minna, Author at Maailmanvaihto ry

Beyound Borders: Young People with Disabilities Volunteering Abroad

Interested in international volunteering as a young person with a disability? Join us to learn about European Solidarity Corps volunteering!

The European Solidarity Corps is a funding programme of the European Union that creates volunteering opportunities around Europe for young people. The volunteering projects address a wide range of issues from inclusion to environmental protection.

Food, pocket money, accommodation, and travel expenses are covered by the European Union. If you are a young person with a disability, support can be tailored for you with the EU funding.

You can join the European Solidarity Corps for 6–12 months through Maailmanvaihto. We will be happy to explore together with you what kind of opportunities there might be available for you abroad or in Finland. Read more:

get to know volunteering in Finland (in English) or
get to know volunteering outside Finland (in Finnish).

Watch the videos below for your inspiration. The offer you further information on volunteers’ experiences and the support available. If you have any questions appear, please, don’t hesitate to contact us!

1) Beyond Borders: Susanna Halme – Volunteering as a Person with a Visual Impairment at a Youth Exchange organisation in Austria

In the video, you can meet European Solidarity Corps volunteer Susanna Halme. Susanna shares experiences of volunteering as a young person with a visual impairment at a youth exchange organisation Grenzenlos in Vienna.

00:00 – Introduction video
00:51 – Share us shortly where have you volunteered and what have been your tasks?
01:33 – What was your motivation for doing a volunteer project abroad?
02:03 – What did the volunteering experience abroad give you?
02:36 – What can an organisation benefit from co-operating with a young volunteer with disabilities?
03:19 – What obstacles did you face during your volunteering experience?
05:30 – What kind of support did you get for overcoming these obstacles?
06:09 – Based on your experiences, what kind of tips and recommendations do you have for future young volunteers with disabilities?
07:57 – How could the European Solidarity Corps better reach young people with disabilities to tell them about volunteering opportunities?
08:58 – What other advice, recommendations do you have for decision-makers and organisers of the European Solidarity Corps for making the program more accessible?
09:21 – What greetings do you have for young people with disabilities who might be interested in international volunteering?
10:24 – Credits

Music: AlexiAction – Good Vibes https://pixabay.com/fi/music/yritys-good-vibes-127577

2) Beyond Borders: Young people with Disabilities Volunteering Abroad I Jutta Kivimäki

In the video, you can meet Jutta Kivimäki, Senior Program Advisor at the Finnish National Agency for Education. Jutta talks about how the European Solidarity Corps supports young volunteers with disabilities.

00:00 – Introduction video
00:50 – In general, what does Finnish National Agency for Education do in regard to the European Solidarity Corps?
01:26 – What kind of support does the European Solidarity Corps offer for the young volunteers with disabilities?
02:20 – How common is it that young people with disabilities participate in the European Solidarity Corps volunteering?
03:16 – How can young people with disabilities find information about European Solidarity Corps volunteer opportunities?
04:24 – How can young people with disabilities learn more about financial and human support and insurance that the European Solidarity Corps offers for them?
05:27 – If a person with a disability participates in the European Solidarity Corps, this person will be asked to tell before starting the volunteering project, how much expenses will be involved in their support. What advice do you have for young people for calculating the expenses?
06:27 – What advice would you give to receiving and sending organisations for preparing to work with young people with disabilities?
07:57 – What would you like to improve in the future in the European Solidarity Corps, in order to make it more accessible to young people with disabilities? Whose support do you need in this regard?
09:06 – What greetings do you have for young people with disabilities who might be interested in applying for the European Solidarity Corps volunteering?
10:15 – Credits

2) Beyond Borders: Young people with Disabilities Volunteering Abroad – Viivi Kilpeläinen ja Susanna Haarala, Finnish Hearing Association

In the video, you can meet Viivi Kilpeläinen, youth specialist and Finnish Hearing Association (Kuuloliitto) and Susanna Haarala, member of Finnish Hearing Association youth committee. They share experiences of travelling abroad as a young person with hearing loss.

00:00 – Introduction video
00:53 – Let’s start. Please introduce yourself.
01:15 – Briefly, what is Kuuloliitto and what kind of activities and services do you offer for young adults?
02:12 – How typical is it in your network that young hard of hearing adults go and volunteer abroad?
02:43 – You said that it is not that typical for young hard of hearing adults to go and volunteer abroad. Do you know why?
03:16 – From your perspective, how can hard of hearing youth benefit from international experience?
04:05 – What barriers do hard of hearing youth face when travelling abroad?
04:47 – Kuuloliitto and Maailmanvaihto have jointly promoted European Solidarity Corps volunteering for young people with hearing loss. Why do you consider the program a good option for them?
05:22 – How can Kuuloliitto support young people wishing to volunteer abroad & volunteering organisations wishing to learn more about supporting young hard of hearing people?
06:06 – What greetings do you have for those young people with disabilities who would like to volunteer abroad?
06:40 – Credits

Music of the videos: AlexiAction – Good Vibes https://pixabay.com/fi/music/yritys-good-vibes-127577

The videos are a part of the project “Beyond Borders: Young People with Disabilities Volunteering Abroad” of the European Solidarity Corps volunteer Mariam Darbaidze at Maailmanvaihto – ICYE Finland. The volunteering period was co-funded by the European Union.

Every year, many young people take part in European Solidarity Corps volunteering. For people with disabilities, the process of joining international volunteering is often more difficult due to the challenges and obstacles they face in their lives.

The goal of the project is to create more knowledge about European Solidarity Corps volunteering as a young person with disabilities – for young people with disabilities interested in international volunteering, organisations hosting volunteers, and organisations coordinating and funding volunteering. In general, the project intends to promote equality of possibilities.

The European Commission is not responsible for the content of the videos.

MaailmanVaihtoa – Volunteers’ Voices 1/2023: Language and Communication

In this issue

Read the pdf version of the magazine.

4 Pääkirjoitus / Editorial
6 Kutsu kevätkokoukseen / Invitation to Spring Meeting
7 Kuulumisten vaihtoa
10 Tule mukaan toimintaan!
11 Isäntäperheily avartaa maailmaa
13 Join our activities!
14 Terveisiä maailmalta! Greetings from Abroad!
18 Volunteering is a chance to give and learn: Interview with ICYE Kenya

Theme articles

20 Käytännön kielitaito tuo ongelmanratkaisukykyä ja itsevarmuutta
23 ”Sen takki” ja muita hauskoja hetkiä kulttuurivaihdon parista
26 Äidinkieli – se kielistä rakkain
28 Finding your way to communicate
31 Tulevat tapahtumat / Upcoming events

ISSN 2342-2629 (Printed)
ISSN 2342-2637 (Online)

Apply as soon as possible! Open position for European Solidarity Corps volunteering at Lehtimäki Special Folk High School

Looking for volunteering possibilities in Finland? Are you aged 18–30 years and living in an EU country or Ukraine? Apply for European Solidarity Corps volunteering at Lehtimäki Special Folk High School!

European Solidarity Corps volunteering offers a great way to participate in creating grass-root level contacts and understanding among people with different kinds of backgrounds. It is carried out and financed by the European Union. >> Learn about European Solidarity Corps volunteering in general. We at Maailmanvaihto – ICYE Finland are now looking for a volunteer for a European Solidarity Corps volunteering project at Lehtimäki Special Folk high school.

Lehtimäki Special Folk High School (Lehtimäen opisto) is a boarding school for youth and adults with special needs.

We offer 70–80 places for students, and there are about 40 different short-term courses for youth, adults, and elderly with disabilities and their families. We offer rehabilitation courses, such as riding therapy, occupational therapy, and physical therapy. Some training is aimed at increasing the occupational capacities of the students, through computer literacy training, for example.

Our school builds its activities around values of respecting individuality and uniqueness of people, equality among people, participation, safety, community, and lifelong learning.

Number of volunteers

Volunteering period

18.8.2023–18.6.2024 (10 months)

Applying deadline

Apply as soon as possible! We will fill in the position as soon as a suitable candidate is found. Update: THE POSITION HAS BEEN FILLED!

Activity topics

education and training, disabilities, inclusion

Location

Lehtimäki Special Folk High School is situated in Western Finland in the small village of Lehtimäki located about 60 km away from the city of Seinäjoki.

Volunteer’s role and tasks

The volunteers will interact with students with special needs during their lessons and leisure time and support them in their daily activities. Helping the kitchen staff also belongs to the tasks of the volunteers. The volunteers may work at the stables, too.

Volunteer’s profile

It is important that the volunteers are motivated to work with people with special needs and have good social skills and an open attitude. We are especially looking for volunteers with knowledge of horseback riding and stable work, as well as volunteers with a musical background. It is important that the volunteers are prepared to carry out different kinds of tasks and to live in a small village in the countryside. NB! The currently open position is only for candidates from the EU countries and Ukraine.

Accommodation, food, and transportation

The volunteers will live either in an apartment in the campus area or in a separate house about two kilometers away from the school. In case the volunteers live in the latter, they can use the bicycles of Lehtimäki Special Folk High School for their daily way to work.
Meals are provided by the school restaurant. When the restaurant is closed during weekends and holidays, the volunteers will receive a food package.
Lehtimäki is situated in the countryside. The only public transportation nearby is one bus during the weekends to the nearest city Seinäjoki. The volunteers will get reimbursement for one weekly return trip between Seinäjoki and Lehtimäki, and the staff might also assist with moving around in the area.

Accessibility

The voluntary workplace unfortunately cannot host volunteers with physical or sensory disabilities.

Organisation in the European Youth Portal

Website and social media channels

How to apply?

>> See the application instructions

Maailmanvaihto’s office closed on 18th May

Maailmanvaihto’s office will remain closed on 18th May 2023.

Join the online workshop on brave space Fri 26th May 2023

Welcome to the online workshop on brave spaces! The trainer Sauli Kahkonen invites to the trainig all those participants of Maailmanvaihto’s activities who are interested in the topic.

On Friday 26.5.2023 at 17.30-19.30
In Zoom (we will send a link to the meeting to those who sign up)

Are you interested in having difficult conversations on challenging topics and learning more tools to make these conversations more productive? Do you sometimes feel stuck when facing conflict? Are you working with groups and individuals and sometimes feel the need for new approaches?

Look no further because I invite you to join a Brave Space Workshop! In this 2-hour session, we will:

Explore a basic concept of creating and maintaining brave spaces
Discuss and practice how to create a brave space
Learn some practical tools to manage difficult emotions while holding the space

The workshop includes short meditations and bodywork, so make sure to find a comfortable and calm space to participate. Grab a pen and notebook, and perhaps a cup of tea, as we embark on a journey towards creating spaces where everyone feels seen, heard, and valued.

In case you haven’t heard about brave spaces before, let me briefly introduce you to the concept:

Brave spaces are intentional environments where all people can show up as their authentic selves, share their experiences and perspectives, and engage in honest and respectful dialogue. They prioritize inclusivity, equity, and openness, allowing even difficult thoughts to be expressed with respect, dignity, and curiosity. Brave spaces are similar to safe spaces, a concept increasingly known in society, but go a step further by acknowledging and addressing uncomfortable or challenging conversations that are necessary for growth and learning. In a brave space, individuals are encouraged to challenge their own biases and assumptions, actively listen to others, and engage in respectful dialogue, even when faced with disagreements or difficult topics. Brave spaces recognize that discomfort and vulnerability are often integral to personal and collective growth and strive to create a culture of trust and respect where all voices are heard and valued.

The workshop is conducted in a trauma-sensitive way and using the brave spaces framework. Welcome aboard! The workshop is free of charge.

The creator and trainer of the workshop Sauli Kahkonen is a dedicated practitioner of yoga and meditation with over 15 years of experience in the field. Sauli holds an MSc in International Studies and is a certified Somatic yoga instructor with 200 hours of training. He has also volunteered extensively in Lebanon, Bolivia, and Iceland, gaining valuable cross-cultural experience and contributing to various causes. Currently, he is pursuing his studies to become a psychotherapist with a focus on somatic movement and community engagement. Through his passion for somatic movement, Sauli hopes to effect positive change in society by promoting holistic well-being and empowering individuals to take control of their bodies and minds.

On Friday 26th May, Sauli will hold the workshop on brave spaces for the first time. Try it out and give your valuable feedback afterward!

How to join?

Please, sign up for the workshop on Wed 24th May at the latest to Maailmanavaihto: e-mail maailmanvaihto@maailmanvaihto.fi, WhatsApp +358 44 235 1196.

Accessibility and further information

Accessibility information of Zoom is available at https://explore.zoom.us/en/accessibility.

If you have any questions, please, contact Maailmanvaihto at maailmanvaihto@maailmanvaihto.fi. Your questions to the trainer will be forwarded to him from Maailmanvaihto.

Greetings from abroad: from Georgia to Finland and from Finland to Philippines

What’s up with the volunteers of Maailmanvaihto? Two of them share their greetings. Mariam Darbaidze traveled to Finland for volunteering from Georgia and Asta Lehtola from Finland to Philippines.

Mariam: from Tbilisi to Helsinki

I wanted to join international volunteering…

to get a new experience. I had volunteered many times in local activities back in Georgia, but I had never done it abroad. In general, international volunteering impressed me for several reasons: after my bachelor’s degree, I took a gap year to think more about my career path and I decided to take part in the European Solidarity Corps. My professional background is sociology, so studying different cultures has always been one of my passions. This volunteering project was a great way to get out of my comfort zone and experience an independent life, even more challenging with my hearing loss. The European Solidarity Corps helped me to fulfill all of these and it still continues surprising me.

I ended up at my voluntary workplace because…

I found out about the open volunteer position at Maailmanvaihto online, and I was immediately interested. Finland is quite expensive and difficult to travel to from Georgia, which is why volunteering seemed like a once-in-a-lifetime possibility for me to travel here. I read Maailmanvaihto’s website very carefully, and Maailmanvaihto seemed to me a trustworthy organisation with important values and mission, and interesting volunteering opportunities. Maailmanvaihto works to establish intercultural learning experiences through long-term international volunteering, besides which it advances equality and peace among young people. Before my interview for the volunteering position I contacted another Georgian volunteer who had been in Finland as a volunteer through the European Solidarity Corps and she gave me a big recommendation to come here. As you can guess, I had plenty of reasons to move to Finland.

My volunteering days are filled with…

office related tasks but sometimes I have outdoor activities as well. My tasks include emailing with volunteers and partner organisations, promoting available placements and assisting in the volunteer selection process, arranging travels, writing newsletters for our volunteers, updating guidebooks, participating in magazine making, and updating the English version of the website. During volunteering camps, I help in the kitchen, facilitate activities, take videos and photos, and participate in social media management. Sometimes I visit schools and exhibitions to promote our international possibilities among young people. Right now, I am working on my personal project which is making interview videos related to the topic of international volunteering as a person with disabilities. When I was planning to participate in a European Solidarity Corps volunteering project, I had an unclear image about the support the program can offer for volunteers with disabilities. With my project, I wish to make participating in the European Solidarity Corps volunteering easier for other young people with disabilities. Young people with disabilities usually do not volunteer abroad as much as other young people. I hope this project will be beneficial for our organisation and for the European Solidarity Corps general. I hope people who watch these videos will see that young people with disabilities are not only receivers but also givers of knowledge and effort.

The languages I use to communicate with the people here…

rely on respect. My volunteering environment is respectful and safe. We regularly have an office meeting to discuss our tasks, which helps me not to miss anything. The people here really are interested in my actions, thoughts, and feelings. We communicate in English, Finnish and Georgian. I have conducted a Georgian cultural evening, and other volunteers and I organise together monthly a language café. The European Solidarity Corps has improved my linguistic competences. As a hard of hearing person, I feel more motivated to know languages very well because sometimes when I cannot hear, people think that I am not fully aware of the language. Volunteering abroad has assisted me to feel more confident with foreign languages.

I think that inspirational co-operation in volunteering builds on…

communication, when people, coworkers, partner organisations share the same values and principles, when they have a similar understanding. At my volunteering project, it inspires me to be approachable and initiative. For instance, when I go to schools and promote international volunteering, I consider it as an important task because when I was a pupil I had no idea about this kind of international experience. At that time, I was very vulnerable and would have been happy to know also about other options besides colleges and universities. Maailmanvaihto supports me to create new co-operations. I am so happy that during my volunteering period, we have connected with Kuuloliitto (an association for people with hearing disabilities) through which have had the opportunity to make connections, learn, experience, and get more aware of hearing loss. It has been planned that Maailmanvaihto and Kuuloliitto will continue co-operating after I leave, which makes me delighted.

For those interested in volunteering abroad, I wish to say…

that go for it, just check the volunteering project, placement, and the duties of volunteers very attentively to be sure that it is the right place for you. The volunteering project also must suit your values and interests. I really recommend the European Solidarity Corps volunteering to everyone but at the same time: it will not be exciting all the time, it can be challenging, sad, and exhausting sometimes and it is okay as well. I especially recommend this for young people with disabilities. Our opportunities are already limited for many reasons and we do not have the luxury to waste many chances. The European Solidarity Corps will cover your individual needs, so do not hesitate to try it. It is also possible to visit the host country and organisation before starting the project. The sending and hosting organisations, disability organisations, and the national agencies will support you, just apply. Long-term volunteering abroad can be a mind-blowing experience for you and your expertise as a young person with disabilities will be beneficial for the hosting organisation.

Interview: Minna Räisänen
Photo: Hanna Sainio

In the photo: ”A well-deserved rest together Ansku (right), one of Maailmanvaihto’s support people, after cleaning up at the beach”, describes volunteer Mariam Darbaidze the photo.

Asta Lehtola shares greetings from volunteering at San Remigio Rural Health Unit in Philippines on our Finnish website >> Read the interview of Asta

The article has been published in the magazine MaailmanVaihtoa – Volunteers’ Voices 1/2023.

Finding your way to communicate

Traveling to another country after or during school or between bachelor’s and master’s degrees as a traineeship, as an au pair or a backpacker is something a lot of young adults are keen to do.

Many imagine such a trip as a pure adventure, during which you meet many people from all over the world, grow beyond yourself, and have fun. Many travel magazines, blogs and forums encourage people to start traveling even if they are not proficient in many different languages, as it is possible to survive in many countries by knowing at least English. In big cities, it will usually be the case that English is a good way to go, but if someone decides to volunteer, they should inevitably get to grips with the local language at least a little, since volunteer projects are often in environments where English might not be broadly understood.

In addition, the geographical location of the site is crucial and can pose various challenges. For example, in Finland there are two official languages: Finnish and Swedish, both of which also have varying dialects.

In Finland, you can generally communicate well in English with young adults, but often less well with children and older people. Since the volunteers often work with children and older people, it is good if you as a volunteer learn the basics of the respective national language (in my case: Finnish).

Gender-neutral pronouns and other quirks of Finnish language

I tried to memorize a few words and short sentences before starting my voluntary service and I read several books about Finland to learn a bit about the culture, history, and language. I wrote down a few words so that I might understand the context better and listened to the Finnish language with Google Translate so I know how to pronounce the words. I quickly realized that in the Finnish language, many words end with an ”I” that sound and are spelled very similarly in German, which is my native language. This was also confirmed for many things when I arrived. For example, the post office is simply called “posti”, the kiosk simply “kioski”, the sugar “sokeri”, the tomato “tomaatti” and what I find really funny is that the joke (in German “Witz”) is called “vitsi”. However, in a conversation I have already appended an “I” to a German word and hoped that this also existed in Finnish. This has already led to one or two laughs.

Furthermore, I find it interesting that Finnish is a gender-neutral language. There is only one third person pronoun, ”hän”, there is no ”she” or ”he”. This was very unusual for me, but in the end, this is almost the only rule in Finnish that is easy.

”Snow is not just snow in Finnish. For example, there is the wet snow, the muddy snow, the snow to build a snowman with and the snow one cannot build a snowman with.”

However, Finnish has umpteen different words for an event or an object. When I wanted to say it was snowing, I only knew one word for snow in Finnish, but snow is not just snow in Finnish. For example, there is the wet snow, the muddy snow, the snow to build a snowman with and the snow one cannot build a snowman with. So the Finnish language is very versatile in other respects.

I was also very surprised that the word ”please” does not exist in Finnish and that the word ”thank you” is rarely used. Even when Finns speak English, they often omit these words. It doesn’t sound that friendly. At first, I was not sure if anything had happened or if they were struggling with each other or with me, until I realized that many filler words are simply left out in Finland. Also, there are sentences in English and German that have multiple meanings, but apparently not in Finnish. In the meantime, I’ve gotten used to it.

Multilingual environments offer many ways of communicating

Since many Finns also speak German, I can contribute here in both English and German. I was amazed that some of the children in my project can introduce themselves to me in German. I didn’t expect that at all. I also find it amusing when I ask people on the street where there is something and they don’t speak English but German and then we speak German. As soon as I registered, the employee could and wanted to speak German with me because she had learned it at school for ten years.

In addition, since Swedish, the second official language in Finland, is a mixture of German and English, you can see a lot of familiar sounding words on the signs around the city. but you can also find terms in conversations that help us to keep the conversation going.

However, I was very surprised that Finns don’t speak English as fluently as I expected. Since most films, series and books are not translated into Finnish, I assumed that they would speak English like a second mother tongue. This made me think that I could further refine my already good knowledge of English here.

Unlike most other volunteers, I initially lived with an English host mother, which allowed me to improve my English after all.

In summary, it becomes clear that you can learn something and develop something with every language. That’s why I think it’s great that we, as volunteers, are given the opportunity to take part in language courses. In doing so, we not only learn how to express ourselves or conduct conversations, but also get to know the culture and history of the country better.

I try to bring every word I learn into a conversation right away in my project and I’m totally happy when the children understand me. However, I often do not understand what they answer. We have had many funny situations here and communicate with gestures and a mixture of English, Finnish, German and a little Swedish.

Text: Franziska Müller
Photos: Johanna Gehlen

The article has been published in the magazine MaailmanVaihtoa – Volunteers’ Voices 1/2023.

Training: Young Activists for Peace and Climate Justice 12.06. – 19.06.2023, Germany

Maailmanvaihto is looking for representatives from Finland for the training Young Activists for Peace and Climate Justice!

Place: Darmstadt Forest / Germany
Dates: 12.06.–19.06.2023
Age: 18+
Language: English
Host organisation: ICJA (ICYE Germany)

For young activists who want to get knowledge and skills and actively work for climate justice and peace!

Would you like to get to know people, initiatives and their activities for climate justice?
Would you like to gain an overview of the global problems caused by global warming and environmental pollution?
Would you like to share your experience and practice with other international participants and their youth organisation and jointly develop new methods and approaches in the field of sustainability and the UN sustainability goals?
Would you like to receive official recognition of your participation in this learning experience afterwards? (for more information: Youthpass).

If so, we look forward to receiving your application!

Global warming is a fundamental threat to all people on earth, but in different ways: The lifestyle of the rich is the main cause of the greenhouse effect, people in the global south suffer the most from the consequences, like drought, heat waves and floods. Especially poor and young people in the global North and South are bearing the consequences of a climate crisis they did not cause.

The main focus of this training is the worldwide fight for climate justice. Together we want to look for positive role models and helpful competences to achieve a more peaceful and sustainable future for all of us.

The training will consist of the following modules:

Workshops on understanding global warming e.g. “climatefresk” climatefresk.org/de-ch
Workshops on just and sustainable nutrition e.g. “Food Justice”.
Workshops with examples from Global Learning;
Visit to the Rainforest Centre “Centre for Global Sustainability” www.regenwaldzentrum.de
Workshops on creative events and campaigns on climate justice
Learning from best practice: Excursions to initiatives in Darmstadt and Frankfurt that work for climate justice, e.g. fridays for future, students for future.

Become part of the international community that stands up for sustainability, climate justice and a world without discrimination!

Bit by bit, we can steer the world in a more sustainable direction, where people and the climate comes before profit. We can all help to shape this change!

About 25 youth and young adults from Europe and neighbouring countries are invited to the training. Some experience in youth or non-formal political education and enthusiasm to implement activities within Maailmanvaihto and our network are required. The training results should be widely promoted and used in your own work!

Conditions for participation

Date of arrival: 12.06.2023 in the afternoon
Date of departure 19.06.2023 in the morning
Age: 18+
Working language: English
Location: Jugendhof Bessunger Forst near Darmstadt
Accommodation and food are included
Participation fee: 40 € (for each Maailmanvaihto’s participant from Finland)
Reimbursement of the travel expenses is calculated according to the flat rate of the ERASMUS + programme. We ask the participants to use sustainable means of transport.

See the call in pdf
Financial guidelines for participants

This professional development activity of the Erasmus+ Programme is co-financed by the European Union for which ICJA has received the quality label.

How to apply?

Please, download and fill in the Registration form and send it to us at Maailmanvaihto to maailmanvaihto@maailmanvaihto.fi.

We will fill the positions as soon as suitable candidates are found. We could send a few participants, so far we have found one participant for the training.

Accessibility

If you would like to gain information on the accessibility of the training, please, contact ICJA at youthexchange@icja.de.

Become a camp leader for the on-arrival camp of young volunteers 21.–27.8.2023

Would you like to join in planning and leading an orientation camp for young people who will travel from abroad to Finland for 6–12 months of volunteering? Apply to become the camp leader of the on-arrival camp of Maailmanvaihto!

In August 2023, 20–25 young people will travel through Maailmanvaihto to Finland to volunteer here for 6–12 months. We will organise for the new volunteers an on-arrival camp from 21st until 27th August 2023 in Tuusula.

We are looking for a camp leader for the on-arrival camp. As a camp leader, you will get to carry out an international camp and train your group leading and organisational skills.

The most important responsibilities of the camp leader are:

planning and carrying out the program of the camp in co-operation with Maailmanvaihto’s programme coordinator and the camp team
coordinating the camp team and carrying out planning meetings
during the camp, taking care that the camp is running nicely and advancing a nice atmosphere and good interaction within and between the teams

Central themes of the camp will be familiarizing oneself with volunteering, intercultural learning, and conflict management. At the camp, the volunteers will also familiarize themselves with the cultural environment and society in Finland. The camp will be held at the camp center Kesärinne in Tuusula. The camp leader will organise the camp together with the programme coordinator, summer intern, and 3–5 camp facilitators who will work on a voluntary basis.

We hope that the camp leader will have good co-operation and interaction skills. We are looking for the task a responsible person. Prior experience in training and guiding groups as well as personal experience of living abroad will be of advantage. The camp will be held in English. Leading the camp suits well for students studying to become community educators, for example.

The camp leader will not receive a salary but half of the daily allowance. We will cover the travel expenses (from Finland) of the camp leader to the camp.

We will start planning the camp at the beginning of summer, and the team will gather about 3–4 times prior to the camp. The camp leader will work mainly remotely, but we will also have some joint planning days at the office of Maailmanvaihto which is situated in the Kruununhaka district of Helsinki. Travel expenses to the meetings will be covered (cheapest public transport). We wish that the camp leader will commit to taking part in all the planning meetings as well as the evaluation meeting after the camp.

Safer space and accessibility

We wish to build in all Maailmanvaihto’s activities an atmosphere in which all participants can feel welcome as themselves. To support this, we will follow at the camp Maailmanvaihto’s Safer space principles. If you would like to gain accessibility information, contact Maailmanvaihto’s programme coordinator Mari Takalo hosting@maailmanvaihto.fi, 044 318 0888.

How to apply?

If you are interested in the position, please, send us your informal application in which you tell about your know-how and experience as well as about why you are interested in working at the camp. Please, send your application to Maailmanvaihto’s programme coordinator Mari Takalo at the address hosting@maailmanvaihto.fi.

We will fill the position as soon as a suitable candidate is found. The last day for us to receive applications will be 14th May 2023. If you wish for further information, please contact Mari Takalo: hosting@maailmanvaihto.fi, 044 318 0888.

Maailmanvaihto – ICYE Finland is a youth exchange organisation established in 1958. We have programmes to go and volunteer abroad from Finland and vice versa. The volunteering periods last for 6–12 months. For a more equal world through intercultural learning, is our vision. Our NGO is religiously and politically nonaligned.

Working with Victims of Torture in a Bolivian NGO

In this series, we get to hear about volunteering opportunities within the ICYE network all over the world. This time, we chat with Emma Bolshia Bravo Cladera who works as the executive director at the Institute of Therapy and Investigation (ITEI) in Bolivia.

Who am I?

My Name is Emma Bolshia Bravo Cladera. I have studied in Switzerland and have a university degree in Psychology. I have lived 30 years in Switzerland as a political refugee following the dictatorships of Banzer (in Bolivia) and Pinochet (in Chile). When I returned to Bolivia 19 years ago, I cofounded the “Institute of Therapy and Investigation about the Sequels of State Torture and Violence” (ITEI) along with Andres Gautier. I have 19 years of experience working with victims of torture and assessing their cases in accordance with the Istanbul Protocol. I have also been the Executive Director of ITEI for the last 10 years.

A multidimensional NGO

The Institute of Therapy and Investigation (ITEI) is a Non-Governmental Organization based in La Paz, Bolivia. Since 2001, ITEI has worked in the rehabilitation of the victims of torture, demeaning treatments and other forms of State violence, specially the people of limited resources such as indigenous populations and members of groups who fight for their rights. We provide medical and psychological attention, as well as the training of professionals and other vulnerable groups. We do research about the bio-psychosocial sequels, both individual and collective, caused by the torture and the State violence. Hence, we tirelessly work in order to defend and promote the Human Rights of the people who suffer torture and other forms of ill-treatments. Our project also includes the support of European volunteers. ITEI’s work areas focus on rehabilitation, training, research and political incidence.

Appreciation from international institutions

One of the most challenging aspects of our job is the training of personnel who work for the State, specially for the police force or the military. As long as their institutions don’t embrace democracy and don’t eradicate the violence from their own training, we don’t really know if our workshops will be able to convince them to reject torture as a method of investigation and intimidation that silences people. Still, we believe someone is listening.

The most gratifying aspect of this job is the appreciation that the ITEI receives, both from the trade union institutions and from the people affected to whom it has given attention. It is also deeply rewarding that our work is appreciated at an international level, since governments usually disqualify the value of our work. This obviously happens because we constantly denounce the practices of torture carried out by the Bolivian Government, even though the Government denies the existence of such practices. The appreciation received from international institutions does not only signify that we are doing our job right, but it also assures protection for our work team.

Volunteering during remote times

With the arrival of the pandemic, we were no longer able to provide our services as we had done before. We engaged in remote therapy sessions, continued providing our patients special assistance remotely and held digital courses and webinars, for example. In our institution, we mainly worked through the use of the web page and social networks such as Facebook and Twitter. The contribution of volunteers in this regard is very valuable to us, since they open up possibilities for us to disseminate our work. During the pandemic, the work of the volunteers has mainly consisted of the administration of the website and the social networks, as well as the writing of articles based on institutional work.

Pros and cons of distance volunteering

During the pandemic, we’ve come to know the features and great possibilities enabled by distance working. For example, we were able to collaborate with professionals all around the world in the making of our webinars.

The main disadvantage resides in the impossibility of directly experiencing our field of work. For example, entering prisons and participating in workshops and interacting with the population attended by the institution are experiences which have been highly valued by our (past) volunteers. Not being able to experience this can limit the knowledge and identification with the work that we do, specially given the gravity of the subject which we work with: torture.

The role of volunteers at ITEI

Among the volunteers who came to ITEI, there are two main groups: those who have just finished high school and those who have already attained a Bachelor’s Degree. In both cases, knowing Spanish is essential when volunteering
at our organization.

The contribution of the volunteers is highly appreciated, especially in areas where Bolivian professionals and the institution itself have limitations. Our volunteers have performed different tasks, such as: translating documents, using new digital methodologies, managing our web page, advertising our activities, writing articles concerning our work.

Volunteers with a Bachelor’s Degree have contributed greatly to ITEI. They have written articles that tie together their academic knowledge with their work in ITEI, collaborated in the making of institutional reports, given lectures and workshops, and even contributed in the development of the draft of a law which defines and prohibits torture in Bolivia.

My greetings to those interested in volunteering in Bolivia

Those who are interested in volunteering in Bolivia, and specially in an institution such as ITEI, are necessarily people with a social and political sensibility. This means that they will easily adapt to our work team, being able to work with our target population with commitment and respect for their human dignity.

The interaction with people of a different culture, with other work practices and interests is highly positive for a work team like ours. And for the young Europeans it is a whole new experience: “To live and to work in another culture”. We hope that such an experience contributes to their personal and professional growth. For those who chose to join us…

WELCOME TO BOLIVIA AND TO ITEI!

Interview: Fabienne Zogg

Juttu on ilmestynyt MaailmanVaihtoa 1/2021-lehdessä.

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Volunteering period

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Activity topics

Location

Volunteer’s role and tasks

Volunteer’s profile

Accommodation, food, and transportation

Accessibility

Website and social media channels

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I wanted to join international volunteering…

I ended up at my voluntary workplace because…

My volunteering days are filled with…

The languages I use to communicate with the people here…

I think that inspirational co-operation in volunteering builds on…

For those interested in volunteering abroad, I wish to say…

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Gender-neutral pronouns and other quirks of Finnish language

Multilingual environments offer many ways of communicating

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Practice languages in Maailmanvaihto’s Language Café

Maailmanvaihto’s Spring Picnic Sun 26 May

Tools for decolonisation

Workshop on facilitating multicultural groups with an embodied approach Sun 5 May

How to apply?

Accessibility

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Maailmanvaihto’s office closed on 18th May

Join the online workshop on brave space Fri 26th May 2023

Join the Online Workshop: Embodied Social Justice (Sat 25th March)

Safer space and accessibility

How to apply?

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Who am I?

A multidimensional NGO

Appreciation from international institutions

Volunteering during remote times

Pros and cons of distance volunteering

The role of volunteers at ITEI

My greetings to those interested in volunteering in Bolivia

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