Volunteers – the engine of the Scout Movement
On 29 April, the first Volunteer Management Regional Meeting was held as a joint initiative of the World Scout Bureau (WSB)-Interamerican Region and the Latin American Volunteer Centre (CELAV) with the sponsorship of the United Nations Volunteers and the City of Knowledge Foundation.
This meeting, the first of its kind, gathered at the WSB Interamerican Region office the leaders of international organisations, NGOs, universities, and other institutions in Latin America and the Caribbean that work with volunteers.
Dacil Acevedo, CEO of CELAV indicated that the goal of the meeting was to promote inter-agency synergy, so as to multiply results of the agenda of solidarity in Latin America mobilised through volunteering. She will be sharing the results, which she found satisfactory, with the Iberoamerican Volunteer Congress in December in Medellin, Colombia.
Raul Sanchez, Regional Director of WSB Interamerican Region and co-organiser of the event said, “Volunteers form the engine of millions of organisations, including the Scout Movement. It would be impossible to quantify the talent and time that millions of volunteers have provided in fulfilling the mission of Scouting – contributing to the education of young people through a value system based on the Scout Promise and Law, helping to build a better world where people fully develop as individuals and play a constructive role in society. WSB–Interamerican Region is extremely pleased to make this first meeting possible. The synergy we can achieve between our organisations can definitely set a new course for volunteering in the region".
Executive Vice-president of the City of Knowledge Foundation, Irene Perurena remarked, “For the City of Knowledge Foundation, it is imperative to reiterate the importance of volunteerism through support for initiatives like the First Volunteer Management Regional Meeting. City of Knowledge is the hub that houses the largest humanitarian aid institutions in the region and is an ideal field for emerging initiatives that can be replicated in other countries in Latin America and the Caribbean. This is also a great opportunity to remember and celebrate the generous, selfless and courageous nature that moves volunteers around the world. We are confident that through this first Volunteer Regional Meeting many initiatives will be launched and reflected in concrete contributions to the region”.
Francisco Roquette, Regional Manager of UN Volunteers said, “This is a great opportunity for the different partners and volunteers to meet, and the United Nations should welcome this effort. We believe there are three aspects of volunteer management that are of particularly important: national volunteer programmes incorporated in governments, programmes for young volunteers and international volunteer programmes”.
The meeting was the starting point for further cooperation and public-private coordination on volunteering in Latin America and the Caribbean, which the organisers hope will allow future programmes to lead the organisations according to a roadmap built collaboratively.
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