriving in Goulburn. Keep your application number, because you will have to report that on arrival.

To apply, contact IVP: placements@ivp.org.au

Project Coordinator:  Rita Warleigh rita.warleigh@gmail.com

https://www.rrr.org.au/explore/programs/uncommon-sense/episodes/17884-uncommon-sense-12-october-2021

Raising Peace

The Raising Peace festival was held from 16th to 26th of September  2021.  30 organisations were involved with 37 events taking place via Zoom over the 11 days. There were a variety of topics related to peace, such as disarmament, environment, women, militarisation, healing the past, youth, international diplomacy, cross-cultural understanding, arts, finding personal and community peace, non-violence, education, First Nations and a special session on Afghanistan.  There were 100 different presenters and speakers and over 1000 people participated, mainly from Sydney but we also had people tuning in from Malaysia, Philippines, India, Africa, Europe and other places.  All the sessions were recorded and are available on the website: raisingpeace.org.au. 

To quote from some of the responses:  

Bronwen: This was truly the most magnificent event. I am so impressed with the skills and steadfastness I experienced along the way, to the generosity of so many and the most incredibly informative and interesting outcome.

Tim (UNAA): Your initiation of the idea of such a festival in early 2020 was inspirational, and your perseverance through all the restrictions imposed by COVID 19 to develop such a far-reaching program involving 30 organisation and 37 events has been most worthwhile. 

Lynne:  Each session I viewed was incredibly well structured, the speakers complimented each other to create synergy and explore deeper processes/meaning. It was great to see involvement of young people too.

Frank: I would also like to thank all those who contributed with so many constructive ideas during the various online sessions. The community building during the festival augurs well for future Raising Peace festivals and related events and activities both online and in person.

Dear all,

I’m writing this email to share some good news with you. 

The “From Dreams To Actions” training course is still looking for participants and the call is uploaded to SALTO!!! The deadline to apply through this platform is the 29^th August. 

It will still be possible to apply after that deadline here. We review applications on a rolling basis!

Please, feel free to share the call through social media and to spread the word.

Have a joyful day,

Hasna
— 

Hasna El Hiyani(she/her)
Projects Volunteer 

SCI International Secretariat
Antwerp – Belgium 
+32 (0)3 226 57 27 

www.sci.ngo 

Impact research seeks to determine and explain the impact of IVS on volunteers & host communities. The results are used to promote IVS to our stakeholders providing greater visibility for our activities.
As feedback they enable us to improve our projects

CCIVS promotes the value of International Voluntary Service as a tool for non formal and popular education, where learning is intended, organised, and can produce transformational change for the individuals, communities and organisations involved. By looking at our volunteer programs and participants with the support of strategic research, we therefore aim at building a path towards the recognition of such value, which is reflected in the progressive and complementary achievement of three objectives:

• Understanding our practices and the experiences of the participants, and how they influence each other, creating new knowledge, skills and attitudes about and towards themselves, their communities and the larger and interconnected global society;
• Improving the capacity of the organisations, communities and individual volunteers involved in our projects to positively take into account these accrued competences and become conscious actors of change;
• Valorising the unique processes and results that stakeholders create together thanks to the invaluable interactions of international voluntary service, giving them wider visibility across the institutional and public spheres.

CCIVS approach to impact is highly participative in nature, from the definition of common goals and questions with the members and stakeholders concerned, to the training of field practitioners and the innovative implementation of participative analysis and implementation research.

Utilising both quantitative and qualitative methods, it relies on two key concepts: the idea of change, as developed by several CCIVS members and partners during the first “Changing Perspectives” project, coordinated by Solidarités Jeunesses France, for the specific field of International Voluntary Service:

“A change or an effect on individuals, collectives or environments in the short, medium and long term. Produced by interaction between individuals, communities and environments in the context of International Voluntary Service actions. Perceivable, and as such could lead to social recognition or personal acknowledgment.”

And the idea of impact assessment, which looks at the correspondence between our goals and objectives as indicated in the Constitution and outlined by specific programs and projects, and the actual results we manage to achieve. This is exemplified by the definition given by Rossi, Lipsey and Freeman in Evaluation:
A Systemic Approach (2004):

“Impact assessments are undertaken to find out whether programs actually produce the intended effects. A program effect, or impact, refers to a change in the target population or social conditions that has been brought about by the program, that is, a change that would not have occurred had the program been absent. […] establishing that the program is a cause of some specified effect.”

Building on the key ideas of impact as change and assessment, the research work implemented by CCIVS and its members and partners is integrated in, and nourishes, the network’s structural processes of monitoring and quality improvement. These focus on the three pillars of International Voluntary Service, adapting different methodologies to address specific goals:

• Individuals (Quantitative and qualitative research, Training): Personal, Interpersonal and Social development, Life skills and competences.
• Communities (Qualitative research, participative analysis): Intercultural learning, Active Citizenship and Participation, Conflict Management, Technical Work and Realizations.

Organisations and Institutions (Implementation research, Capacity building, Pentagon methodology): Structure, Functioning, Relationships, Communication, Financial Sustainability.