SCI news

CVS Bulgaria is organising a Volunteering Projects Management seminar and is looking for participants! Read the call and apply by 30 June.

For European Youth Week (EYW) 2021, VSI Ireland organised an online photography competition, with the theme: Health and Recovery. Discover the winners!

SCI Catalunya organises the peaceweek “Strengthening the youth response against LGBTIQphobia” in Barcelona from the 16th to the 23rd of July. SCI youth workers from Germany, France, Italy, Bulgaria, Hungary, Belgium, Ukraine and Albania can apply before the 1st of July.

The MIDI working group of SCI condemns the use of military force and violence in Palestine and stands in strong support to Palestinian people and to all people who support their struggle.

Service Civil International, and particularly branches in the Asia Pacific region, register their concerns over the ongoing, escalating violence in Myanmar.

One World Association – SCI Poland is calling for participants for the camp “Volunteering vs. Violence – let’s turn theory practice”!

Antonella, Cristina, and Sandra share their experience in creating an online study camp!

Service Civil International is currently working on making impact measurement our standard practice. We are now looking for an online volunteer to support us with reviewing and creating several data collection tools (mostly surveys) which will be later incorporated into the SCI routines. Deadline to apply: 20.06.2021

SCI Malaysia organised an event to get people to appreciate the wonderful flowers they have around on this year’s Earth Day. To take photos of them, to get to know them by name, and share some personal feelings with these floral friends of theirs.

Report on SCI KL Malaysia’s Earth Day online event on the Theme ‘Rebirth the Earth’.

This project will join groups and SCI branches across Europe to build a collective understanding and strategy of how to tackle propaganda and the far right that has exploded across the world in the last decade.

Change Makers is an event based on the Living Library concept, where you will get in touch with stories about social and environmental justice, migration, empowerment, and disability.

Our Italian branch joins the collective appeal to the international community to stop the escalation of violence that the Palestinian territory is experiencing and expresses its solidarity with the Palestinian people.

A report on the online theater workshop organized by SCI Hellas volunteers in collaboration with the drama instructor Konstantinos Marougkas. The project was part of “Peace in Practice: Supporting young people to become peace envoys”, funded by the Council of Europe’s Youth Foundation. 

This March CVS – Bulgaria decided that “it’s peace o-clock” and initiated a Photo Hackathon on the topic, as part of the SCI’s Peace in Practice project supported by the European Youth Foundation of Council of Europe.

A report on the event that SCI India organised for the International Women’s Day celebration.

On the 15th of March, The Youth Gathering “Acts of Solidarity in times of (in)Differences” started in the city of Mitrovica. Implemented by GAIA’s team there and supported by the European Youth Foundation, the project brought together nine participants from all around Kosovo for training on media literacy and journalism.

The report on the physical workcamp organised by IVP Australia in preparation for the Goulburn Show.

Paula and Martin from SCI Catalunya share their experience preparing and facilitating an online study camp.

A report on the online project “Traces of Colonialism” organized by SCI Germany in cooperation with its partners in Kenya. Additionally, as a result of the project, a digital exhibition was created.

Have a look at the winners of the merchandise design contest in celebration of our extended 100 years celebration!

IVP Australia in the frame of a Plants for Peace project delivered approximately 300 plants to Lake Conjola on 5th Feb 2021 to assist with environmental recovery but also to help with the mental health of traumatised residents that had been in the path of the fires.

A report on the placement officer training which was held online this year.

Jonathan Healy, a volunteer at SCI Hellas shares his perspective about their street football project Bala Patissia in partnership with the municipality of Athens (Co Athens, Curing the Limbo) and the Umoja/Enosi football team.

Some initiatives that Open Doors working group from Útilapu SCI Hungary realised during a quarantine and social restrictions periods in 2020-2021.

Hasna, the new project volunteer at the International Secretariat introduces herself and shares her thoughts and expectations on her project.

The silent online exhibition by SCI Austria traces the history of National Socialism in Austria, remembering its crimes, persecution, and resistance, with a special attention to non-violent forms of resistance.

The Social Space for Deconstruction invited children and teenagers of Mitrovica to take part in a poetry project, asking them to write poems centered around the topic of dreams.

SCI Catalunya has created the Global Justice Capsules which provides a space for online training to anyone who wants to acquire a deeper knowledge on topics of global justice!

Lili who was a camp leader in the “Contemporary Witnesses of Police Brutality and Forced Labour in WW II” online camp, shares her experience with organising the online camp. We get to read the feedback from the participants as well!

Útilapu Hálózat, SCI’s Hungarian branch has been organising a solidarity project called ‘Open Pots’ where they gather and cook dishes from different cuisines of the world. It is a great opportunity to get a taste of new cultures and to exchange knowledge. Not to mention the leftover food is donated to people in need!

ICM 2020 has just ended! It was an intensive week with discussions, voting, and learning from each other and for the first time ever, the international committee meeting took place online.

In their autumn meeting, Útilapu Hungary set their goals for the future and celebrated the 100 years anniversary of SCI!

Our partner organisation Gönüllü Hizmetler Derneği (GHD) has launched its first volunteer school to give training on different sectors to combat issues related to civil society.

After ten years of activities and brainstorming on climate change, non-formal education, peacebuilding, friendship, volunteering, or activism, GAIA Kosovo decided it was time to gather testimonies, stories, experiences from friends from the Balkans and beyond in the form of podcasts.

SCI Switzerland received a price in 2020, as a sign of recognition in the year of our 100th anniversary.

Théo introduces himself and shares why he chose to be a part of the SCI movement.

We want to remember Eleanor as an SCI volunteer who carried the values, knowledge and skills developed in her international volunteering service throughout her life. Her generosity lives on, with a legacy gift of £ 5000 donated to SCI that will help others to enjoy the experience she had. Thank you Eleanor!

Uma shares her thoughts on why she chose SCI as a place to complete her internship.

A report on the first-ever online Exchange Platform Meeting! Although the circumstances caused some challenges, this year’s sessions have reached far more people in the comfort of their homes!

OWA Poland has been implementing a project in primary and secondary schools from smaller towns in the region of Wielkopolska.

The digital study camp took place between in August with 12 participants from over the world, united with one goal and motivation to do something meaningful and learn more! A digital exhibition and international friendships were the outcomes of the camp!

SCI Hellas has made football central to their activities this year and is organizing events, playing sports, denouncing racism and xenophobia, and repairing a football ground and park for everyone to use in the centre of Athens!

A report on the city cycling (STADTRADELN) that SCI-Germany has taken part in again this year, from 20 September to 10 October 2020.

A peek into the well-known workcamp from SCI-Germany “Sun+Wind=Power?!” that took place in the Power Park from 8nd to 22nd of August. With a detailed explanation of the tasks and goals of the workcamp, including the feedback from the volunteers!

An update on the international team, Gaia Microgrants, and their report on supporting climate justice.

On International Peace Day, SCI India West Bengal Group organized an event where among different topics they discussed Human Rights and creating awareness regarding different Govt. bodies that exist to offer help to the people.

CCIVS is launching an online reading club where the recently published book “Words about Deeds” will be discussed. In particular, the development of workcamps in different regions will be explored.

SCI Hellas is organising their first experiential workshop on the theater of oppression. The aim of the workshop is to acquaint the participants with the value, usefulness, and process of the Theater of the Oppressed which applies techniques with theater tools.

SCI Switzerland has organized an event that not only celebrates the 100 years of SCI but it also corresponds to the Earth Overshoot Day, therefore there was a focus on waste reduction and environmental preservation.

During this extraordinary situation of pandemic and the critical socio-economic situation created by the same, Tapas Kumar Sur, secretary of West Bengal Group, the Indian branch of SCI shares the outstanding challenge that the lockdown has caused and their activities to offer help to the poor people and the society.

A small group came to the Netherlands and cycled around the IJsselmeer; an intensive week of cycling, talking, and sharing experiences while doing about 400 km on the bike. Some of them shared their experience and reflections of the cycling tour.

The 36th Annual General Meeting organized by the SCI KL (subdivision under SCI Malaysia) was held over ZOOM on 28th June 2020. Among important matters of decision making, a new team of committee members were elected for the presiding year. Dato Lawrence Cheah whose first volunteering experience at SCI dates back to the 1960s participated in the meeting as well as a guest speaker and shared his perspective.

Solidarity is at the core of the recent crowdfunding campaign of GAIA SCI Kosovo together with Roma Versitas Kosovo organization to aid Roma, Ashkali, and Egyptian pupils and students in times of crisis caused by the pandemic.

Yeliz is introducing herself and sharing her thoughts about working as the new communication volunteer at SCI.

In April, we – Marilou Ruijter and Heinz Gabathuler -, invited SCI activists for an online reading group with the aim to discuss some topics from the SCI anniversary book “Words about Deeds” which was published at the end of 2019.

This camp season is unusual for all of us, but we made as much as possible to continue work for peace promotion and are happy to share the workcamp opportunities in the topic of antiracism, antifascism, remembrance that are available in SCI-Germany both digital and “real”!

On 11th July, GAIA Kosovo organized a meeting in Biti e Poshtme/Donja Bitinja between local citizens and EcoAlbania, an organization active in the protection of rivers in our neighbouring country.

Last weekend SCI Switzerland organised a short mini-workcamp: seven volunteers from different parts of Switzerland met in the beautiful village of Doro (Ticino).

SCI Malaysia had its first virtual reach- out session to volunteers named Teh Tarik Session, which in Malaysian culture means hanging out together over milk tea.

In times when international travel was restricted and when political leaders around the world were calling for a „war“ on Corona virus, SCI Switzerland in cooperation with Wikimedia Switzerland decided to take a stand against war and military forces.

The long-term volunteers in the project ‘Volunteering Circles’ of CVS-Bulgaria have gathered to work on a magazine where they share thoughts, concerns, experiences and opinions on relevant issues.

IEC ensures the proper SCI functioning thorough all the year, working remotely and using a number of communication and project management tools for teams.

SCI Slovenia has, together with Association Humanitas (Slovenia), INEX-SDA (Czech Republic), FOCSIV (Italy) and Comhlamh (Ireland), launched the online course on ethical communication for volunteers, trainers, NGO representatives and everyone interested in global education and global citizenship.

In 1948, the State of Israel’s offensive left hundreds of thousands of Palestinians without land or home. 72 years later, the struggle for the right of return and for the defence of the Palestinian population’s human rights is still alive through organized civil society.

SCI first online workcamp was named “Sustainable Lifestyle in Lockdown”, it was implemented by SCI Germany and it took place from 4-11 of May 2020.

Shifting perspectives project is a response of GAIA’s volunteers to the Covid-19 pandemic. It is a series of short videos, spreading acts and thoughts that matter during this time of crisis to engage reflection and changes in our ways of life.

Gender Blenders SCI working group launched a 17-day campaign in which we are going to unmask the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic in terms of gender and to draw your attention to people who are at high risk during the lockdown.

Thus, we encouraged active people all around the globe to make a small action and join our unusual Flashmob (on distance of course) –   preparing at least one dish from the book with the flat mates, family or friends (via Zoom, Skype etc.) during one week.

Service Civil International is celebrating its 100th year as an international movement this year. The Asian Development Committee (ADS) of SCI...

22 April is designated Mother Earth Day. This year – we will be celebrating its 50th Anniversary. Malaysia like most of the 192 countries worldwide is under a COVID-19 pandemic Lockdown.

SCI is glad to announce renewed(1) SCI Peace Messengers (PM) online courses from 2nd of May till 30th of May 2020.

The 2019–20 coronavirus pandemic is an ongoing pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) worldwide.

Any crisis means important changes: with this global virus that has derailed our whole economic system, it is crucial to review our eating and consumption habits in a permanent way.

8:00 PM, every evening – is the time set for applauding the healthcare workers on the balconies/windows during the coronavirus outbreak.

With the pandemic taking over our lives, relations, work, economy… you name it (!) SCI Hellas couldn’t stay put and not keep up with solidarity and peace work.

Would you like to volunteer in the so-called “Global South” (Africa, Asia, Latin America)? Would you like to learn more about global issues like post-colonialism, fossil fuel industry/mining, stereotyping, prejudices, fairtrade etc.

Sofia International Film Festival (SIFF) was created in 1997 and, since then, it has attracted 85.000 spectators annually, becoming one of the biggest film festivals in the Balkans.

At this particular time for the world, how is SCI France continuing to promote volunteering activities?

Ingrid, CCIVS president and representative of SCI in the CCIVS board, Anni from KVT Finland and Panayota from SCI Hellas was the SCI delegation in Holloko, Hungary, where took place the Frame(v)work Europe Lab.

Hannah joined the team at the International Secretariat in an unusual way: remotely, from her home in the UK. She will move to Antwerp as soon as the situation allows it, but she already started her volunteering experience to support the Peace in Practice project.

In 2020, Service Civil International celebrates its 100 years of existence. One hundred years since a few volunteers begun an international service for peace and reconstruction and thus started the movement of international voluntary service.

On March 19th, the conference “Apartheid talks from South Africa to Palestine” was held by videoconference, due to the recommended security measures to reduce the spread of Covid-19.

Hundreds of thousands of people walked the streets of Barcelona to advocate for women’s rights – human rights on Sunday 8th of March.

Time flies so fast. It seems that we only said goodbye to each other after the first activity in Berlin and here we are, meeting again this time in Serbia for the second activity ‘Project Hub’ in terms of the training cycle ‘Project Café’.

One year ago a group of African women, mainly from Cameroon and Nigeria, met with SCI Hellas in an attempt to find common ground and work together.

On Saturday 29 February, SCI Catalunya held its 38th Ordinary General Assembly, accompanied by members, volunteers and the team of the entity.