Description of organisation

Zavod Voluntariat is a non-profit and non-governmental organization, established in 1991 on the base of reorganization of the Association MOST. Voluntariat organizes international voluntary workcamps and voluntary work with an aim to provide assistance and additional programs on social inclusion, environment protection and other activities that profit organizations and the state do not provide. We consider international voluntary work as a value for personal growth of individuals, promotion of social justice, inter-cultural learning and education for peace and solidarity. Voluntariat is a part of worldwide international organization and peace movement Service Civil International (SCI), including more than 70 partner organizations organizing international voluntary projects and other activities. SCI has a consultative status with the Council of Europe, operational relations with UNESCO and is a member of: CCIVS (Coordinating Committee of International Voluntary Service Organizations), YFJ (Youth Forum Jeunesse), AVSO (Association of Voluntary Service Organizations) and UNITED for Intercultural Action. In 1987, SCI was awarded the title of Messenger of Peace given by the United Nations in acknowledgment of its efforts to promote peace and understanding.

The mission of Voluntariat is to promote the ideas of peace, social justice, sustainable development and international cooperation and solidarity through volunteer work and voluntary projects. We believe that international volunteering is beneficial for the personal development of the individual, for the promotion of social justice, intercultural learning and education for peace and tolerance. Our vision is a world of peace, social justice and sustainable development, where people live together with mutual respect without inciting any form of violence and with a view to resolving conflicts.

Main activities:
- We offer comprehensive support to volunteers:from short-term forms of volunteering (international volunteer camps, youth exchanges and seminars) to long-term (ESC, long-term volunteering under SCI and European Aid Volunteers),
- we organize volunteer projects together with local organizations in the field of protection of natural and cultural heritage, peacekeeping, assistance to deprived social groups, etc.,
- we organize education and training of volunteers and their mentors in order to spread the idea of volunteer work,
- we support individuals and groups in volunteering in local communities,
- we monitor and evaluate the projects we support, both in the local and wider context, and we take care of publishing the results,
- we inform about the possibilities of volunteer work in Slovenia and around the world, and
- we engage in international actions that promote the participation of people of different nationalities, cultures and political views in the belief that understanding between different national groups can lead to coexistence and peaceful resolution of conflicts between nations.

International volunteering preserves all elements of volunteering and can be carried out in various fields. The special feature of international volunteering is that volunteers do not work in their own country, but also contribute to the recognition of the interdependence of all communities in the world. As such, it offers an alternative way of spending free time and at the same time encourages us to transfer the ideas and experiences we gain by acting on a global scale to activities in the local environment.
Its foundations are intercultural and international exchanges. Our main target group is manly youth from 18-30 years. But through SCI we are also working with older population.