Hei nuori, haluaisitko vahvistaa nuorten ääntä kansainvälisen vapaaehtoistyön kentällä? Hae mukaan ICYE-federaation nuorisotoimikuntaan!
ICYE-federaatio (https://icye.org) etsii nuoria nyt perustettavaan nuorisotoimukantaansa (Youth Engagement Committee). Kansainvälisen nuorisotoimikunnan roolina on mm. kertoa näkemyksiään federaation toiminnasta ja antaa siihen suosituksia sekä jakaa ideoitaan siitä, miten saada lisää nuoria mukaan federaatioon. Suosittelemme komiteaan hakemista kaikille niille Maailmanvaihdon toiminnan nykyisille ja aiemmille osallistujille, jotka ovat kiinnostuneita kehittämään ICYE-federaation toimintaa. Oletko se sinä?
”Background
We have worked directly alongside, with, and for youth on peacebuilding and social change for 75 years. Over the course of the past several years, however, across the field of international voluntary service (IVS), NGOs have faced increased challenges in reaching young people with our non-formal education programmes, and particularly in getting them to maintain their commitment, e.g., stay engaged as volunteers after they return, or even complete the long‐term programme. We need meaningful engagement of young people that promote the value of working together with youth.
Objectives
As a youth organization we believe that active youth participation on all levels is required to grow and develop further. When those most affected by our policies, collaboration, and projects have a say in how our Federation operates, we can improve our responsiveness to the needs of young people, strengthen our organizational capacities and alliances, as well as develop our advocacy work to reflect their interests and perspectives. Based on that we are committed to achieve the following objectives with the Youth Engagement Committee:
- Promote youth empowerment in international volunteering, at institutional level and in the implementation of our projects.
- Strengthen the voices of young people as the key target group of our exchanges and our projects and to include their consequential contributions to the processes and outcomes in decision making, project implementation and campaigns.
- Promote intergenerational work and enable meaningful and structured youth participation in the ICYE Federation and its governance structure.
- Promote reflection and action on anti-racism, gender equality, and decolonisation as part of ICYE’s longer-term organisational transformation process.
- Empower diverse youth voices, thereby contribute to decolonising our international volunteering service.
The aim of the Youth Engagement Committee is to acknowledge and remind us of the unique challenges faced by young people, but also to harness their potential as catalysts for positive change.
Functioning
Once selected, the Youth Engagement Committee will have a few online meetings right in the beginning together with people from the ICYE International Office, BoM members (Board of Managers) and people from the YEC Selection Committee where they will learn more about the structure and functioning of ICYE as a global organisation. The purpose of the meetings in the beginning will be to bring everyone on board and help create a clear path on how to proceed further.
After that the YEC is expected to organize itself and have regular online meetings. There will be an opportunity for an in-person meeting of the Youth Engagement Committee, details will be discussed with the already selected members. In this training they will learn how to work better in an intercultural environment and how to promote gender equality in IVS. They will be brought up-to-date on the most important debates in the decolonisation of IVS. Participants will build stronger connections, while developing an action plan for their mandate through active participation in different activities. This will ensure that their future work as a team can run smoothly, and they will contribute to social change and environmental regeneration by promoting youth engagement and addressing power dynamics.
Other than that, members of the YEC will be encouraged to participate in different sub-committees and working groups in ICYE, based on their interests and fields of knowledge. More information about how they can be involved in the Federation, will be discussed together during the first meetings.
Who can participate?
The members of the Youth Engagement Committee will be selected based on a few criteria:
- Ideally be aged between 18-30;
- Have a support letter from one of our 41 partner organisations;
- Compose a team of 10-15 young people from different regions (Africa, Americas, Asia-Pacific, Europe), where we have gender and region balance;
- Have a good level of English that will allow them to communicate with the rest of the team;
- Have strong interest in the fields of volunteering, youth participation and empowerment and intercultural work;
- Have some volunteer experience (in ICYE or outside – to be shared in the application);
- Be motivated to attend the regular online meetings and be active during their mandate until the next ICYE General Assembly (end of 2025);
- Be aware of the context and main issues in their country and region and understand the youth needs and concerns;
- Keep in mind that it is okay if you don’t meet all the criteria mentioned above (except the support letter that is required always). We strongly value your interest and motivation, so we encourage everyone to apply, and we will consider every application.
The Role of the Youth Engagement Committee
- Enabling meaningful and structured youth participation in the ICYE Federation and its governance structure;
- Organising discussions, trainings and strategies for better intergenerational work in our Federation;
- Sharing different perspective and recommendations on the selected motions;
- Sharing ideas on how to include more young people in the Federation and keep them engaged long term;
- Promoting our vision, mission and values and formulating opinions and proposals about our projects;
- Participating actively in working groups on different projects;
Monitoring and Evaluation
- The Youth Engagement Committee will have an official evaluation at the next ICYE General Assembly in 2025;
- The Youth Engagement Committee has to create and submit a report to the ICYE Board of Managers (BoM) every 6 months;
- The Youth Engagement Committee will work closely with the ICYE International Office and BoM;
Conclusion
The Youth Engagement Committee will work horizontally, honestly and respecting the policies, mission and vision of the ICYE Federation. The members will represent youth in their regions and provide them with new opportunities for engagement in IVS.”
Selection Process
The selection of the first Youth Engagement Committee will be done based on the selection criteria, where we will consider every individual profile. The selection process will be conducted by the YEC Selection Committee and representatives of ICYE International Office and BoM. In case of a high volume of applications from one region, the ICYE Regional Coordinators will narrow down the selection so that we can achieve region balance.
In the future the YEC members will also participate in the selection of the new members.
Hae näin:
- Jos asut Suomessa ja olet kiinnostunut hakemaan ICYE-federaation nuorisotoimikuntaan, lähetä Maailmanvaihtoon osoitteeseen maailmanvaihto@maailmanvaihto.fi lyhyt vapaamuotoinen kuvaus itsestäsi ja motivaatiostasi osallistua toimikuntaan.
- Ollaan yhteydessä ja jos tuemme nuorisotoimikuntaan hakemistasi, saat meiltä tukikirjeen.
- Täytä tämän jälkeen ICYE-federaation hakulomake (Google forms) ja liitä lomakkeeseesi Maailmanvaihdon tukikirje. (Kaikki hakijat tarvitsevat tukikirjeen ICYE-järjestöltä.)
- Viimeinen päivä täyttää ICYE-federaation hakulomake on 29.2.2024. Toivomme kiinnostuneilta yhteydenottoa Maailmanvaihtoon hyvissä ajoin ennen tätä.
Haluaisitko lisätietoja?
ICYE-federaatio järjestää nuorten toimikuntaan liittymisestä infotilaisuuden Zoomissa ke 14.2. klo 15 (paikallista aikaa Suomessa) alkaen. Infossa kuulet lisää toimikunnasta ja voit esittää kysymyksiä. Voit liittyä kokoukseen Zoom-linkin kautta: https://zoom.us/j/98246678598?pwd=Qy93QkN3ZkZxSElHek9DYTJlVCtrdz09
