Community Connections Volunteers and Volunteerism alumni meet to share their achievements

Minsk - January 15, 2009. Eight participants of USAID’s Community Connections Volunteers and Volunteerism exchange program met after their trip to U.S.  to share their American experience and develop joint action plans for the future.   Community Connections provides professional exchange opportunities in the U.S.  for NGO leaders, local government officials, entrepreneurs and professionals in various fields.  The participants of the Volunteers and Volunteerism program who spent 3 weeks in the state of Vermont in April-May, 2008, shared their appreciation for the professional excellence and personal warmth that they experienced from organizations they visited and the host community. Alumni shared what they have achieved since returning to their home towns and cities, including launching a campaign to promote the volunteerism concept.  For this purpose, they organized a roundtable on volunteerism to unite the volunteer community in Belarus.  The roundtable charted a plan for future actions, such as developing a dedicated website, and placing Public Service Announcements on radio and TV.  Roundtable participants adopted a resolution for the Ministry of Education to define volunteer status.   NGOs both in the capital and in the regions were re-energized by the trip.  Upon return from the U.S., a Brest-based NGO, Gnom, launched seven new initiatives to improve community life in Brest, including a campaign to stop cutting down unique trees in the city and to develop a park.  They also registered another NGO and developed its strategy.  As a result of its activity, Gnom became a member of two public councils which advise the city’s municipality on environmental protection and city development.  This year the Minsk-based Educational Center for Youth, Fialta, introduced an international volunteer component.  The NGO Education without Borders, which routinely uses volunteers in its work, has developed strategies to increase the level of their professionalism, with volunteers improving the motivation and professional development of other volunteers.

<< Back to the list of recent events