30 Mountjoy Square, Dublin 1 info@vsi.ie/www.vsi.ie 01 8551011 F;VsiIreland
 Facebook and VSI

770 International Volunteering Projects with VSI in 2012
 (Not Yet) Thinking of going to Serbia for a camp?
 VSI seeks Project Coordinators/Leaders needed for International Volunteer
Projects at
Killarney National Park
 Volunteer 2012 Info Event - Thursday, 17 May@ 6.30pm in Irish Aid Centre,
Dublin
 Long Term Volunteering News
 Teenage Programme News
 National Volunteer Week 14-20 May
Facebook and VSI
In exactly one week from now the VSI Vsi Ireland will be closing down its individual
Facebook profile and from now on all information will be posted on its public Facebook profile
F;/VsiIreland
The changeover will enable us to communicate with our supporters more effectively.
We don’t want to lose you when we close down our individual account so we are inviting you
to “changeover” to our public Facebook profile where you can continue to be updated about
our activities and learn about volunteering opportunities around the globe!
If you haven’t already signed up to the official VSI Facebook page then we would be happy if
you did as well.
To change over simply click on the following link http://www.facebook.com/VsiIreland and
then click “Like”! Thank you for your support and we look forward to seeing you on our new
profile VSI Ireland! Best wishes, VSI Team
770 International Volunteering Projects with VSI in 2012
There are currently 770 International Volunteering Projects from our branches and partners in
50 countries worldwide on our Project Search Engine. In 2012 you could help with Helping run a summer play scheme at a refugee centre in Co. Meath; Helping make mountain
trails in the Dolomites in Austria; Cleaning gravestones at a former concentration camp
in Poland; Environmental work in a national park in Belgium; Water conservation projects in
a bear sanctuary in Croatia; Building classrooms in rural Uganda; Working on archaeological
sites in Peru; Environmental work in Thailand
You can see all the projects on Project Search Engine. Contact the office for more details.
(Not Yet) Thinking of going to Serbia for a camp?
Volonterski Centar Vojvodina is the Serbian branch of Service Civil International. We are
located in the city of Novi Sad, the capital of the autonomous province Vojvodina. We are a
rather young organisation, only having been founded in 2004 and still many of the volunteers
in VCV were part of the founding of this organization. They keep the original enthusiasm and
ideas up, while new members keep coming with new ideas and new motivation. This
enthusiasm and energy we put in all our projects, also the workcamps. This summer there will
be five workcamps organized by VCV. We are attaching their description and invite you
warmly to become a part of this organization, if just for a few weeks, working in nature with
our EVS volunteer or participating in a festival with many great bands coming and many
possibilities for creativity.
Warm greetings, Valerie More details on the SCI Project Search Engine
VSI seeks Project Coordinators/Leaders needed for International
Volunteer Projects at Killarney National Park
Project 1:
22 July – 4 August
Project 2:
12 -25 August
Project Coordinators/Leaders:
Leaders need to motivate, coordinate and inspire their volunteer teams. We are looking for
volunteers over 21, with strong volunteering experience, preferably in an international
environment. Experience of leading international volunteer projects, youth exchanges or other
kinds of projects would be helpful. Good communication and organisational skills are needed.
If this sounds like a huge challenge, don’t worry! VSI will provide training before the projects
and back up during the projects. The training will involve Group dynamics; Team-building;
Cultural exchange; Communication skills; Health and Safety on projects;
Projects 2012 Background: VSI will run 2 two week environmental projects at Killarney
National Park during July and August of this year. There will be 12 volunteers on each project.
The volunteers will assist with control of Rhododendron Trees in the National Park. Weather
permitting volunteers will work five days per week on rhododendron control which has invaded
the native woodlands. This can involve the picking of seedlings and cutting of saplings using
secateurs.
More details
Volunteer 2012 Info Event - Thursday, 17 May@ 6.30pm in Irish Aid
Centre, Dublin
Come along to our Volunteering 2012 Info Event and find out about a wide range of
International Volunteer Projects (from 2 weeks to 1 year) which you can be involved with this
year through VSI in over 70 countries worldwide.
We will introduce our projects in; Ireland; Europe (east and west); North America; Japan and
Australia, Africa, Asia and Latin America; Middle East and North Africa; Long Term Volunteer
Programme including European Voluntary Service; Youth programme; Local volunteer work in
Dublin. If you would like to attend, just email the VSI office
Long Term Volunteering News
Vacancy List April 2012
The current SCI Long Term Volunteering vacancy list has over 60 projects in a wide range of
countries around the world. In Africa there are projects in Kenya, Nigeria and Togo; In Asia
there are projects in Indonesia, Japan and Thailand; In Europe there are projects in Croatia,
Czech Republic, Great Britain, Ireland, Italy, Northern Ireland, Spain; In the Mediterranean
region there are projects in Palestine. There are also many projects in the USA.
Some of the projects are under the European Voluntary Service Programme (18-30 years) but
many are open to all volunteers over 18. More details here
EVS News
Fiona Dolan has started her 6 month project with a youth organisation in Bitola, Macedonia.
Deirdre Treacy has started her 9 month EVS Project in Pamplona, Spain this week. Heading
home soon will be Fran Baker after his 9 months working with young people with disabilities
in Armenia and Ruth Barrett who worked with Balkan Sunflowers in Pristina, Kosovo.
Meanwhile Cameron Murphy continues his EVS with an environmental organisation in the
Czech Republic and Daire Palmer is working with a youth arts organisation in Estonia.
More details about the EVS and long term volunteering can be found here.
Teenage Programme News
Living in Dependence - Experiences of young people in the Irish asylum process:
Film and Discussion
Wednesday May 30th 2012 Irish Film Institute, Temple Bar, Dublin 12:30pm until 2:00pm
The "Living in Dependence" Youth Initiative project was the initiative of a group of young
people from VSI's Youth Programme. The project, which lasted more than a year, culminated
in the making of a short film about the experiences of young asylum seekers in Ireland. The
entire project was designed, produced and managed by the group. The launch is a chance for
the group to share the film with members of the public and to open up a conversation about
the particular situation of young asylum seekers in Ireland. The event will include a screening
of the film (20 mins) and a panel discussion with Sue Conlan, CEO, Irish Refugee Council
(further speakers to be confirmed).
Please RSVP to Amanda on teenage2@vsi.ie. This is a free event but places are limited.
(The Living in Dependence project was realised with the support of Léargas through the Youth
in Action Programme and the Irish Youth Foundation, through the Starbucks Youth Action
Grant scheme.)
Mind the Gap! Training Course
VSI will be hosting an international Training Course from May 7th – 12th, in the Newgrange
Lodge Hostel, Co Meath. The Training Course includes partner organisations and over 30
participants from Ireland, the UK, Spain, Italy, Greece, Bulgaria, Slovenia, Serbia, Macedonia,
Latvia and Finland. It aims to equip the participants with the skills to become youth leaders on
Youth Exchanges in the future, and specifically to work with young people with fewer
opportunities, and to develop their skills in risk awareness and child protection. The Training
Course is funded through the Youth in Action Programme of the European Commission.
Summer 2012 Activities
The summer projects for 2012 are confirmed for the Teenage Programme, and will involve a
variety of Youth Exchanges, European Voluntary Service placements and international workcamps for the young people involved in the programme. VSI will host two Youth Exchanges in
the summer. The first will take place from July 9th – 19th and will explore young people’s
relationship to change, and ways of building up personal, community and global resilience. The
second will take place from August 7th – 17th and will include young asylum seekers from
Ireland, members of ethnic minority groups from Hungary, and refugees / internally displaced
young people from Serbia and Macedonia. It will explore the theme of identity in contested
spaces and culminate in the young people creating an intercultural performance or exhibition
for the local community. VSI will also send a group from Ireland to an exchange in Sardinia,
from June 25th to July 5th. This Youth Exchange will include recent asylum seekers from
Tunisia and Libya and will explore civil rights, the recent uprisings in North Africa and the
Middle East and migration in general. There will also be a number of individual volunteer
placements through the European Voluntary Service (EVS) programme in Latvia and France,
as well as local activities continuing. Places are limited for the projects so any interested
parties should contact the Teenage Programme office for information.
National Volunteer Week 14-20 May
Following five successful years of Volunteer Ireland's National Day of Volunteering, 2012 will
see Ireland's first annual National Volunteering Week take place between 14th - 20th May.
National Volunteering Week is the one week of the year when we encourage everyone in
Ireland to give volunteering a try, so that everyone can learn that - even if it's only for a
minute, an hour, or a day - volunteering can make a big difference and be a lot of fun!
Here are just a few examples on what you can do to get involved with National Volunteering
Week. You can register to take part in a project that is already going to happen.
Participate in our flagship event - A National Inland Waterway Clean Up
Commit a 'Random Act of Volunteering
More details