CartONG expands its volunteering offer
CartONG has an active volunteer community and is constantly adapting its cooperation models to meet the challenges that come with different actors – volunteers, employees and partner organizations – collaborating together.
The Covid-19 crisis has renewed the engagement practices of our volunteers, with more support being carried out remotely. Building on this experience, and in line with our “2020-2023 Associative Life and Volunteer Involvement Strategy”, we are planning to take new steps until the end of next year to develop our volunteering offer.
These new activities are made possible by a funding obtained by CartONG within the framework of the call for projects “Volontariat d’Échanges et de Compétences” proposed by Fonjep, following a mandate it received from the French Ministry of Europe and Foreign Affairs (MEAE). Given the scope and importance of this initiative, CartONG has decided to also finance part of the activities itself.
Within the framework of this initiative, our team will aim to (I) formalize a volunteering framework, (II) propose 27 new volunteering missions, (III) organize e-volunteering activities with private sector actors, and (IV) develop the skills of our volunteers.
Formalizing a framework for volunteering
Until now, the CartONG volunteer community was mobilized on an ad hoc basis on projects, without a commitment agreement.
March 2019 – Volunteer mission in Burkina Faso with Yaam Solidarité association to bring technical support in mapping and mobile data collection.
Our first intention with this new project is to create a new framework for volunteering with a focus on exchanges and skills (it is called “cadre de volontariat d’échange et de compétences” in French, or VEC). The VEC is a type of voluntary work which does not result in compensation, but comes with a formal agreement. CartONG’s objective is indeed to guarantee better conditions of engagement for its volunteers.
To achieve this, we plan to formalize a clear volunteering path comprising several steps (welcoming, training, accompaniment, valorization), framed by a brand new volunteer agreement.
Offering 27 pro bono volunteer missions to the sector
As part of this initiative, we are planning to build new partnerships with small and medium-sized NGOs, in order to carry out 27 pro bono volunteer missions by the end of 2022. 25 of the proposed missions will be e-volunteer missions that can be carried out remotely for a commitment of a few hours a week. They will cover needs such as: mapping, online mapping, information management, data visualization, etc. In addition, we will organized 2 volunteer missions in the field.
Volunteer missions are adapted to the needs of our partners. Some examples of past projects :
- Creation of advocacy maps on people sentenced to death in the world in support of Planète Réfugiés-Droits de l’Homme
- Creation of a web map listing services for refugees in Calais, in support of the Red Cross and Refugee Info Bus
- Real-time update of a database on border restrictions during the COVID-19 crisis, in support of MSF
Promoting e-volunteering to employees
CartONG will also organize 10 participatory mapping workshops (also called “mapathons”) within companies and at local institutions, in order to raise awareness among employees about the stakes of international solidarity – all of that in a friendly atmosphere. Our goal? To diversify the profiles of our volunteers, and to build long-lasting partnerships with companies and communities that are sensitive to our cause.
Better acommpanying our volunteers
In line with the first objective of our “2020-2023 Associative Life and Volunteer Involvement Strategy”, we intend to help our volunteers build capacity in the areas of mapping and data management, and become more autonomous in the support they provide. To do so, we will conduct three training sessions in the next 14 months, as well as launch two “volunteer twinning” schemes to provide remote support to volunteer communities in developing countries.
Participating in the project
We will be posting regular updates on this project via our social networks and relay important information via our newsletters (sign up here!). More detailed documentation about the project will also be made available in the coming weeks.
You would like to join our volunteer community and are available from January 2022-onwards? You’re part of a small or medium-sized NGO that needs support in (web)mapping, data visualization or information management? You would like to host a mapathon at your workplace?
Don’t hesitate to email Clara Castoldi, Volunteer and Partnership Officer at CartONG.
