Volunteering: A Youth Empowerment Instrument

This Training Course, organised by the Italian organisation Vicolocorto and the Georgian Academy for Peace and Development, aims to train 24 youth leaders and project coordinators how to use effectively the potentials of volunteers, let them be European volunteers or local volunteers. The methodologies will be based on non-formal education such as discussions and debates, group work, simulations and role plays, and workshops. The training will be run by two trainers experienced in international youth work, volunteering and work of civil society organisations. Activities and events of non-governmental organisations are very often based on the voluntary engagement of young people willing to contribute their enthusiasm and time. If well managed, voluntary work is a win-win situation for all parties involved: 1) the volunteer as s/he earns specific hard and soft skills raising self-confidence and qualification for the labour market, 2) the organisation in which the volunteer dedicates her/ his time as it gains support and extra accomplishments, unmanageable without the commitment of the volunteers, and 3) the local community in which the volunteer works by benefiting in diverse ways depending on the specific activities realised by the volunteer. What is more, volunteering is an often used instrument to foster civic engagement and empower young people to take actively part in addressing community issues and show social responsibility. However, for volunteering to be a success story, a wide range of takes have to be performed by those willing to use volunteering as a beneficial instrument to foster change. Project management skills have to be accompanied by abilities to support the volunteers by mentoring their learning process as well as guiding and supporting them in their work. Additionally, volunteering projects should be based on the conceptual understanding on how and why volunteering is the chosen activity type to encourage social participation. At the end of the course, the participants will be able to: - motivate, manage and coach international and local young volunteers - set learning objectives and monitoring outcomes together with the volunteers - develop strategies of inclusion of young volunteers - promote successfully volunteering and active participation in their local community - have developed own check lists and procedures for the most essential steps in volunteering projects