Reports from the 13th IAVE Asia-Pacific Regional Volunteer Conference

Delegates at the 13th IAVE Asia Pacific Regional Volunteer Conference in South Korea called for more volunteer involvement in climate change control, poverty alleviation, conflict resolution and disaster management, especially in the areas of education and networking. The delegates also called for more research on volunteering across the Asia Pacific region, and greater professionalism in the sector in terms of volunteer management, organization and structures.

The conference was held at the Changwon Exhibition Convention Center in South Korea from October 28-31, 2011.

The following is the draft Rapporteurs Report from the Closing Ceremony of the 13th IAVE Asia Pacific Regional Volunteer Conference: Volunteer Initiatives for a Sustainable Global Community, on Monday, October 31, reported by Jinho Song, Jeong-an Song, Mi-Hye Park, Eun-Ae Lee, Yoo-Sun Kwan, So-Hyun Nam, translated & edited by Jeong-an Song. Please note that this is not the final report. 

Track 1. Volunteering & Climate Change
Moderator: Myong-Je Cha (Hanil University)
Rappateur: Jeong-an Song (Volunteering Korea)
We affirmed that climate change is seriously threatening our lives, specifically in the Asia-Pacific region. Climate change reserves development progress and threatens the subsistence of current and future generations. We listened to the concerns of Kiribati, Pakistan, Russia, Korea, Thailand and other countries that face environmental issues, and learned why these areas are highly vulnerable. Also, we shared experiences and knowledge on how to prevent and overcome the threat of climate change. The Asia Pacific region has been making efforts to mitigate and adapt to climate change. Notably we need to be more aware of how to mitigate climate change while keeping up our efforts to adapt. Volunteers can play more significant roles in various ways such as education, health and so on. We need to explore the possibilities of practically addressing climate change issues.

Track 2. Volunteering & Poverty
Moderator: Je-Kwang Han (ODA Watch)
Rapporteur: Yu-Sun Kwan (ODA Watch), translated by Jeong-an Song
The Plenary, Forum & Workshops on "Volunteering & Poverty" gave us a full description of what poverty is, how it affects people, and how volunteering is making a contribution to poverty reduction. Poverty does not just mean a lack of resources to meet human basic needs, but also, and more importantly, concerns deprivation of opportunities and capacities that disable the quality of life. Through the UN MDGs and the ODA efforts of many countries, aid has poured into developing countries, but we observed that those efforts have limitations. Recently, we have started to recognize the importance of people’s voluntary participation and long-term and sustainable networking of people, which will lead to human development, and not just economic development. Volunteering should take a significant stance as a participatory approach to development, and volunteers must take their place in the core of poverty reduction efforts.

Track 3 Volunteering & Conflict
Moderator: Jinho Song (YMCA Korea)
Rappateur: Jinho Song (YMCA Korea), Jeong-an Song (Volunteering Korea)
We have witnessed painful experiences of war, violence, and violation of human rights in our history, which left us a deep-rooted legacy of hostility and confrontation. We have witnessed nationalism and ethnocentrism, which ignited new conflicts and blocked peace in our Asia-Pacific region. Different cultures and religions do not always maintain peaceful and friendly relations, but often act as a trigger to regional conflicts and violent wars, which are entwined with the economic and political interests and powers.
At the Plenary, Forum & Workshop sessions, we reaffirmed the necessity and significance of dialogue and education for peace and human rights. We listened to in-depth deliberations, lessons and case stories on good practices from India, East Timor and the Philippines to reduce, prevent and resolve conflict. We confirmed that the role of education - including peace education, human rights education, and international understanding education - is critically important.
Our volunteer efforts for open dialogue based upon mutual understanding, respect, education for peace and conflict resolution are keys to solving problems of residual social trauma caused by conflict. Based on this mutual understanding, we firmly believe that the universal values of peace and co-prosperity of the global community will lead us to reconciliation.
"We believe that there is no way to peace; peace is the way."

Track 4. Volunteering & Natural Disaster
Moderator: Amelita Go (IAVE Asia-Pacific representative on the Board of Directors)
Rapporteur: Eun-Ae Lee (Korea Disaster Relief for Association, translated by Jeong-an Song
We confirmed that Natural Disaster Relief needs to be more comprehensive, with a long-term approach to recovery project design. As a society is influenced by cultural, generational, organizational, and methodological changes, Natural Disaster Relief needs to incorporate these transitional paradigms to its agenda and action. The Program Logic Model is one way to plan activities with inputs and projected impacts and outcomes. Furthermore, we discussed Public-Private (NGO, private sector) Partnerships for natural disaster relief. We also learned about the differences in PPP between Korea, Japan, and the USA, and agreed that natural disaster relief will be more effective when public and private sectors cooperate in a more horizontal manner of partnership, rather than in vertical relationship.

Special Topic A. Definition of Volunteerism
Moderator: Liu Suk-Ching, Elaine (University of Hong Kong)
Rapporteur: Jeong-an Song (Volunteering Korea)
Forum & Workshop presentations shared universal descriptions or qualities of volunteerism: freewill, altruism, without monetary reward, etc. The definition of volunteerism, however, should be seen as a continuum, rather than a dichotomous concept, such as selfish vs. altruistic, freewill vs. force, paid vs. free. In addition, we agreed that we need to make more efforts to read the realities and practices of volunteerism of our time. We asked what volunteering is to us. We need to reshape volunteerism to better fit our practices, and trace the change of volunteerism and volunteering in our era. We also discussed cultural differences of volunteerism, but recognized we still need more valid and reliable data for intercultural comparative studies.

Special Topic B. Volunteer Management
Moderator: Il-Sup Choi (Korea Academy of Volunteerism)
Rapporteur: So-Hyun Nam (Volunteer 21)
In spite of time passing by, some things about volunteering don’t change. Volunteering is complex and there is not one single model. Therefore, several trends impacting volunteer management need to be considered. The Forum & Workshops, however, identified five clear trends: passion, for support, management, risk management, and needs of different age groups. We also called for attention to the continuous improvement of a 'Standards Manual for Involving Volunteers in Volunteer Centers'. We shared the Korean cases of the development of a volunteer management manual.

Special Topic C. Volunteer Centers
Moderator: Kang-Hyun Lee (IAVE World President)
Rapporteur: Jeong-an Song (Volunteering Korea)
Volunteer managers are facing several key issues: how to gain recognition of the importance of volunteer involvement, how to increase the number of people who volunteer how to enrich the volunteer’s experience, and how to maximize the impact of volunteer’s contribution. To address these issues more effectively, volunteer centers are to be aware of their special functions to do: Have a clear vision for the value and importance of volunteering, provide a centre of information and expertise, and be an influencing voice to gain recognition and support. At Forum & Workshops, we shared and listened to various efforts of volunteer centers to get closer to their communities and to keep renovating their services to volunteers.

Special Topic D. Corporate Volunteering
Moderator: Sarah Hayes (IAVE GCVC Director)
Rapporteur: Mi-Hye Park(Seoul Volunteer Center), translated by Jeong-an Song
At Forum & Workshops of this topic, we shared various levels and types of corporate volunteering & CSR activities. Samsung, with a long history of corporate volunteering since 1994, is extending their CSR activities to a global community and enriching domestic activities in more effective manner. Gyeongnam Bank has very strong focus on local community development and is making significant efforts for better service to their local community. UBS brought up several interesting issues on corporate volunteering and partnership with other sectors. We discussed what corporates are doing with volunteering & CSR activities and how civil society and private sector can generate synergy for common goals and agenda. Each sector has strengths and limitations both. And the role and influence of CSR is increasing than ever. Corporates and NGOs need to learn from each other and prepare themselves for better way of cooperation and partnership.