VOLUNTEERING FOR THE FUTURE:
Resources to Foster Active Citizenship in International Volunteers
Funded by Erasmus+, the “Volunteering for the Future” project brought together partners from the Czech Republic, Germany, Ireland and the UK, all experienced in working with international volunteers.
The project developed high quality learning opportunities tailored to volunteers returning from placements in the Global South to upskill them as active citizens on international development issues. Utilising innovative outreach and delivery methodologies, it aimed to nurture the transformative potential of these people’s overseas experience and translate it into a deepened sense of identity as active global citizens.
The project’s resources will particularly interest trainers, facilitators and educators working at the intersection of global active citizenship and volunteering. Check these resources out below.
Research: Engaging Returned Volunteers in Active Citizenship
This is a piece of research on how organisations can support and foster active citizenship in groups and people they work with. It sets out 12 steps to foster active citizenship in international volunteering.
Training Manual for Volunteer Sending Agencies: ‘What Next’
This resource is aimed at volunteer-sending agencies (VSAs) and organisations or groups working with volunteers returning from Global South placements. Our experience shows that returned volunteers bring home new perspectives and an appetite for further learning. The resource aims to support and promote volunteers’ continuous engagement on local-global issues and deepen their engagement as active citizens.
12 Steps to Fosters Active Citizenship in International Volunteers
What is active citizenship?
The question of active citizenship was explored at the beginning of the Volunteering for the Future project through research in each partner country. Based on the feedback received from 75 respondents in 18 countries, active citizenship was defined as encompassing:
- Political engagement, whereby people engage critically with democratic structures and institutions;
- Social participation, focusing on the activities people can engage with in their everyday lives;
- Individual participation, whereby individuals’ choices (such as choosing fair trade goods) impact on society.
Additionally, we championed a critical approach to active citizenship, which involves engaging with democratic structures and institutions in a deeper, more structural way. Our research identified 12 recommendations for improving how active citizenship is fostered in returning international volunteers – you can explore these below.
Our Partners
Comhlámh led the project in partnership with three organisations involved in international volunteering: Finep (Germany), INEX-SDA (Czech Republic) and Volunteering Matters (UK). It started in 2016 and ran over 32 months, with funding from the Erasmus+ programme managed by Leargas in Ireland.
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