V-CODE

International debates

The International Debates took part on 16/04/2015 in Riga, Latvia on “The main dilemmas in volunteering work: Problems and successes in the cooperation of voluntary organizations with (local) government. How do we resolve or take advantage of these issues for future perspective”. Due to the change of Latvian partner at that period project coordinator took responsibility of the event and it was organised by the Municipal Training Center.
 
The International Debates brought together 28 participants – practitioners, researchers, experts, students, volunteers, politicians who are engaged in volunteering activities from partner countries and additionally from Czech Republic, Hungary and Spain. Together they sought to find out how to make the cooperation between voluntary organisations and government successful, how to resolve issues volunteers face in their home countries, also contributed to a better understanding of volunteerism and its importance in a multicultural environment.
 
Before the event representatives from each of the six partners were asked to describe relationships between voluntary associations, and volunteering, and municipal government within their respective jurisdictions. In the written responses received, it was clear that both expectations for how municipalities can and should support volunteering and volunteer initiatives were wide and diverse across the partners. These differences were brought into the facilitated debate during the first "ice breaking" activity. Participants were tasked with choosing two images from a collection of 500 cards distributed throughout the room; one image should represent the existing relationship between municipalities and voluntary associations, and the second should represent the relationship as it ought to be. Some common frustrations included a lack of communication from government and between government and non-government organization, frustration over lack of support in the form of financial or leadership contributions, and a lack of appreciation for the role of volunteers. 
 
This exercise opened the debate in a friendly and spirited fashion (see the video on-line). Participants from United Kingdom expressed that the role of the municipality is quite limited, and this is how it ought to be. From other partners, there were expressed bigger desires to advance from the status quo. Municipalities were perceived to potentially play a critical role, either to reduce regulation, expand regulation, recognize volunteers, or help NGOs prepare for using volunteers more effectively. These mixed perspectives led to substantive debate on some critical issues. For instance, how can government inspire passion in volunteers? Should volunteers be paid or compensated in some way? How precisely should a volunteer be defined? How can generally good partnerships be formed between government and non-government organizations to promote volunteerism? (see the video of this part of the debate). 
 
Overall, the debate inspired thinking and sharing of practices that inspired action and creativity by each partner, as they began to launch their volunteer fairs and initiatives within their communities. These debates further anticipated some of the recommendations advanced during the final conference of the project almost one year later. 
 
The moderator of the event was civic participation researcher and activist from the United States of America who is also a visiting professor at Kaunas University of Technology.
 

 


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Mūsų adresas:
A. Mickevičiaus g. 37-104,
Kaunas, Lietuva, LT-44244
Darbo valandos:
Pirmadienis - Ketvirtadienis 8:00-17:00
Penktadienis 8:00-15:45
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