Editorial: Making it matter
I ended up as an ICYE Finland (Maailmanvaihto) active the usual way: I went to volunteer abroad. A bit over a year ago I left for Ghana to work in a school for six months. The trip was one of a kind. In half a year I experienced my life’s worst and best moments so far. In the end I guess there were more positive memories, as once I returned I had a lot of enthusiasm to join the work Maailmanvaihto does here in my homeland. I ended up as a member of the board, pr-team and now as the chief editor of this magazine.
One reason why I once decided to volunteer with Maailmanvaihto was the reciprocity policy. I believe that volunteer work is significant internationally, and therefore it should not limit itself to only one direction. Volunteer work inspires, teaches and is simply fun. Should not this be at everyone’s reach?
In addition to the volunteers, also the voluntary work places benefit from voluntary work. These work places are in the centre of this magazine. The other year Maailmanvaihto organized group interviews for the employees of three Finnish voluntary work places to understand the significance of volunteer work on the work place. Especially international upbringing and promoting and socially enforcing antiracism came up among the interviews. This is exactly why I want to be a part of Maailmanvaihto. I believe that high quality and ethical voluntary work has a huge role in building a more international and equal world.
My first issue as the chief editor has been a challenging, but fun job. My autumn has included many new beginnings, including new studies at the Faculty of Social Sciences, and therefore there have been a lot of arrangements to be made in my calendar. Luckily I have received plenty of good tips and help from the magazine team. An additional challenge for me was the theme: voluntary work places. As a relevantly new member in the activities of Maailmanvaihto, the voluntary work places in Finland were not very known to me before making this issue. In this magazine you can hopefully learn something new on our homeland activities – at least I did! And there was still some space left for an interview of the principle from my previous voluntary work place in Ghana.
Wishing you a pleasant read,
Anna Lemström
Editor-inc-chief
In the issue
2 Editorial
3 Pääkirjoitus
5 Kutsu Maailmanvaihdon syyskokoukseen
6 Ajankohtaista
Teema: Vapaaehtoistyöpaikat / Theme: Voluntary workplaces
– 11 Volunteering in Vaalijala
– 15 Kansainvälisyyttä kouluun / Internatinality into schools
– Sharing in Ghana
– 18 Vapaaehtoistyöpaikaksi sattumalta
– 21 A day in my life
– 23 Teatterityössä Boliviassa
24 ICYE around the world: Costa Rica
26 Kulttuurien välistä oppimista parhaimmillaan
30 Kylään kouluun
31 Column: Heading on with a bag full of experiences
32 Tule mukaan toimintaan
33 Vapaaehtoistyötä hallituspaikoilla
34 Maailmanvaihdon toiminnan lähtökohtia
35 Tapahtumakalenteri
ISSN 2342-2629 (Painettu)
ISSN 2342-2637 (Verkkojulkaisu)