Effect social change through international volunteerism
Country: Argentina
Organization: InsightArgentina
Idea: InsightArgentina works to break global cultural barriers through its commitment to international voluntary social service. Offering a wide variety of highly customizable volunteer and internship programs, InsightArgentina seeks to generate social conscience in its participants, and act as a bridge between the Argentine social sector and members of the international community who have a desire to utilize their skills and resources to effect change in a developing country. Insightıs programs create a lasting impact because of the emphasis placed on the program being just the beginning of a lasting experience that focuses on keeping program participants engaged in their host NGO, Argentina, and the social sector in their own country.
How do you do it: In order to implement the model in a far-reaching, replicable, and sustainable way it is key to have a systematic methodology in place. Alliances, cooperation, and communication within the sector are crucial. 1. Building a network of organizations that are interested in receiving volunteers, and willing to work with Insight to ensure that the experience is mutually beneficial, is the first and most important step. 2. Forming partnerships with entities that already work with groups of potential participants, rather than outreach to individuals. 3. Creating administrative processes, including application, placement, evaluation, and follow-up. The follow-up process ensures that the experience does not end once the participant returns home.
Innovation: The innovation is not in any one aspect of the programs, but in the combination of three distinct goals all being executed through a single platform. 1. The experiences that Insight facilitates create a more engaged, invested global citizen, who is in tuned to the world around them and better equipped to make tough moral decisions. 2. The host organization receives assistance from the candidate, often in areas that are different from the skill sets of the staff. 3. The creation of a lasting relationship between the participant and the international solidarity movement. The participantıs experience in Argentina is only the beginning of what will hopefully be a long-term commitment to his or her host org, Argentina, and the social sector.
Impact: Insight works with people of all ages at both a local and int'l level. The model is based on the belief that that people want to be more involved in the world around them, and just need to be shown how. By facilitating these programs, Insight is creating in its participants individuals who go back to their home country more involved, educated, engaged, and aware of the world around them. Through immersion and direct participation in the realities of another country, program participants learn empathy, as well as positive and concrete ways to act on that empathy and disseminate it to others. Emphasis is placed on the fact that the experience should not end when the participant returns home, encouraging continued involvement in the long-term.
Ethical Action: Instead of just one anecdote, here are some testimonies of past program participants:
"The volunteer program has been one of the greatest experiences of my life...I grew to admire their optimism in a life and situation that seems it could be nothing but a constant struggle. Within minutes, bonds would form between myself and the children and they will forever remain in my heart. A rewarding, life-changing experience such as this is a necessity in anyone's life." ~ Megan "It was great!...This was an experience that has definitely changed my life." ~ Bealen "I was thrilled to see how excited the children were to learn...It was very rewarding to know that as a volunteer, you are making an impact on these childrenıs lives." ~ Alison
Replication: Insightıs model is replicable not only on a physical level, although it is easily replicable in other locations. It is replicable because the international volunteer participant model that Insight is based on can be used as a guide by NGOs everywhere to bring in not only valuable human resources, but as an ideal way to get the international community involved in small or geographically isolated NGOs, creating social ambassadors and resource mobilization channels around the world.
Sustainability: InsightArgentina has been self-sustaining since its inception, through the placement fee it asks of its program participants. In the true spirit of social enterprise, InsightArgentina donates 100% of its programsı profits to HelpArgentina and to the NGOs within the HelpArgentina/InsightArgentina network of member organizations.
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Position in the Ethics Mosaic of Solutions:
- Factor: Fatalism
- Principle: Developing self-awareness and interconnectedness
Contact Information:
Name: Angelique Xanthopoulos - Director
Organization: InsightArgentina
Mailing address: Avenida de Mayo 1370 - 16ı
Country: Argentina
Email: afx@insightargentina.org
Tel: 1-480-445-9187
Fax: 1-253-660-9635
Website: www.insightargentina.org
Organization Size: InsightArgentina has 5 full time employees and 2 interns.
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