Volunteer P.A.T.H. (Partnerships Actions and Tools for Heritages)

by | Aug 29, 2017 | Our projects |

Supported by: Erasmus + programme
Period: 24 months 
Partners: grassroots IVS organisations from Africa, Asia and Europe (https://volunteerpathblog.wordpress.com/partners/ – you can find all names of partners here, please list them)
Coordinating organisation: Service Civil International (SCI)
Description: The White Paper for International Voluntary Service (2011-2021) draws the strategic objectives for Cultural Heritage and Diversity with the vision to ‘Preserving, protecting, and promoting cultural heritage and diversity through International Voluntary Service activities in order to foster mutual understanding and respect within the global community’.

Heritage has been an important element of local communities where IVS organisations have set up projects since 1920 (1st workcamp). Throughout the years organisations, mainly in Europe, have developed cooperation with various stakeholders, involving young and adult volunteers in the protection, preservation and valorisation of our tangible and intangible heritage. This topic has been taken until recent years in other regions of the world demonstrating the value of non-formal learning as the IVS educational approach to disseminate the values and expertise developed at the inter-governmental level to a large public and in particular to young people, based on a dynamic dialogue between the different stakeholders.

Project objectives

The aim of this project is to work towards the strategic objectives of the White Paper and to promote the work of IVS organisations and NFL, whilst valorising local customs and the diversity of these.
The world is under an increasing threat from globalisation and extremism; these two factors contribute to the breaking down of cultural norms, traditions and the destruction and loss of heritage sites.
This project will celebrate both tangible and intangible heritage and to revel in the diversity of this heritage. The applicant organisations propose actions which focus on food, culture, language, cultural and natural sites indigenous traditions etc. The aim is to be as diverse as possible and to show the richness of this diversity and to include local people as educators, emphasizing the bottom up approach of IVS and the work in local communities and with young people with fewer opportunities.

Project structure

This project will last 24-months and our partners are grassroots IVS organisations from Africa, Asia and Europe. The project consists of four actions that all use different methods for reaching the objectives set by the White Paper:

  1. A global community where mutual understanding and respect are brought by active citizens that preserve protect and promote cultural heritage and diversity
  2. Develop and expand cooperation between organisations, institutions and government bodies in the field of Cultural Heritage and Diversity
  3. Raise awareness about the impact of IVS in cultural heritage and diversity issues

The different actions include:

  • Stakeholders Forum (6-11th October 2016)
  • Capacity building trainings on Volunteer and Heritage Management in France and Uganda (April/May 2017)
  • Local Awareness Raising Actions (June 2017 – December 2017)
  • Global Communication Campaign (January 2017 – March 2018)
As a part of the Local Awareness Raising Actions, Center for Intercultural Dialogue will implement a workcamp in Kokino, Staro Nagoricane, Macedonia, from 09-18.10.2017. The aim of this workcamp will be to make this area more suitable and pleasant for the mountaineers, nature lovers and admires of natural heritage in order to provide them with the chance to explore better the country and to make the road to one of the world’s oldest observatories more approachable and pleasant to walk on. Volunteers will be working on flattening of the surfaces/the road, working on its restoration and marking of the road, the walking and the bicycle paths, making benches and improvized showers.