The Background

Despite its long history of peacebuilding, SCI and International Voluntary Service (IVS) more broadly is inevitably bound up with histories and presents of violence, structural power imbalance, and inequality. Colonialism created the political and economic context in which we live today: some countries have accumulated resources and wealth over centuries, while other countries have been colonised, their resources exploited, their cultures destroyed and their people murdered, marginalised and structurally discriminated against. Countries of the Global South are still today disadvantaged in their participation in the global economy and in international regimes.

International volunteering takes place within this context: young women and men from the global North go as international volunteers to the Global South, often with neo-colonial motivations of imposing Western values and mindsets onto local realities. 

This project proposes deconstructing and reconstructing international voluntary services from an Afrocentric approach. It will build capacity for voluntary-inspired organisations across Africa, so that they will be able to enhance and promote south-south cooperation as opposed to the current scenario where most depend heavily on volunteers from the global North for survival.

Through a Peace Caravan and community-rooted follow-up actions involving 9 voluntary organisations, the initiative aims to empower youth, enhance south-south cooperation, and challenge neocolonial motivations. Focused on eco-village development, climate change mitigation, and permaculture-based food security, the project includes hands-on activities, transformative workshops, and a documentary-video. By fostering collaboration and capacity building among voluntary organisations, the project strives to create a more interconnected, resilient network capable of addressing regional challenges through a decolonial lens.

The Objectives

The Activities

Documentary Video