In this magazine
4 Pääkirjoitus / Editorial
6 Kutsu syyskokoukseen / Invitation to the Autumn Meeting
7 Kuulumisten vaihtoa / Greetings from Maailmanvaihto
10 Tule mukaan toimintaan
11 Fostering new ideas on the board of Maailmanvaihto
Join our activities
14 Terveisiä maailmalta / Greetings from Abroad
17 Volunteering around the world: Making an impact in Nigeria
Theme articles
21 Vapaaehtoistyöpaikkana toimiminen tuo kansainväliset kokemukset osaksi arkea
23 30 vuotta vaikuttavan vapaaehtoistyön parissa
25 Vapaaehtoistyön voima: kasvun mahdollisuuksia ja uusia suuntia elämään
27 Kolme kysymystä alumnille: Vapaaehtoistyö aloitti matkan globaalin oikeudenmukaisuuden puolustajaksi
29 Näkökulmia puheenjohtajalta – Vapaaehtoistyöjärjestöt tarjoavat paljon sekä yksittäisille nuorille että yhteiskunnalle 29
31 Tulevat tapahtumat / Upcoming Events
Editorial: Impact of volunteering
I joined international volunteering when I was 17 years old. I thought I needed a challenge that could connect me with people from different cultures. Coming from a small district in the capital of Costa Rica, San Jose, this was the first time I went on a plane and travelled to another country to live on my own. It was also the first introduction to a worklife environment, in the context of volunteering at a local kindergarten in Finland. This step has contributed to decisions that I have made later in life.
The learnings of international volunteering can be seen in many aspects of life. Programs like ICYE and European Solidarity Corps open the path for those who dare to experience newness. I think that international volunteering can be useful for the leaders of tomorrow.
Last year, there were 99 participants in the international volunteering programs of Maailmanvaihto. The numerical data can give us a glance on the scale of volunteering programs, but it does not tell us about their impact. For example in Kotka, hosting a volunteer from abroad allows both the community and the volunteer to learn a new language and culture, while the volunteer also learns about independence, leadership, problem solving and cooperation.
My volunteering almost 13 years ago opened up a new space for critical thinking and challenges that led me to make decisions on what I wanted to do: volunteering at a kindergarten that used arts and music in their daily curricula inspired me to look deeper into arts and ultimately, one year after volunteering, I chose to move to Finland for studying. Being part of this creative space also started to shape my understanding of teamwork, discipline, and pedagogy.
After volunteering, I stayed in touch with the community by joining international camps and other inspiring activities. I met camp leaders, team leaders, kitchen leaders, and an array of people with diverse skill sets that were able to look at volunteering as an outlet for learning and experimenting, always with the mindset of taking it further into their communities.
How can we measure the impact of a volunteer year abroad? Personally, I look back at thepeople that I met in Finland – the lives they have created and how some of us kept in contact
and continue to talk about our experiences more than ten years later. I also look at the 60years anniversary party of Maailmanvaihto 2018. There participants from the 1980s shared insights on how the experience opened their perspectives back then, ultimately having such a meaningful impact that they would make life decisions based on the learnings through their
volunteering.
But how could we see the impact in terms of leadership? I see it from a perspective of taking active participation in one’s own community, organising events that connect people, and being leaders that encourage others to see beyond their bubble.
Isaura Hernandez
Board Member of Maailmanvaihto