VOLUNTEER - KEY TO THE FUTURE
National Volunteers Meeting Report
Practical Details
Domka didn’t
organize special meeting, as regular meetings are realized, where questions
about challenges of volunteer work could have been discussed. According to our
praxis, we solve problems and think about challenges at 3 meetings (Youth
Centre Councils Meetings in west, central and east
This year the meetings were as following:
·
Central Slovakia Youth Centre Councils Meeting, 4 – 6
February 2011, Bobrovec –
·
West Slovakia Youth Centre Councils Meeting, 11 – 13
February 2011, Fugelka –
·
East Slovakia Youth Centre Councils Meeting, 18 – 20
February 2011, Krompachy –
Description of the meetings
As mentioned,
these three regional meetings are regularly organized. As usual, the aim was to
discuss actual challenges the Youth Centres and their volunteers are facing.
The Youth Centres delegates debate on them using different discussion and
communication techniques in varying groups. The outcomes of three meetings are
always compared, as they can vary due to diverse problems volunteers in regions
(West, Central and
Participants look for pathways to the new approaches to actual problems and challenges.
February 2011 Meetings focused on the volunteers from the following point of view. Great majority of Domka’s volunteers are animators, who in the long term supervise and accompany small group of the same aged children/youth. Animating of the same aged children/youth groups is one from the pillars of Domka’s existence and activity. This is the reason why we need to concentrate on challenges which are facing animators in their regular activity.
Outcomes of the meetings
In our activity we consider as necessary to gradually realize a shift in thinking of our animators. Especially at the beginning of their engagement they tend to think about his/her children/youth group as of “some group”, which is consigned to them and is their “duty” to take care of it. It is necessary for them to change this to thinking in terms of “my group”. Supervising of his/her group has to become for the animator a “matter of heart”, he/she has to understand group’s and members’ development as his/her internal necessity and demand.
After this shift, also the thinking of the group members can change from “he/she is some animator of this group” to “he/she is my animator of my group”. At this level, personal, trust-based relationships among group members and animator could be created. These relationships are crucial for appropriate and effective group animation.
The challenge lies in how to realize the process of shift in thinking (some group – my group). Our opinion is, that the animator himself needs to be accompanied in the process of his/her maturation as a person and as a volunteer. This could be realized at:
· LOCAL
- personal mentoring - by member of salesian family or older experienced
animator. Talk about personal growth, relationship with God and the others,
motivations. Importance of friendly, spontaneous relationship between animator
and e.g.
- talk about his/her group, needs of the members,
relationships among them, their growth, longterm aim of the work with
- formation animator meetings, sharing of experiences
among
- local School for Animators – professional formation in
relating fields (pedagogy, psychology, …)
· NATIONAL LEVEL
- School for Animators – three year education program
for animators realized by professionals in different
- Itinerarios – Pathways of maturation – newly developed
methodical material for groups’ animators, unified conception of creating
program for groups meetings. Materials help the animator with his work with
groups in five different age categories (10-12 years,12-14,14-16,16-18 and
18-25
- Specialized courses, e.g.: Projects writing, Level up
Streetwork, Outdoor activities, Summer camp animator, Missionary volunteer,
Media, Economics, ...
To summarize, our young volunteers face the challenge of their own growth, maturation and proper education. It is not easy in present society to find right direction in variety of proposals, develop personal integrity, create and keep devoted to own personal decisions. At the same time, these are the essential conditions for stability of the pillar of Domka’s activity – regular meetings of same aged children/youth groups organized by often young, adolescent volunteers. This is why Domka set this as it’s own aim - help volunteers with personal growth. This is being realized with different tools at two levels as mentioned above.
Training courses for volunteers – leaders in Domka
BRATISLAVA, 10th march 2011 – Ninety young leaders from Domka met in February to think about couching volunteers in their oratories. During the weekend meeting they found out how important the couching is. They also exchanged their experiences about how they work with the animators. They also considered about education style of Don Bosco and his couching activities. Leaders found out how they can use these new ideas in their own oratory.
Youth organization Domka organized Regional meetings of oratory´s leaders during three weekends of February in 3 different places in Slovakia. These meetings are a part of complex education project for volunteers. There were 10 training courses Itinerare for 150 volunteers in autumn. Next step of this courses starts in March. Animators in Domka are 15-25 years old. Leaders of oratories are salesians and young people.
Slavka Brigantova, the director of Domka says: “By the training courses Itinerare we aimed to raise the quality of regular peer group meetings. We think, it´s important to educate the animators, but it´s also important to couch them. The output of training courses is much lower without regular work with the animators. So we decided to train also young leaders of oratories (in partnership with salesians) how to couch and work with the animators.”
One of the participants, Katarina (20 years) says: “This meeting has given me a lot of energy and motivation to do something for my oratory. With my college we planed some meetings with other animators. We want to say them what we learnt here.”
More information:
DOMKA – Association of salesian youth is organization with mission to have a long term influence on the education and fomation of children and youth in the Slovakia. DOMKA has about 8 000 members especcialy children and youth (10-30 years old). It´s activities are organized by 1 500 active volunteers – animatores.
Conact:
Zuzana Matejicková, PR manager, zuzka.m@domka.sk