Category: Uncategorized

 

28 – 30 March 2017, Tegucigalpa, Honduras

The collected data in the Listening Study and the research has provided insights into a number of key areas concerning local humanitarian volunteering. One of the data sets of the Listening Study particularly focus on local volunteer insurance, whereas the others explore some of the broader issues surrounding safety and security, governance, funding and resources, that are closely linked with the issue of volunteer insurance. Despite commitments made by National Red Cross Red Crescent Societies, the ViCE data provide a picture where volunteer insurance are either not provided, or are inadequate. National Societies express challenges in getting adequate systems and measures in place to ensure protection of local volunteers.

Volunteers in National Societies sometimes face a critical lack of support from local systems, regarding their safety and security, and the protection measures necessary to carry out humanitarian activities in complex settings. Having identified those needs, solutions must be identified. In order to assure acceptance, a feeling of ownership and sustainability, these solutions must, to a possible extent, be locally sourced, and must involve an integral perspective in its development.

In order to achieve this, the Honduran Red Cross identified stakeholders, both internal and external to the National Society, whose perspectives would add up to a greater involvement in solution development and their future implementation. These stakeholders included base volunteers, volunteers in high leadership positions, National Society staff in key positions, academics, external volunteers (NGO), professionals in the volunteering sector, representatives of the private sector, and insurance and finance specialists.

All of these, took part in a facilitated collaborative process to:

• identify the problems expressed by volunteers, and the underlying issues related,
• explore the issue and become better exposed to all aspects of the identified development challenge,
• identify different approaches to solve the issues, and
• develop different ideas for models/prototypes of solutions.

The participants at the pop-up lab explored three areas during the process.

1. Insurance policy,
2. National Emergency Fund, and
3. a series of alternative ideas.

To read more, download the full report in English 2017-Volunteer-Insurance-Innovation-Lab-ViCE-EN.pdf or Spanish 2017-Seguro-para-Voluntarios-Laboratorio-de-Innovación-ViCE-SP.pdf

Stockholm, Sweden, 7 April 2015.

Drawing lessons and experiences from the Listening Studies that took place in Sudan and South Sudan in 2015, the remaining four Listening Studies took place from January to April 2016 in Honduras (January 18-29); Ukraine (14-24 February); Afghanistan (3-11 March); and Myanmar (23 March-4 April).

In each country, volunteers and stakeholders, including those who have direct responsibility related to volunteering development, participated in listening sessions in both individual and group formats. As with the previous two Listening Studies in Sudan and South Sudan, the “listening methodology” was used in all sessions to allow for participants to express their own priorities and issues without being led or influenced by a set of pre-determined questions from the listeners. With the conclusion of the Listening Study in Myanmar, we have now concluded all planned Listening Studies in the six countries selected for this initial phase.

In total, the ViCE initiative has listened to 282 people, of which 198 were volunteers (78 female, 120 male), and 84 were stakeholders (28 female, 56 male), which include staff of National Societies, ICRC, IFRC, local NGOs and state actors.

All sessions were recorded except two where the participants exercised their right not to be recorded. In those cases, the listeners took notes to the best of their abilities, and rough transcripts were produced from these sessions. For all other, recordings were submitted to a professional transcription and translation company, and then reviewed by the ViCE Team for quality.

Geneva, Switzerland, 5 December 2015. 

The International Conference, the Council of Delegates and the General Assembly, held in Geneva in 2015, brought together members of the Red Cross Red Crescent Movement, governments, partners, and other stakeholders to discuss and decide on current issues critical to the Movement and our ability to fulfill our respective mandates.

Given the urgency and relevance of the ViCE project’s objectives, particularly learning more about volunteers’ experiences through the Listening Study, the Swedish Red Cross produced a 3-dimensional full-scale exhibit that enthralled and touched those who walked through its walls. The exhibit was designed with three distinct rooms: Recognize, Protect and Promote.

Each of the rooms speaking to a different aspect of the ViCE project and connecting back to the individual volunteers and the realities they face in conflicts and emergencies.

The exhibit provided a good back-drop to the resolution on Security and Safety of Humanitarian Volunteers that was adopted at the International Conference.

Härnösand, Sweden, 23 October 2015.

The Global ViCE Team met in Härnösand on 19-23 October 2015 in northern Sweden to discuss the Listening Studies and the larger ViCE initiative.

Throughout the four days, the group heard from the Sudan and South Sudan listening teams about the experiences and what could be learned from these two pilot studies.

The Team worked together to produce a work plan for 2016, including scheduling the upcoming Listening Studies.

Perhaps one of the most interesting session of the week was the focus group discussion led by Matt Baillie Smith with team members from Afghanistan, Honduras, Myanmar, South Sudan, Sudan and Ukraine on their experiences, challenges, concerns and hopes for volunteering in their contexts.