News

UK / KENYA Community Xchange

UK/KENYA Community Xchange is coming to Glasgow and LOOKING FOR PARTICIPANTS.
 
Do you work with young people?
Are you interested in global issues & working cross culturally?
GET INVOLVED!
 
What is Global Xchange?
 
Global Xchange is a partnership programme managed and delivered by the British Council, VSO, and a number of local partners around the world. We develop and deliver international volunteer exchanges and other activities to help create active global citizens who value volunteering, diversity, community development and social action.
 
Community Xchange
 
Community Xchange is our international professional development programme for formal and informal community practitioners. Through a range of activities Community Xchange aims to build the skills of participants to facilitate the positive participation of young people as active global citizens, and develop inter cultural dialogue that makes a positive difference to their communities.
 
We aim to work in partnership with local authorities in the UK to identify host communities and participants and to achieve impact at three levels:  on the individual participant; their organisation; and within their community. The Glasgow/Kenya programme will therefore be managed in consultation with a Glasgow based advisory board, comprised of representatives from local government and the voluntary sector.
 
Teams of up to 30 community workers, practicioners and activists, with equal numbers from the UK and an overseas partner country, work in host communities for 3 weeks in the UK and 3 weeks in the overseas country. Over the course of an exchange participants take part in work attachments, job shadowing, and community events to promote active citizenship among young people.
 
Details of the programme
 
The programme is currently recruiting up to 15 participants from Glasgow who will each be matched with a counterpart from Kenya, based on their professional skills and interests.  The programme will promote reciprocity to ensure that aspects of the programme are mirrored in the UK and Kenya.
 
We are inviting employees or community practitioners with full support from their employer / organisation / community to take part in the UK/Kenya Community Xchange.
 
The participant will act on behalf of their organisation or community to undertake a three week work attachment programme in Kenya, and develop and implement a reciprocal three week programme of activity for their counterpart whilst they are in Glasgow.
 
The programme requires approximately 35 working days of commitment for the participating member, in full agreement with their organisation or community.
 

 The desired impact is to:

- Promote intercultural dialogue through meaningful two way dialogue and reciprocal activities
- Support the participation of large numbers of young people globally as active citizens
- Strengthen relations between UK and overseas communities
- Deliver benefits to communities by strengthening existing community development initiatives, promoting community cohesion; and encouraging community participation
- Build active networks and dialogues that did not exist before
- Challenge perceptions and stereotypes of other global communities
- Promote the contribution of volunteering to communities
- Increase the effectiveness of community leaders in facilitating learning and positive social action and measuring the impact of community initiatives
- Disseminate learning and best practice from the exchange to the wider community
 
Participant profile

- Must be 18 yrs +
- Have experience of working with young people
- Have the capacity to influence `large` numbers of young people (flexible)
- Have an active role working in communities in Glasgow
- Be informal or formal leaders / activists / workers
- Have been working in the field or for an organisation for at least 1 year
- Have organisation / employer`s support to participate in the programme (this is flexible if independent/freelance)
- Able to continue using the skills and expertise learnt on Community Xchange for the benefit of their organisation and community
- Be able to offer a full time programme of activities for their counterpart
- Be a UK national or have the right to travel freely to and from the UK
- Be committed to all components of the programme
- Be willing to fundraise £350 to contribute towards costs
- The participant does NOT need to have any previous experience of Kenya or working overseas
 
Personal Qualities Needed

- Being able to work as part of team
- Being open minded / non judgemental
- Good at communicating
- Being adventurous / empathetic / energetic
- Being able to shape and evaluate their own learning, taking the most out of every situation

For information or an application pack for Community Xchange, please contact the following:
 
Rohanna Law, Programme Supervisor
07785 792 769
rohanna.law@vso.org.uk
www.globalxchange.org.uk

MORE NEWS