Home ยป ASIA PACIFIC REGION REPORT FOR THE IAVE BOARD MEETING, PANAMA, MARCH 30-31, 2008

January 12, 2010

Asia Pacific Region Report for the IAVE Board Meeting, Panama, March 30-31, 2008

IAVE IRC

 

Member Organizations

Taiwan
Taiwan’s comprehensive network of volunteer services represents the joint efforts of the government and the private sector.  By the end of 2006, a total of 1,564 volunteer service teams with more than 96,225 volunteers performing a variety of activities had been formed.

To strengthen the IAVE global network, IAVE Taiwan promotes the participation to the “IAVE.ORG” and IAVE Resource Center” projects. 

IAVE Taiwan will host the XII Asia-Pacific Regional Volunteer Conference in 2009 in Kaohsiung.

 

Singapore
The Volunteering Scene
The latest biennial survey of the National Volunteer and Philanthropy Centre (NVPC) reported that the 2006 Individual Giving Survey results showed that about 15.5% of individuals aged 15 and above are current volunteers.  An estimated 49 million hours were contributed by the current volunteers in the 2006 survey compared to an estimate of 35 million hours in the 2004 survey.  While the incidence of volunteers remained steady, the number of hours served increased by 40%.

Growing the Giving Pie
Although volunteerism rate has increased over the years, there is still potential for volunteer growth in Singapore.  NVPC has identified the following strategies to increase volunteer participation in Singapore:

  1. Ad Hoc Volunteering
  2. Senior Volunteering
  3. Employee Volunteering/Workplace Volunteering
  4. Off Site Volunteering Website/IT Programmes for NPO
  5. Informal Volunteering
  6. Volunteer Retention

NVPC Moves to The Giving Place
In December 2007, NVPC moved to its new home at The Giving Place, a community-based office located in The Central, a new retail and office complex by the Singapore River.  The space was generously gifted to NVPC by leading property developer, Far East Organization.  A host of organizations in the building industry volunteered their professional consultancy services to make this community-based giving hub a reality.

Mrs. Tan Chee Koon, CEO of NVPC Singapore together with the Singaporean Conference Team will present the bid to host the next IAVE World Conference.

 

Korea
The participation rate of volunteering in Korea increased to 14.2% in 1999, 16.3% in 2002 and 20.5% in 2005 of the total population. 

The Korean government has enacted the fundamental law for volunteering in 2006, which was the first all over the world.  The Master Plan targets to promote volunteerism and raise the participation rate of volunteers inspired by the vision “A volunteer country is making a happy communities”.  In order to achieve the goal, the first master plan contains five domains as follow.

  • The values and the participation promotion measure of volunteering,
  • The utilization of supporting infra and management standardization,
  • The training program for the leading personnel,
  • The formulation of the study foundation of the volunteers,
  • The revitalization of the international exchange programs of the volunteers

Implementing Policies

  • To promote the value of volunteering
  • To promote the utilization of volunteer infra
  • To manage the volunteering and training programs of the leading personnel
  • To form the study foundation for volunteering
  • To vitalize the international exchange programs of volunteering

Commitment to Volunteerism in Korea and the World
Korea’s global position and responsibilities are rapidly becoming higher.  It aims to strengthen IAVE’s global position by promoting volunteers conference and supporting the scholarship of participants from the developing countries.  It will continue to encourage exchange of positive information, ideas, knowledge and processes in volunteering and to provide volunteers with a better understanding of the stream of international volunteering through active participation in regional and global conferences on volunteerism.

 

Japan
The hosting of the XI Asia Pacific Regional Volunteer Conference 2007 in Nagoya, Aichi was a big success because of the partnership of the volunteer groups and the government.

One of the highlights of the conference was the granting of a posthumous award of recognition to Mrs. Toyoda for her commitment to volunteerism and IAVE.

The following activities/events show the collaboration of NPOs and the government:

  1. Aichi Collaboration Rule Book 2004:  (In reference of “The Local Compact” in England).  Governor of Aichi Prefecture and NPO Representatives signed the Rule Book.
  2. 1% Resident Tax for Citizens’ Activities Scheme of Ichikawa City, Chiba Prefecture:  to support local NPOs activities.
  3. Volunteers in Large Scale Events Organized by Governments:  In the Aichi Expo 2005, more than 30,000 volunteers participated in hospitality and management.
  4. Most of the local governments opened a section to support volunteers and NPO activities.

Recent survey showed that there are more than 130,000 community/civil society organizations and 8 million volunteers in Japan today.  About 65% of adults and students participate in voluntary work.  

 

Hong Kong
Agency for Volunteer Service
New Initiatives and Notable Achievements
The “Professional Volunteer Service Accreditation Programme” was set up as a joint venture of HKCOV and its member professional associations with the support of AVS.  It serves to promulgate the value of volunteering in the professional sector, and to stimulate professionals’ participation in community service.  AVS offered consultancy and support to the professional associations in setting up and running the programme under the auspices of the HKCOV.  The Hong Kong Dental Association was the first to pioneer the programme in 2006 and it was subsequently entered by The Hong Kong Institute of Architects and the Hong Kong Institute of Surveyors in 2007.

Mega Events Involvement
International Telecommunication Union (ITU) Telecom World 2006 - ITU is the leading United Nations agency for information and communication technologies.  It was the first time ITU held an exhibition in Hong Kong, whereby AVS was invited to organize volunteer services conducting volunteer recruitment, selection, training and job placement.  366 volunteers were trained and provide quality hospitality service to ITU Telecom World delegates. 

International Festival of Inclusive Arts (IFIA) - in early December 2006, the IFIA was held in Hong Kong for the first time to promote social inclusion and harmony through joint participation in a barrier-free art platform. 

Specialized Volunteer Service Teams
A volunteer Talent Bank Project was launched to capitalize on the expertise of volunteers to provide quality services to the needy groups and service organizations. 

We Share Care to Volunteering Campaign
In celebration of the International Volunteer Day, AVS engaged in a tripartite partnership with the government and the business sector, organized a territory-wide “We Share to Care Volunteering Campaign” to promote citizen volunteering, through gift donation and home visit to the needy and the disadvantaged.

Volunteer Project in China Mainland
The Hopeful School Volunteer Project set up by the AVS in 1997 provide much needed assistance for the education of the poor and the needy children in the Mainland.  Financed mainly by corporate and private donations, the Project was supported by a strong team of 260 volunteers who actively participated in the service for over 4,000 students of 25 schools.  This year, financial subsidies were provided to 377 poor students and a group of 53 secondary students.

Apart from being the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Representative of IAVE, AVS is a cooperating organization of the United Nations Volunteers (UNV) and the focal point of UNV activities in Hong Kong to help promote and recruit qualified professionals to provide services and build on indigenous knowledge to support sustainable development of the developing countries.

 

India
IAVE India is involved in developing bridges of understanding amongst various sections of the Indian society and also South Asia.  Through its website it seeks to educate, communicate and involve with those who wish to volunteer in this region.  It has collaborated with PIDT in organizing various International Conferences in the Region and has initiated a forum called “Youth for Peace Plurality and Equality”.  IAVE India celebrates the UN International Volunteer Day (IVD).  It is finding means and mechanisms to increase the Volunteer content of society.

IAVE India networks with PIDT (acronym PIDT means “oppressed” in most languages of northern India) on projects for children, youth and women on a variety of areas ranging from women’s empowerment, education, health, sustainable agriculture, watershed development, rural habitat, herbal medicine, livelihood generation to crafts development and human rights.

 

Australia
Volunteering Training Courses offered are the following:

  • The Training for Volunteers
  • National Standards Training for Volunteer Managers
  • Policy Round Table Discussions
  • Affordable “Tailor Made” Training for Community Organizations

Going for Gold - Volunteering SA’s 25th Anniversary
The milestone event, “kicked off” with a program of demonstration site visits, showcasing organizations and their commitment to the implementation of the National Standards in Volunteering.  The diverse cross section of hosting organizations enabled VSA to showcase programs on the environment, community service, health, welfare, youth, heritage and education.

His Excellency Rear Admiral Kevin Scarce AO CSC RANR has agreed to be the patron of Volunteering SA.

 

Philippines
Philippine Association for Volunteer Effort (PAVE)

Capacity Building
PAVE conducted a training course on volunteer management for the following organizations: Ayala Group of Companies, Parole of Probation Administration of the Philippines, Department of Justice, Exchange Arena Group, Manila Red Cross, and The American Chamber of Commerce Foundation

Advocacy
In order to encourage the youth sector, workers in government and private sectors and civil society in general, PAVE undertook the following activities.

  • IYV+5 Round Table Discussions
    • Volunteerism in the Academe
    • Volunteerism in the Corporate Sector
    • Volunteerism and Government
  • Search for Outstanding Volunteer Awards.  The SOV Awards is one way of promoting the value of volunteerism in society.  By giving due recognition to individuals who through their volunteer efforts have contributed significantly in uplifting the lives of the people, the public may be inspired to also do the same.

Networking
PAVE participated in activities hosted by its institutional members such as the Philippine National Red Cross, Philippine Council for the NGO Certification, and NGO Summit on ATS Abuse Prevention.

  • Another Corporate Member of PAVE, Intel Philippines pours P37 million to Cavite public schools.

Through Intel’s Volunteer Matching Grant Program (VMGP), 24 new classrooms have been built, 17 classrooms renovated, and a speech laboratory put up in the province.  VMGP also funded the construction of 44 new comfort rooms and two new clinics to address the health and safety concerns of the school children.  They have also put up five new science laboratories and five computer laboratories for research and other investigative projects in General Trias, Cavite.

Through Intel’s financial assistance, there has also been an increase in the number of computers in the public schools in the province from 84 to 350 units.  It has provided an auxiliary teaching force of 500 volunteers for science, math, and computer classes.  With the increased number of classrooms, Intel also hired additional 53 teachers.

As part of its corporate social responsibility (CSR) program, Intel encourages its employees to do volunteer work in the local schools.  In turn, Intel rewards the schools with a cash donation based on the total number of Intel employee volunteer hours spent with the schools.

In the Philippines, every 20 hours of volunteer work equals US$80, up by 30 dollars from the previous years’ US$50.  Total volunteer hours logged by Intel employee-volunteers for 2004-2007 had reached more than 550,000.  Intel Philippines has logged the most number of volunteer hours, and the highest rate of volunteer participation among Intel sites all over the world.

Amelita D. Go, Ed. D.
Board Member