VSO volunteers work in Asia, Africa, the Balkans, the Pacific and the Caribbean, sharing their professional skills and experience with local communities and partners. Volunteers exchange ideas to find lasting solutions to the problems people face. Volunteerism is a unique approach that helps some of the world's most disadvantaged people change their lives.
VSO is an international development organization that works through volunteers. It recognizes the vital importance and role of the youth in nation building and has developed programs to enable young people deliver tangible contributions to the practical development needs of disadvantaged people and their communities in partner countries while promoting international understanding in ways which are generally beyond the scope of established global education programs.
Global Xchange is an exchange program that brings young people from the UK and from other countries to live alongside each other and work together as volunteers so they can share their learning with their host communities. The program has been developed out of a highly successful VSO exchange program called World Youth. At a workshop in Leicester in May 2004, representatives of the British Council, CSV and VSO as well as overseas partners already associated with World Youth came together to share experience, identify common ground and map out broad objectives of the new program.
Like World Youth, Global Xchange is a fully reciprocal program, which reflects contemporary values, building mutual respect and understanding between young people from the UK and from the Philippines. As our world becomes ever more interdependent, it is essential that communities develop a global perspective and interact positively in a diverse world. This is what Global Xchange seeks to support.
Global Xchange works with teams of up to 18 young people with equal numbers coming from the UK and the Philippines. The participants are recruited, and the teams are formed to reflect diversity in terms of geography, ethnicity, ability, education and gender. Together, in cross-cultural counterpart pairs, they live with host families and work in host communities for up to 3 months in the UK and 3 months in the Philippines. They also work on a global citizenship project specifically aimed at raising awareness of development and diversity within their host communities.
The program impacts most directly on the young people who volunteer, but its power extends to the families who host them, the community projects with which they work with and the wider communities in which they live. For all these participants in the program, Global Xchange demonstrates the potential and promotes the values of active global citizenship.
Community Service Volunteers or CSV works to reconnect people to their community through volunteering and training and in so doing, enrich people's lives. The organization prides itself on pioneering new solutions and innovative ways to tackle society's needs. Over 40 years' experience helps CSV know here t focus energy and ideas so that the organization, its partners and volunteers really make a difference to people's lives.
VSO is an international development organization that works through volunteers. VSO was voted top international development charity in the International Aid and Development category to the Charity Awards 2004 for its work in promoting innovative approaches to globalizing volunteering.
• Counterpart Pairs
• Host Communities
• Host Homes
• Volunteer Placements
• Educational Activity Days
• Community Action Days
• Exchange Themes
The team of volunteers is supported by two project supervisors who are with them throughout the program. One is recruited from the UK and one is recruited from the Philippines. Their role is to manage the logistics of the exchange and find suitable volunteer placements and host homes. They also promote individual learning and personal development, as well as facilitating peer support and learning.
How does one apply and what are the requirements? Global Xchange gives young people from the Philippines and the UK a unique opportunity to live and work together, develop and share valuable skills, and make practical contributions to disadvantaged communities in both countries faced with challenging situations. A GX volunteer must be:
• 18 - 25 years of age (born between 01 January 1982 - 01 March 1989)
• Male or female
• Medically fit to undergo an active 6-month volunteer work
• Completed at least high school/secondary education
• Willing to do fund-raising
• Willing to live with a British counterpart in a modest accommodation in a host family setting within a disadvantaged community in the Philippines and in the UK
• Flexible, open-minded and with a genuine commitment to learning
• Sensitive to the needs of others and can work within a team
• Can commit a minimum of 6 months (consecutive) to do 3 months of volunteer work in the Philippines and 3 months in the UK, and time to attend preparatory training
Interested applicants submit the following requirements (downloadable from the website) to the Global Xchange Programme Secretariat located at VSO Bahaginan, Unit 505 Pacific Corporate Center, 131 West Avenue, 1105 Quezon City, Philippines:
• Application Letter (addressed to the GXP Secretariat)
• Application Form
• Personal Reference Form
• Professional Reference Form
• Medical Clearance
• Parental Consent
Deadline for submission of application for this year's assessment is on November 24, 2006. Only applications received on or before the closing date will be screened. Short-listed applicants will be invited to attend the assessment day scheduled in early December. Training and fund-raising events start in January 2007. Exchange proper will commence in March 2007.
To find out more about Global Xchange, please check the website at www.vsobahaginan.org.ph, e-mail us at gxp.fv@vsoint.org or call us at +63.2.3746450 local 12.