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SERVICE AND LEADERSHIP TIME
The service and leadership journey had several moments where one of the purposes of the convention was highlighted: to serve and contribute on behalf of our communities. With the help of the committee, a first session was held where the activities carried out in previous conventions and their results were shown, as well as the organizations that were allied and benefited in previous years; In addition, it was explained what the dynamics would be for this year and which were the organizations registered waiting for volunteers with their specific requirements. In this session, led by Carolina Cabezas and Mayra Alejandra Suárez, all the questions from the organizations and the volunteers were answered, clarifying the roles and scope of these established sessions that will be held after the convention.
This year, due to the global health situation (Covid-19) and complying with the recommendations of social distancing, a virtual service day was proposed from the Central Committee, where interested volunteers previously informed them in their registration to the convention, They expressed their desire to contribute their skills and knowledge to the realization of the virtual service and volunteering sessions with the organizations that applied. The idea was to create ties and continue promoting volunteering from these spaces. The chosen organizations were: ENGLISH VACATIONS KT, TEGUAS, REDAI, CÍRCULO DE PALABRA DE MUJERES MLK, CONSEJO DE JÓVENES MOKANÁ. The Service Activity with the organizations comprised three moments: The recognition and approach with the organization,
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together with the group of volunteers assigned to it; the action plan between the volunteers and the organization based on synchronous meetings and the development of the activities carried out with each of the organizations and the volunteers, in order to achieve the objectives proposed by the service and leadership committee. At such times, permanent and assertive communication was maintained both with the volunteers and with the organizations to meet the expectations of both parties.
For the recognition of the organizations and the approach with the volunteers, a link is generated from the Service Committee with a representative of the organization, who should know and be in permanent contact with the two parties. For which the means of communication such as email, telephone calls and the instant messaging application WhatsApp were used. First of all, a communication message was sent to each organization indicating that it had been selected by the Service Committee of the IX National Convention of Leaders, Volunteers, Fellows and Alumni of the Youth Colombian Leaders Foundation for Service Activity. To which, they responded with a proposal document. Following this, communication was established with the volunteers who were selected, in this case, for having knowledge, skills and abilities related to the needs that the organizations previously made known to us.
It was possible to connect 25 volunteers with 5 organizations, according to their professional profile and soft skills, work that was carried out in record time, where the profiles of the volunteers and the support requirements of the organizations were analyzed to link the two parties . In this way, 11 days of the activity of
service and leadership, providing spaces in the form of synchronous encounters to socialize, dialogue, strengthen and promote from different activities such as trainings, training and / or advice on various topics suggested by the organizations, from Saturday 1 to Friday 13 November, fulfilling the objective of providing the service experience to our volunteers and participating organizations.
Teguas Environmentalist Foundation
It is an environmental foundation that promotes the care of the environment with social conscience, from sustainable development. It focuses on the promotion of environmental culture in the inhabitants of the urban centers of the region of Lengupá - Miraflores, Boyacá, from the social and economic support to the peasants of the area.
Email: anvanegasg@unal.edu.co , teguasfundacion@gmail.com Phone: 3186509594 Instagram:@teguas.ambientalista
Regarding the Service Activity with the Teguas Environmental Foundation, 3 synchronous meetings were held; Where, through meetings, the needs were identified and the volunteers who joined the process were recognized in order to strengthen and promote the organization from their capacities. In these spaces, doubts were also clarified and the actions, dates and times were established to carry out the activities that were developed with their support; Thus, a strategic plan was consolidated as a summation of joint knowledge and experiences, where possible solutions are suggested to what is
raised in the interests of the organization. In this sense, the work of the volunteers was carried out solely with the organizing team of the Teguas Environmental Foundation.
English Vacation KT
English Vacation KT is a program that seeks to improve the language skills of children and adolescents from the Buenaventura Special District who do not have the resources to pay for additional classes, for this purpose children between the ages of 10 and 18 are chosen from the most vulnerable areas of the District. In addition to strengthening the foundations of the English language, the central objective of this program is to get children to invest their vacation time in activities that are healthy and recreational.
For the development of activities with the English KT organization, two specific topics were designated for each pair of volunteers, taking into account the skills they had and the organization’s needs, the topics were: English teaching strategies. Relationship and importance of English with other processes. Two meetings were held in which each topic was developed individually, we had different activities and great participation from the organization and its participants, attached are some samples of leadership and service activities in this organization.
Session 1
Session 2
Integral companionship student network
It is a university leadership and intrapreneurship strategy that favors the permanence of students through the development of accompaniment projects in interdisciplinary, multicultural teams, articulated with all the programs of the student accompaniment area of the National University of Colombia.
Email: apoyo6_bog@unal.edu.co Phone: 3134519452
As for the Service Activity with Redai, it was carried out in two sessions: Friday, November 6 and 13 at 4:00 p.m. The first was titled Leadership and Professional Development and was led by volunteers Carolina Cabezas and Heider Lacera. The theme for November 13 was Peaceful Conflict Resolution by Harold Guerrero and Cristian Cruz. Both sessions were attended by 45 attendees.
MLK Women’s Circle of Words
It is an initiative led by indigenous scholars and former scholars of the Martin Luther King program whose main objective is to strengthen their skills as leaders and thus contribute to each of their communities. It is important to consolidate the community’s social fabric as women and find their own space that allows them and other indigenous women to grow both professionally and academically, understanding their roots and fighting for their preservation.
Email: ayatee@unal.edu.co Phone: 3142052305
The service activities developed were: 1. Vocal and body expression workshop which was directed by the volunteer Camilo Urrego. This workshop focused on caring for the voice and body as the tool that allows activities to be carried out on a daily basis. These types of activities are important because, in addition to drawing attention to self-care, ties of friendship and networks are strengthened that are important for the future.
2. Assertive communication workshop through vocal and body expression. This workshop was divided into three sessions, in which different activities were addressed to strengthen skills in the members of the organization. Tools such as the pitch elevator, tongue twisters, interpreters / translator, among others, were used; which help to have an awareness of one’s own communication, both verbal and non-verbal, and of the use of the body as a communication tool, in which it is essential to be aware of processes such as breathing, among others.
Mokaná Galapa Youth Council
It is a group of young people who seek to support the process of rescuing and preserving the legacy of the Mokaná ethnic group and developing strategies to strengthen ethnic self-recognition along with the leadership skills and life projects of the youth of the Community, in such a way that through these actions, they can acquire the personal commitment to contribute to the social well-being and integral growth of the entire Galapera Community.
A meeting with this organization was held on Saturday, November 7, in which the members of the MLK Indigenous Women’s Word Circle shared their experiences as young leaders of their communities in terms of cultural preservation.
Finally, the activities developed by the Service and Leadership Committee were evaluated by both volunteers and participating organizations, highlighting the virtual volunteering initiative, opening opportunities for future conventions and meetings. Finally, this turned out to be a very satisfactory activity at the Convention, as it was well received and reached a large public in different corners of Colombia, allowing volunteers to share their knowledge and create new personal and professional networks.
