Task-force based volunteering: increasing impact of intercultural projects

The training activity took place

in Bille, Latvia

organised by European Federation for Intercultural Learning

4-9 October 2011

Aims & objectives

The overall aim of the seminar is to empower young volunteers to effectively participate in exchange organisations, through work on intercultural projects based on task-forces. The specific objectives are to:
- reflect on the role played by volunteers in their local, national and international organisational structures;
- explore the specifics of project management in volunteer teams working over long distances,
in particular in the intercultural context;
- share existing best practices of task-force based work among the promoting organisations;
- develop and practice competences needed for successful functioning of task-forces;
- plan follow-up steps, including possible cross-border cooperation between task-forces from
different countries.

Target group & international/intercultural composition of the group & team

The team was constituted of 4 trainers, from Denmark, Turkey, Belgium and Portugal.
The participants were volunteers from AFS organisations from Egypt, Russia, Denmark, France, Latvia, Italy, Hungary, Belgium and Finland.

Training methods used & main activities

We used some Team-Building, creative thinking, team roles, leadership, motivation and project planning activities.

Outcomes of the activity

Several follow-up projects took place after this event, which were coached by the trainers. Some of them were successfully implemented.

Your tasks and responsibilities within the team

Trainer.