Hibr

Arab Volunteer Conference in Beirut

For the first time in Lebanon, an IAVE (International Association for Volunteer Effort) regional volunteer conference will be held March 27-29 at the UNESCO palace, hosted by the Association for Volunteer Services (AVS).

The goal of the conference is to mobilize organizations, service institutions, schools, universities, government agencies, and socially responsible business throughout the Arab region to work together to strengthen and improve volunteering. “Arabs are good at informal volunteering, like when you get sick they take care of you, but what we want to encourage in this conference is regular, ongoing volunteering on a regular basis, like teaching literacy to people who can’t read,” says Dr. Patricia Nabti, the director of AVS.

Nabti describes the conference as a “mutual benefit conference”. People will teach others and learn from others in return.

She adds that it is also a “training conference” for people from inside and outside the region to train participants in volunteer recruitment and management. Thirdly, the conference is “a planning conference” where people will strategize for the future, she says.

The conference will include three discussion sessions where about 8 to 10 people at a table will share ideas. At the first session, they will do a SWOT analysis where they analyze the Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats of volunteering in the region. At the second session, they will create task forces for different types of volunteering, like developing volunteering programs for those with physical disabilities. The third session is called “What’s Next?” where people will be asked about their plans for the coming year concerning volunteering in their community, country, region, and the world.

“The conference is not for everyone,” clarifies Nabti. “It is really for change-makers in volunteering. It could be anyone, not necessarily a professional, but someone who really wants to impact volunteering in the region.”

Registration fees range from $100 to $140. Sponsors for the conference include a women’s organization from Saudi Arabia, Fatat al-Qasim Development Center, Mentor Arabia, and UPS.

“We don’t care about big numbers of people attending this conference and leaving, saying it was nice and interesting; NO, we are looking for the movers and shakers of volunteering in the region who leave the conference even more capable and committed to improving volunteering in their own countries and throughout the Arab World,” concludes Nabti.­­­

For more information about the conference and to register, visit www.arabvolunteerconference.org