Eurodiaconia seminar on volunteering AGM,19 June - 21 June 2008 Vienna

Structure of lesson Some knowledge, experience and examples of good practice. What we have learned and we would like to share it with you. Workshop conclusions Follow – up on WG Volunteering in Diaconia

Dialogue with civil society and their role in inclusion strategies Law on social services stresses the promotion of life of people in need Quality of standards are defined by law, but there is no mechanism in case of inappropriate provision of services Committee for social inclusion since 2007 consisted of representatives of governmental and non- governmental organizations

Dialogue with civil society and their role in inclusion strategies There is no interest by local councils or municipalities to develop the social services even though the need is more than significant. There is a focus on the infrastructure and building up the educational institutions. There is no cooperation between the counties

Main social problems in Romania Roma population Large families Domestic violence Homeless A big challenge is to ensure the right number of professional workers

Position of NGOs in Romania NGOs have a poor reputation because of poor provision of services Financial support by state is poor Christian Diakonia Foundation with the state support about 27.5% Requirements for applying EU money are still unclear

European visions and national realities People from disadvantaged groups are on the giving side of the volunteer experience The voluntary service experience is moving them from the helped to helping, from those who can also teach, from dependency to independency.

Social inclusion and volunteering DisadvantageObjectives/ benefits of voluntary activity 1. Geographic disadvantage – people living in rural area - Access to new networks of people and information - Increasing possibilities of and access to new opportunities - Bringing new inspiration back to the sending/ original community 2. Disability : - physical disability - learning difficulty - Integration in mixed – ability projects to increase mutual understanding and tolerance - Enhanced self confidence, self worth

Social inclusion and volunteering DisadvantageObjectives/ benefits of voluntary activity 3. Socio – economic disadvantage - people living in poverty - school drop – outs - substance abuse - offenders - homeless - long term unemployed - Acquiring skills and competences - Access to employment opportunities - Different ways of life - Enhanced self confidence and self worth 4. Disadvantage linked to the ethnicity: -minorities -refugees, immigrants - Encourage pride in their own identity and cultural heritage - Possibility o be active in host community

What can governments or other stakeholders do to ensure that disadvantaged groups have equal opportunities to participate in volunteer activities? Governments could do most by financing innovative partnerships between: Local, regional and national government Organizations working in the special field of social exclusion Qualifications, education and training institutions Potentially between regional employment agencies, regional development agencies, banks, grant making organizations

Partnership could result in successful project if the cooperation of following stakeholders will be fostered An organization who knows about volunteering and volunteer cycle An organization that knows the target group Local and regional authorities who on the one hand form parts of the social safety net and on the other play a very important role in the sustainability of the experience through easier access to the labour market or further education and training

The project Roma - Gadje Dialogue through Service  To give Roma from largely rural communities in Central and Eastern Europe opportunities to volunteer and take part in conferences, training events and exchanges  To put non-Roma (Gadje) volunteers into local community projects involving Roma for one to two years and engage them after their voluntary service in public education activities in their own countries and regions  The problem of follow-up for disadvantaged volunteers who come back from the voluntary service, returning to a situation of poverty. She stressed that these young people should be involved in programs of vocational learning

National realities  Diaconia is a still new concept  Recognition of diaconia initiatives differs from country to country  Low involvement in volunteering is a result of the poor economic situation where people need to find paid employment.  Although there are laws on volunteering, implementation is not carried through. The problem is a lack of professional staff and a lack of financial support for sustainable development.

National realities  International voluntary service programs are well developed in some present member organizations through: EDYN partnerships Bilateral long term cooperation

Conclusions from workshop Diaconia plays significant role in each society: it is present and visibly active, provision of services is of high quality Additional value of faith based organizations is a mix of professionalism and spirituality There is a big difference between theory, and the theological understanding of the diaconia and the practical implementation, which is in many cases determined by the leadership of the organization. this issue required a multifaceted solution including the leadership of organizations, professional staff, the users of the social services, volunteers, and finally the church as an institution.

FOLLOW – UP Train professional staff interested in the development of international voluntary service – under the condition of strengthening the network (job shadowing ) Training on how to motivate the staff to host young people from disadvantaged backgrounds Cooperation between EURODIACONIA and EDYN

Thanks for your attention! Jana Adameova Tel.: +420