2nd Forum on Youth Volunteering and the Social Responsibility of the Universities, Colombia

On October 7th and 8th, 2010, in Bogota, Colombia, the 2nd Forum on Youth Volunteering and University Social Responsibility was held, convened by the Rosario University, the Bank of Time http://www.bancodetiempo.org and the College of High Administration Studies-CESA.

The aim of the forum was to increase awareness among young people about the role and benefits of networking, to put different efforts together, liaise with each other and then, achieve results toward a long lasting positive impact on many different youth-led activities. More than 700 young individuals participated, from all across the country:  students from different Universities and coming from voluntary based private organizations which are mainly active in the social field.

The forum included 6 academic presentations, 6 learning lessons based on practicing the findings of national social studies researches and 3 conferences. Different organizations led  some group dynamics focused on promoting teamwork and exchange among participants, like  working groups to find the slogan for the next Forum or the building of the biggest volunteer network in Latin America in the Forum Auditorium when the Colombian organization Corporación Somos Más http://www.somosmas.org, passed yarns around in a circle to visualize the huge network.

The event also featured speeches by Colombian personalities such as José Manuel Restrepo, rector of CESA, Hans-Peter Knudsen, rector of the Rosario University, political leaders such Simón Gaviria, representative for Bogota in the National Congress, Alejandro Eder, High Commissioner for Reintegration, the actor Omar Murillo, the actress and top model Belky Arizala and former sportsmen like Oscar Córdoba and Lucas Jaramillo.

The forum served to give a push to the different initiatives led by young people, with the support and endorsement of Universities and organizations within the country and also to find new opportunities for collaboration between them.

For more information about this event and its results click here: http://forovoluntariadoyrsu.org (only in Spanish).