The flag at ijgd in Hildesheim

Flag tour in Germany (ijgd)

Wednesday, August 17, 2011

The flag has arrived in Hildesheim. And our event took place in the middle of the city on the city beach:

Our volunteers from the Czech Republik, Russia, Turkey, Spain, Italy, Ukraine and South Korea walked through the city mall, giving information about their work at the local radio station, about international workcamps and of course about the flag flying around the world.

To spread the idea of volunteering around we asked young people, to participate at a balloon flight competition. The lucky winner will take part in a workcamp in Germany next summer. The first card already coming back has flown a 50 kilometres way to Brunswick.

We were lucky with the weather and had a lot of fun.

It was great to host the flag for one day!!!

The flag at ijgd in Coswig

The volunteers of ijgd workcamp “CARE AND PRESERVATION OF MONUMENTS” (1400) invited the local audience of Coswig to an open day to their campsite. During a three hours program they presented the work they have done during their three weeks stay in Coswig:

1) Sanding off old windows

2) Working with clay

3) Creating clay plasters

4) Putting the clay plasters on wall (overall 230 square meters) and watering them twice a day

At least 230 square clay plaster were used by the 18 volunteers.

The visitors got the chance to try all theses works out and as you can see on the pictures they enjoyed it a lot. The mayor of Coswig Doris Berlin mixed the clay plasters with her own feet saying “It is a great exercise for my legs’ blood circulation- I will come every day.”

Some of the older visitors were particularly touched that so many young people from around the world were guests in their Coswig 50 years after the Berlin Wall has been built in August 1961.

The Flag had arrived one day before the event and has been placed directly on the wall of the old Simonetti-Haus so that every visitor can see it. Afterwards the flag continued her journey to Hildesheim.

Flag Tour in (and around) Slovakia

1st - 10th august, INEX Slovakia

We decided to make a full programme for the flag, once it arrives to our country.

During the visit, the flag made a real journey and had opportunity to get to know the majority of our country. Our driving team took the flag around 4 workcamps that took place during hosting the flag. We also organized a working event in Bratislava were many of our volunteers and supporters paricipated as well as lots of press. 

1st stop -  Hanigovce castle workcamp

2nd stop - Brekov castle workcamp 

3rd stop - Senne workcamp

4th stop - Sklabina workcamp

Overall - 5 days on the road, more than 1550 km, more than 80 people involved and maaany nice ideas from volunteers on volunteering and its meaning.

We also organized a nice big event in Bratislava for wide public and we were cleaning a garden of a centre for socially disadvantaged people. Very nice day, lots of work was done and the flag also seemed to be satisfied :) 

5th august - OZ Brana do zivota

We spent wonderful time with the flag and we are glad we could organize several great events and promote the ideas of volunteering among many people.

Here are some selected quotes...

Volunteering means to me…

"Having fun while helping to improve the world." Pepe (Spain)

“It's a kind of sharing behavior. Even if I don't have enough money or other things, I can share my things to other people who need it." Jeong Ho (South Korea)

"For me volunteering means sharing experiences. It is a way to know yourself better, in relation with other people you didn't know before. Volunteering is working for a goal." Silvia (Italy)

"When people want to help because you are interested in it. They don't do it because they must, but they want." Mirka (Slovakia)

“Volunteering takes a special place in my life. First of all it’s a wonderful opportunity to act in accordance with a phrase “Think globally, act locally”. So being a volunteer means to bring something good and useful in this world. What is more it’s a great chance to meet interesting people from different parts of the world. So I can feel united.” Nataliya (Belarus)

“Volunteering open the mind and permits to create a global way to work without to look after money change everything, the ‘’taste” of the work is different. It permits to meet people from everywhere, to learn about local country. Volunteering is like to put my stone to a global construction.” Jeremie (France)

Try volunteering because it is...

"…going to change your way of seeing the world." Malin (Switzerland)

"…the best thing I have ever tried." Dominika (Slovakia)

"…an experience in your life that is unique for each person but with good moments for all." Arancha (Spain)

"…you learn more about yourself and more about the world around you and it make yourself a better person." Elaine (Taiwan)

 “Volunteering is the occasion to invent your own life!” Clemena (France)

“…amazing to see when people are really thankful to you.” Petra (Slovakia)

People can gain from volunteering…

"Tolerance, creativity, patience, understanding that there a lot of people which need your help." Katerina (Belarus)

“You gain a good feeling that you did something good for someone else. You can learn how to do things you normally don’t have a chance to try. You can meet a lot of new people, learn about their culture, travel around the world, and improve your language skills.” Petra (Slovakia)

“You can do in too short time something useful. After two or three weeks seeing a good result makes you happy. For children, for historical places, for handicapped people doing something is great experience. Far away from your country you do a favor for somebody who you don’t know! It is a big honor.” Ferhat (Turkey)

Thaaaaanks to everyone who contributed!

INEX Slovakia

Flag-rant délit in Belgium

Friday 8th July. Belgium. Compagnons Bâtisseurs headquarters.

Everybody was in Marche-en-Famenne, ready for flying the flag : 20 international volunteers, camp leaders, CBB team, ... Just one "NO SHOW"... THE FLAG !!!


Anyway, we had joy, we had fun, even without flag and sun.
The evening, after getting to know each other, we enjoyed our time at a concert organised in the city.

On Saturday, the whole group discussed about volunteering : its spirit, its meanings, ... through different kinds of workshops.
All these exchanges were translated into three new flags.

Interculturalism was a real wealth in these exchanges ... One more time, thanks to volunteering... and even more thanks to the volunteers, a great moment could be created. Thanks everybody for joining the (Without)Flag Tour event!

PS 1 : DON'T WORRY about the flag, it finally came the following Monday! We sent it directly to SJ France! BE HAPPY !!

PS 2 : Flagrant délit means like to catch somebody red-handed in French.

PS 3 : Last but not least, to practice your French, follow the link below, it will guide you to an article published in a local newspaper.

http://www.compagnonsbatisseurs.be/images/PDF/chezlescompagnonsbatisseurs.pdf

Have a great summer!

Mélanie from CBB team

Many flags, one feeling

A new Flag for Volunteering has been created!

Yesterday 28th june, in CAT01 Environmental Action in Costa Brava, a camp in the north of Catalonia, by Fundació Catalana de l'Esplai and COCAT, a new flag was created with the imagination and creativity of the international volunteers we are hosting. They are a nice and worker group, doing an environmental work and different activities in this region.

With a strong creativity and art they have painted this flag (you can see it in the photos) with the slogan "many flags, one feeling". Isn't it nice?

Flag in Namur, Belgium! (JAVVA)

During the beginning of june was such a nice festival in Belgium : Namur en Mai!

JAVVA was there, the workcamp was about getting involved in building the festival, and cleaning up afterwards.

Why would we tell you about that? Because the Flag was there!

The event we created : thanks to the festival, we had a very good exchange with the locals. Therefore, volunteers decided to get in the street with the Flag and ask people about volunteering.

The question we asked : If you were to do a volunteering, where and what would it be?

Let's gather everybody in the room, papers, scissors, colours, we wrote the question down several times, so that people will be able to write their answers, and then we would hang it around the Flag, in the street!

And there we are, meeting locals, chatting with them about us, workcamps, Flag Tour, international volunteering !

Please appreciate the grass in the street, that was part of our work ! We put the grass down for the festival, and removed it four days later !

There it is, we have lots of answers !

Most of the people would like to do a volunteering in Asia, and work with children, but some would like to work on festivals in U.K., or building and renovating in Africa.

We linked all the answers together, around the Flag.

And the final picture, eight volunteers, three locals, one Flag, eleven smiles !

Enjoy your Flag adventure, greetings from Belgium!

Maëva, with Halim, Alvaro, Aurélie,

Yun, Anna, Stéphane and Salva

Flag in Russia (SFERA)

In the end of May the Alliance Flag reached Russia (Nizhny Novgorod) and was hosted by SFERA.

The official opening ceremony was launched during the Alliance international training course "Volunteer Messenger Project - training for trainers/basic level" which was organized by ERC and TNWG together with INEX and SFERA, brought together around 30 participants from different Alliance member organizations and aimed to prepare volunteer messengers who will spread the word of voluntary service among Alliance workcamps and other events.

Furthermore SFERA has produced its own copy of the Flag and now it is going around all SFERA workcamps in Russia.

The Alliance Flag tour is a great opprotunity to increase the importance and recognition of volunteering for the Alliance! Wish you all successfull Flag events!

Flag in Lechbruck, Germany (IBG)

By the time the flag reached us we have already spent one week in the small village Lechbruck am See in Bavaria.
So...who is we?
We were seven volunteer girls from around the world enjoying a lot of weeding and planting for this community.
An invitation of the local brass band seemed to be the perfect opportunity to introduce the Alliance-Flag-Tour and to share the idea of volunteering. We had a great party together with intercultural exchange, a lot of good food and great fun. We met so many kind people during our stay and we were really impressed about all the voluntary work people here are involved in !!!

Flagparty in Ilsfeld, Germany

On Thuesday, 28th of April we had a great BBQ-party in Ilsfeld, Germany (hosted by IBG Germany). Almost 50 persons came: the 12 volunteers of our first IBG workcamp, a few members of the DLRG (German life saving association; one of the project partners, who hosted us in their base) and the members of the tennis club (our second project partner) with their families. Even the press celebrated this event with us.

The reason for this party was not just our farewell after 3 weeks full of fun, hard work, sightseeing, friendship, intercultural learning and new experience for all of us. Another reason was the arrival of the Alliance Flag.

I think we did a great job and made voluntary work more popular and visible in this area. The local population was very interessted in this and i think we achieved a lot.

It was a pleasure for us and we wish all of you a great and successfull Alliance Flag event! Sabine Send, Clara Steinheber (Campleaders) and IBG Team



PS: Now the Flag is in Bavaria, Germany in the second IBG workcamp. This week they will send the Flag to Belgium.

The Flag Tour started!

More than 100 staff and volunteers attended the opening ceremony during the Alliance Technical Meeting in Yerevan (hosted by HUJ)!! The flag will now tour in 25 countries all over the world hosted by 36 Alliance Members and Partners and will end his route in November in Great Britain for the General Assembly!

FLY THE FLAG FOR VOLUNTEERING... AROUND THE WORLD!!