Call for “Reach out!” working group members – non-formal education, volunteering and group work

Following IFM-SEI’s strategic work plan, we want to create a working group who will deal with some of the aspects from the Capacity Building area. We want to bring together a group of people who will focus on non-formal education, volunteering and group work.

We are looking for young motivated people from the different IFM-SEI regions to join the working group! The working group will lead the work on the Capacity Building area during the next year and a half, until Congress 2019 (May, June or July 2019). They will also plan and hopefully develop an international seminar bringing participants from different European local groups taking place in May 2018 in Catalonia. The working group will meet online regularly, with the possibility that the European members of the working group have a face-to-face meeting in March 2018. Non-European members of the working group should be able to attend that meeting by Skype.

The main areas of strategic work plan that the working group will work on are:

1. Generate membership campaign resources – IFM-SEI wants to give all member organisations the knowledge and means to actively participate in IFM-SEI activities. While this does not mean that all organisations can take part in every activity or the same number of activities, it means that organisations should not encounter barriers in being active in the international movement and there should be open and equal access to information about opportunities. Membership campaigns and resources will give member organisations and local groups the opportunity to engage with IFM-SEI without having to travel and effective communication tools will ensure that everyone can keep in the loop with our work. These tools can also support sharing of good practice and experiences between member organisations as well as identifying their needs. A member-based approach needs to be taken to engage our less active members and to identify what could motivate them to become more engaged in their international umbrella organisation. The aim is to create a richer, more diverse IFM-SEI whereby all organisations feel ownership over their international organisation.
2. Support the creation of a Pool of International Socialist Educators – IFM-SEI will facilitate the creation of a Pool of Trainers (the International Socialist Educators), led by members who have already undergone Training of Trainers and/or delivered Training for Trainers courses for IFM-SEI or other organisations. In order to encourage new members to engage with training, IFM-SEI will deliver Training of Training seminars or longer-term Training of Trainers programmes, aimed at young people. The working group will start working on how to implement the creation of the pool of trainers.
3. Initiate bilateral partnerships – IFM-SEI wants to introduce a system to facilitate bilateral partnerships between IFM-SEI organisations or local groups, inspired by the group matchmaking process for the IFM-SEI Camp 2016: Welcome to Another World. We want to encourage local groups to develop their own international projects and work in solidarity and cooperation with other local groups. The working group will look at developing this matchmaking system and ways and materials to support local groups on their international projects.
4. Deliver a growth project to facilitate the creation of new groups and organisations – Group work is the core work of IFM-SEI member organisations and there is a wealth of experience with regards to group work in the movement. The working group, together with the presidium members from the different regions, will work on how to support the creation of new groups in existing member organisations and the establishment of new organisations, in cooperation with interested individuals in the respective countries. The aim of this work is to increase the reach of IFM-SEI’s activities on a global level, reaching a greater number of children and young people with whom to educate about our values and to enact social change.

 There is also the possibility that the working group will develop other areas of work or projects on the topics of group work, volunteering and non-formal education if new ideas come up and there is a need/desire from member organisations.

If granted, there will be an international seminar taking place in May 2018 in Catalonia, where young leaders and participants from different local groups in Europe will come together to work on those topics. The content of the seminar will be designed and delivered by the working group.

 If you are interested in joining the working group, you should send a letter outlining your motivation to join the group and experience on the topic (no more than one A4 page) to contact@ifm-sei.org by Friday 13th October 2017.

Please note that being able to communicate and work in English is a must for members of this working group, as the vast majority of the work will be done online and translation cannot be provided.