35th General Conference & General Assembly of CCIVS

The General Conference and General Assembly of the Coordinating Committee for International Voluntary Service (CCIVS) were hosted by Field Services & Inter-cultural Learning in Kundapur, India. From the 22nd to the 26th of November 2018, non-profit organizations, who make up the network, came from all over the world to celebrate the 70 years of CCIVS, and, as is customary, to present the current state of affairs in CCIVS, voting on new proposals and the new Executive Committee.

The first two days were dedicated to the General Conference, which aimed to think to future of the IVS movement by reflecting about his past. Questions such as “What are the main outcomes of recent or ongoing projects?” or “How are they relevant at a global level?” and “How can other CCIVS members benefit from them?” were discussed by the members of the CCIVS network. Some of the most recent issues of the IVS movement were also reflected upon during strategic planning. Proposals were made to resolve them and to further promote the network. These different proposals would be voted during the General Assembly two days later.

On the 24th of November took place the CCIVS Open Conference on “Youth, Volunteering and Non-formal Education: Building the Way towards Global Citizenship”. During this event educators, students, government representatives, and youth workers could hear from keynote speakers about the new challenges of volunteering and global citizenship. This was also the occasion for M. Eric Falt, UNESCO Director and Representative for the Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, the Maldives, Nepal and Sri Lanka cluster, to talk about the role of the IVS movement, the relation between UNESCO and CCIVS, and the future of this fruitful collaboration.

On that day we also had the privilege to hear from Mrs. Ingrid Danckaerts, President of CCIVS since 2016 and Dr. P. Sivakumar, former Head of the Department of Development Studies at RGNIYD, who recently wrote a book about the youth migration emerging in India. M. Sunil Savara could also be heard during this international conference. As the co-founder of Head Held High, an organization where his vision to eradicate poverty on the planet was initiated through its transformative training, M. Savara could talk about his personal transformational workshops that have catalysed individuals to unearth their life purposes and lead fuller lives.

The next day, during the General Assembly, members voted on new affiliations, welcoming Compagnons Batisseurs Belgium (CBB), Building Bridges Association, Arab House, MNCYA, Baladna, and the IBO Network. The President, Ingrid Danckaerts, presented the President’s Report, in which she highlighted the hard work by the secretariat. The Director, Victoria Lovelock, presented an Activity Report for the past 2 years as well. She thanked Never-Ending International Workcamps Exchange – NICE, and Kai Shinichiro for his participation in the compilation of data and the statistics of volunteers and projects in the many projects CCIVS has carried out. The same day, Rakesh Soans, the Treasurer, presented his Treasurer’s Report, in which he depicted the current financial situation of CCIVS.

Following the reports, members discussed and voted the proposals that would guide the CCIVS forward, such as: having a Universal Charter of Voluntary Service shared by the major networks such as CCIVS, NVDA, ICYE and Alliance, the CCIVS Statement on the occasion of the 70th Anniversary, a Sustainability Policy for CCIVS, the adjustment of the CCIVS Membership Fee System, the installation of a project called the CCIVS Competence Center, the New Strategic Plan for 2020-2016, Call to Action for COP24, CCIVS Plan of Action, the Candidatures for the new Executive Committee, along with a proposal for its Structure and Management, the proposal for the General Assembly Host for 2020, and the proposed CCIVS budget for 2019-2020.

A new Executive Committee was also elected: Ingrid Danckaerts, who retained her role as President, Rakesh Soans, who retained his role as Treasurer and became as well the Vice President for Asia, Ratherford Mwaruta as Vice President for Africa, Tamas Mahner as Vice president for Europe, Rocio Ruete as Vice president for the Americas, and Bogdan Imre as General Secretary.

New EC:

Picture of the Open Conference:

Members voting the proposals:

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