This section contains papers, researches and other documents produced by organisations and institutions other than the Alliance and that are related to the spheres of volunteering and youth work. Part of it is also dedicated to official communications, recommendations, conclusions and policies of the European Union and the Council of Europe about non-formal and informal learning, volunteering, young people.
This second edition of the validation guidelines, published by Cedefop (European Center for the Development of Vocation Training), addresses a wide range of policy-makers and practitioners, including the voluntary sector. They seek to clarify the conditions for implementing validation, pointing to the critical choices to be made by stakeholders when implementing validation arrangements. They are based on the recommendations and conclusions on the topic of validation, issued in the past years by the European Union bodies. www.cedefop.europa.eu
The 2nd European Youth Work Convention, five years after the first, brought together some 500 participants active in the youth work field. The objective of the Convention was to identify the common ground on which all ‘youth work’ stands and its relation to wider agendas of concern to public policy and issues facing young people. www.eywc2015.be
The White Paper, created by initiative of CCIVS with the participation of 7 networks and 100 IVS organisations, is a policy tool for networks and organisations engaged in the field of IVS and for policy institutions, civil society bodies and international institutions who share the values of IVS aiming to provide guidelines to support the goals of IVS on both the internal and external levels. It describes what IVS organisations and networks do, the way they work and the vision and strategies set to achieve their highest goals. www.ccivs.org
What is our IVS? A common concept/ position/ strategic paper of IVS (International Voluntary Service) NGOs. The publication was produced by a Global Task Force gathering representatives of the ALLIANCE, CCIVS, EAVS, ICYE, NVDA and SCI and it was the result of two physical meetings held in Japan (Sep. 2017) and Nepal (Jan. 2019) and of a constant online communication between the Task Force Participants. The document aims at reconfirming the common values of IVS main stakeholders, strengthening mutual cooperation and solidarity, overcoming our weaknesses and developing our strengths! The paper also aims to develop a common strategy to review, potentially learn from, and collaborate with other types of international volunteering; to keep improving the quality of our projects and promoting our work and IVS values. In addition to the very final and official paper, you can also check the Annex to the paper and the Informal Paper “What is our IVS?”.
SEVEN is an international network of 29 organisations promoting senior volunteer exchanges. The focus of this research report is not only on how and what senior learners can achieve through their experience abroad; these exchanges give the chance to all institutional actors involved (sending and hosting organisations, local authorities) to become “learning organisations”. www.seven-network.eu
The European Volunteer Centre (CEV) based in Belgium launched this publication during the Spring 2012 General Assembly in Copenhagen. It comprises details about the physical structures, support mechanisms, human resources, knowledge, research and sustainable funding, made available to support volunteers and volunteer organisations in 29 European countries. www.cev.be
In consideration of the fact that sources of data on youth work are currently scarce, this study, commissioned by EACEA and the European Commission, strives to bring together existing evidence in order to facilitate the understanding and appreciation of youth work in Europe. It draws on literature in the area, a mapping of national contexts, consultation amongst stakeholders and an analysis of successful practices. ec.europa/eu/youth
On occasion of 2011 as European Year of Volunteering, the 17th issue of Coyote, a magazine by the EU-CoE partnership about youth work, tries to answer questions like “Where to situate volunteering in the twenty first century? Is social media playing any role in it?” or “Less and less people believe that altruism is enough of an explanation about why anybody would want to be a volunteer. And what if they also should have rights?” or “If there are fewer and fewer paid jobs to be found nowadays, what is the sense or value of engaging volunteers?”