The Charter is a guide for people who are going to volunteer overseas in developing countries. It sets out seven principles that aim to encourage responsible, responsive international volunteering. Each of these principles contains a list of questions to help you make sure that you have thought about the issues raised, and to ensure that you know why they are important.
By agreeing to sign the Charter volunteers, will be showing their support for the principles it sets out. As a volunteer, your attitude to your placement and to your host project and community will be crucial to the success of the work you will be involved with. Your support will help to ensure a spirit of partnership, solidarity and respect between you, your sending organisation, and the host project and community with which you volunteer. The volunteer charter was developed through extensive consultations with the three main groups involved in volunteer placements: volunteers, sending agencies, and host projects.
Over the past decade, there has been a growing interest among Irish people in volunteering in developing countries. More and more people are going overseas as volunteers, sometimes for very short periods. Although there can be many differences between the work done on short-term and long-term volunteering placements, all international volunteers will be engaging with the same broader issues. These include having realistic expectations about what volunteering can achieve, and adopting the role of learner and guest while overseas. The Charter encourages people to think about these issues and to place their volunteering experiences within the wider context of global development. By doing so, it aims to contribute to the improvement of the volunteering experiences of international volunteers, and ultimately to the quality of life for host communities affected by volunteering. It does not replace sending agencies’ and host projects’ specific guidelines and rules for volunteers, but rather complements them.
By agreeing to sign the Volunteer Charter, you will be showing your support for the principles it sets out.
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