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International Volunteering charter

�Action contre la Faim (ACF)*��Agriculteurs Français et Développement International (AFDI)*�Alliance Nationale des UCJG-YMCA*�Apprentis d’Auteuil*��Association Générale d’Intervenants Retraités (AGIR abcd)*�Association Sœur Emmanuelle (ASMAE)*�ATD quart monde*�Bioforce Développement*�CCFD Terre Solidaire�Coopération et Formation au Dévelopement (CEFODE)*��Centre d’Entraînement aux Méthodes d’Éducation Active (CEMEA)*�Clair Logis International*��Cotravaux (coordination pour le travail volontaire des jeunes)*�Defap (Service Protestant de mission)*�Délégation Catholique à la Coopération (DCC)*�Éclaireurs et Éclaireuses de France (EEDF)*�Éclaireurs et Éclaireuses Unionistes de France*�Fédération Léo Lagrange (FLL)*��Fidesco (Organisation catholique de solidarité internationale)*�Fondacio France�Les Francas*��Groupement des Retraités Éducateurs

sans Frontières (GREF)*�GRET�Handicap International (HI)*��Institut de Formation et d’Appui aux Initiatives

de Développement (IFAID)*�Intercordia�La Guilde (GER)*�Ligue de l’Enseignement*� Ligue des Droits de l’Homme (LDH)*�Médecins du Monde (MDM)*�Ritimo�Service de Coopération au Développement (SCD)*�Scouts et Guides de France (SGDF)*�Solidarité Laïque�Union Nationale des Maisons Familiales et Rurales (MFR)

* Founding members of France Volontaires

We, the associations adherent to the hereinafter charter, declare that there is, beyond the diversity of our practices, a set of common values that constitutes the basis of voluntary and solidarity commitments internationally.

These values- secularism, commitment, solidarity, equality, freedom and universality- are all guides to improve the quality and richness of these commitments.

These commitments, free and responsible, enables anyone to be at the disposal of a non-profit organisation to contribute to an action of general interest. It expresses itself through different forms of international volunteering, most notably:

n Volunteering for initiation and exchange which aims at the discovery of international realities through voluntary actions that are short in duration and often collective. It mostly relates to young people or people living their first experience of mobility in the field of international solidarity.

n Volunteering for knowledge and skills exchange which aims at exchanging professional skills between members from partner organisations. These mainly relate to experienced people, working or retired, wishing to support specific projects through their expertise.

n Volunteering for cooperation, support for development and humanitarian action which aims to put the qualifications, competences and experiences of an individual at the service of a partner, a project for about 1 or more years. Their human and cultural dimension involves immersion in the host country. Reciprocal commitments and operating conditions of the mission are formalised in a contract.

We affirm that the different forms of international volunteering favour the dynamics of co-operation and exchanges within countries, populations, cultures, and people.

Based on human relationships, intercultural exchanges and reciprocity, international volunteering constitutes an original approach towards international solidarity.

It contributes to the reinforcement of civil society and inscribes its actions in the dynamics of social change.

� Ministry of Foreign affairs and international development

� French Development Agency � Ministry of agriculture,

fisheries and forestry� Ministry of national education,

higher education and research� Ministry of the town,

youth and sports

Board of ministries and public bodies/Members by right

Board of associations and foundations

� Cités Unies France (CUF)� Centre region� Réunion region� Northern province of New Caledonia� Eure General Council� Finistère General Council� Réunion General Council� Blois� La Possession� Saint-Dié des Vosges

Board of local authorities and networks of local authorities

� Mr. Jacques Godfrain (ex-minister, President of France Volontaires)

� Mr. Louis Dominici (Ambassador)� Mrs Louise Avon (President

of CLONG-Volontariat)� Mr. David Lopez (representative of

the president of CNAJEP)� Mr. Patrice Chevallier

(Civil Administrator)� Mr. Claude Pecastaing (Secretary

of Foreign affairs en retraite)

Board of qualified individuals

The charter in its entirety can be seen on www.france-volontaires.org

Our Members

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The platform of voluntary commitments for international solidarity

France Volontaires

6, rue Truillot - BP 22094203 Ivry-sur-Seine Cedex01 53 14 20 30

www.france-volontaires.orgwww.evfv.org

2014-2015 EDITION

FRANCE VOLONTAIRESFRANCE VOLONTAIRESFRANCE VOLONTAIRES

In the host country

France Volontaires is the platform for international volunteering commitments and solidarity. It was established in 2010, at the government and voluntary sector’s initiative.

� Missions

� A network of Volunteer areas

� The public � The players

� The observatory for voluntary and solidarity commitment

� A local presence

Pursuing its programme of sending volunteers internationally, France Volontaires sees itself as endowed with a mission of general interest, namely, “promoting and developing the different commitments of International volunteering (I.V) and contribute to their implementation. This mission is expressed in compliance with the values set out in the common charter, to which all volunteer-sending organisations, as well as the volunteers themselves, adhere to.” (Article 1 of the statutes)

Concretely, it concerns:n raising awareness about the different forms of volunteerism;n contributing to develop, in quality and quantity, the numbers of International volunteering programs,

while pursuing its mission of sending volunteers internationally;n supporting volunteer-sending organisations in their missions to mobilise, prepare, monitor, manage

and reintegrate people upon return;n boosting the International Volunteering field;n helping strengthen public policies in France.

France Volontaires’ missions are specified in the agreement signed with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Development.

France Volontaires is also a founding member of the Civic Service Agency, created in May 2010. A convention specifies the contribution of France Volontaires in the implementation of the international component of the French civic service.

On site, volunteers, partners, international volunteering bodies…are waiting for information, exchanges of practices and meetings. They wish to have easier access to certain services (language training, knowledge of the socio-cultural, political environment, information on the condition for stay, etc.).

For their part, associations and civil society organisations who host volunteers wish to gain better knowledge of the French volunteering offer.

In response, France Volontaires develops a “Volunteering centres network” places for information, guidance and networking. As of the end of 2014, 27 are open. They offer specific characteristics common to any structured network, but are adapted to the context and specifics of each host country.

www.evfv.org

The Observatory for international volunteering is project led by France Volontaires, initiated by the Ministry of Foreign affairs and International Solidarity and France Volontaires’ associative members. Its purpose is to improve the knowledge of French Citizens’ different forms of involvement in the field of international solidarity. Its ambition is to become a reference in terms of observation and analysis of the sector and thereby to be a decision support tool for the control and the evolution of public policy in this field.

The Observatory is a facilitator for networks of collective players: CLONG Volontariat, FONJEP, COTRAVAUX, RITIMO, CCFD, SOLIDARITÉ LAÏQUE, INJEP etc. but also of players anchored to the territories, particularly those in relation with territorial authorities engaged in decentralised cooperation.

Through its collection, analysis and valorisation, the Observatory contributes to: feed the dynamics of the sector, share knowledge about the practices of each players, pool expertise and methodology on volunteering, the results of experiments, the diffusion of innovation, the promotion of a quality approach…

www.observatoire-volontariat.org

France Volontaire’s local representatives are capable to support French inter-national volunteering bodies in the identification of partners and missions, hosting volunteers, guiding them. They can equally facilitate relations with national authorities as well as French diplomatic representations (embassies, consulates). Upstream, they can also transmit all the information required for visa conditions or a successful mission.

France Volontaires, contributes to improve collective knowledge of French citizens’ voluntary commitments worldwide.

Finally local officials assure the monitoring of France Volontaires’ volunteers as well as the prospection and negotiation for new volunteering opportunities.

n High-school studentsn Young graduatesn Working professionalsn Retiredn Engaged citizens…

Informabout the different possible forms of volunteerism in developing countries, as well as the terms and conditions for trips or missions.

Guidepeople in relation to their profile, availability, experience, competency, associative sensitivity towards one form of volunteering or another, (The different categories of international volunteering) or towards commit-ments at a national, or even European, level.

Give value,contribute to improving the notoriety and recognition of International Vol-unteering in French society, particu-larly through a creation of a support fund for initiatives promoting volun-teerism.

n Associationsn Local authoritiesn Public bodiesn Companies, foundationsn Individuals…

Facilitatenetworking between international volunteering bodies and foster the de-velopment of their operational capac-ities (identification of missions, mo-bilisation, training and reintegration) in conjunction with local authorities, state institutions, public policies… France Volontaires develops, within the territories, a permanent network of staff and volunteers.

Supportthe development of international vol-unteering bodies’ operational capabil-ities (Identification of missions, mobi-lisation, training and reintegration).

Innovateby giving impulse to a culture of experimentation within international volunteering families.

It is a volunteering commitment with a 6 month duration, intended for young people aged from 16 to 25 years.

This commitment can be pursued in a non-profit organisation or public law entity (local authorities).

France Volontaires participates in France and internationally in the implementation of public youth policies, in the definition of strategies for the of the international component of the French civic service, in the animation, the promotion and management of the scheme, and in the mobilisation of different non profit bodies and local authorities both North and South.

www.service-civique.gouv.fr

The international Civic Service commitments

France Volontaires is currently present in 55 countries in Africa, Asia and Latin America. France Volontaires mobilises its own volunteers of international solidarity on 24 months missions. It also proposes “Leave for Change” short missions (15 days).

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