Volunteers Centre Skopje
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Волонтерски Центар Скопје | |
| Abbreviation | VCS |
|---|---|
| Established | 2006 |
| Founder | Nikola Stankoski |
| Founded at | Skopje |
| Type | Nonprofit, NGO |
| Headquarters | Skopje, Macedonia |
Official languages | Macedonian, English |
Director | Nikola Stankoski |
| Website | https://vcs.org.mk/ |
Volunteers Centre Skopje (VCS) is a Macedonian-based non-governmental organization founded in 2006 by Nikola Stankoski, a former European Voluntary Service volunteer. Established in Skopje, the organization is engaged in the field of youth work and non-formal education on an international and local level.
History[edit]
In 2004, at the age of 19, Nikola Stankoski left his home country Macedonia to spend one year in Lithuania as part of a European Voluntary Service (EVS) project. He returned to Skopje with plenty of ideas and projects. Willing to provide local and international opportunities to young people, he set up Volunteers Centre Skopje, or VCS, a non-governmental organization for youth.[1]
In the first year of activity, the organization hosted 10 international volunteers and sent 30 Macedonian volunteers abroad. Since then, more than 8000 Macedonian and foreign volunteers and youth activists have been involved in international and local activities, making VCS one of the leading organizations for youth in Macedonia when it comes to youth exchange, volunteerism, and activism.[1][2]
Local Activities & Youth Work[edit]
Volunteers Centre Skopje engages in youth work and takes an active part in society by offering equal opportunities to youngsters and working to improve their living standards regardless of their national, religious, political and economic status. Through European funds, it provides information and possibilities about volunteering and non-formal education, both locally and internationally. With these opportunities and programs, VCS involves and encourages young people to take part in decision-making processes.[2]
Volunteers Centre Skopje hosts international volunteers in VCS office and coordinates volunteers who help in an elementary school for children with special needs “OURC Dr. Zlatan Sremac” and in a Daycare Centre for street children in Šuto Orizari, Skopje.
VCS engages in community actions with a focus on local communities in Skopje.[3][4][5] The main activities of the organization include the promotion of volunteerism, non-formal education, active citizenship and the implementation of the law on volunteerism and the law on youth. VCS regularly organises various workshops and conversation classes and entertainment events for youth such as karaoke nights, pub quizzes, board games and movie nights.
In order to visibly change something in Skopje, VCS organises also Eco Actions like regular clean-ups or promoting recycling in close cooperation with Pakomak or Elkolekt to raise awareness of environmental issues.[6]
One of the main strands of VCS is VOICES Magazine. Published on a monthly basis and entirely edited by volunteers, the magazine provides a platform for young writers coming from different backgrounds and countries.[6]
Mission[edit]
The main goals of the organization are: - to give non-formal educational possibilities to young people, in different fields, at the local and international level; - to promote the idea of volunteerism and to connect young people without reference to their nationality, ethnicity, religion, political, economical or social status.[7]
VCS is an accredited hosting, coordinating and sending European Solidarity Corps organization.[7]
On going projects[edit]
- Youth Participation for Strong and Sustainable Community Development (IPA): The project aims to contribute to an independent and sustainable society that encourages participatory and gender-sensitive youth policy by structural cooperation and substantial participation of networked civil society.[8]
- "SOUP sharing" (KA2 project): its objective is to implement SOUP events in different communities around Europe and to raise civic engagement.[8]
- DALI4Youth - Digital Art for Learning, Inclusion, Creating equity & embracing diversity (KA2 project): The project targets youth workers and young people, especially NEETs, who need to be prepared to face the current needs of the youth sector after the COVID-19 pandemic, including a feeling of belonging to our society, more and improved digital skills, a higher level of creativity to adapt to the new reality and more awareness of the situation NEETs are experiencing.[8]
- PeerAct - Upscaling peer-to-peer anti bias education for promoting common values (KA3 project): the project focused on building peaceful societies and tackling all forms of discrimination, intolerance and inequality by including 1300 young people from different communities, backgrounds and countries.[8]
- Promoting Women Environmental Entrepreneurship (PWoEE) (KA2 project) aims at providing digital means to support young female entrepreneurship in Europe by providing tailored made training curricula and a digital mentorship community for real life situation and support through their entrepreneurial pathway focused on preserving our environment.[8]
- TWOST Training without Stereotypes (KA2 project): the participants are offered personalized guidance towards gender awareness, rights, autonomy and preventing gender-based discrimination.[8]
- SALT - Shake a leg, together! (KA2 project): is about a healthy and active lifestyle, encouraging physical activity and helping to make it an attractive hobby.[8]
- Reinventing Community Radio in the Smartphone Era (KA2 project): centers digital radio as enhancement of the civil society and tool for citizenship and democracy.[8]
- Volunteering Connecting Communities (VCC & VCC 2.0) (KA2 Project): capacity building actions targeting youth workers who work with young people with fewer opportunities with the goal to increase the quality of youth work.[8]
- MUSICLING Social entrepreneurship with recycled instruments (KA2 project): this project supports young people to create recycled instruments from waste and helps them learn how to play them with basic notions of music theory.[8]
- “Fewer Opportunities Re-thinking Z to A / F.O.R.Z.A” (KA2 project): aims to initiate the strategic digital transformation of youth work and raise awareness about the entrepreneurial potential of social media marketing as a new form of youth employment.[8]
- “Youth with a Voice” (KA2 project): in this project, the participants can find their voice and use it to motivate other youngsters. All the participants that participate in “Youth with a Voice” project will be in charge of creating and making podcasts about issues that are important to them.[8]
See also[edit]
References[edit]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 "OUR STORY". Volunteers Centre Skopje. Retrieved September 12, 2022.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 "Запознајте се со Волонтерски Центар Скопје" [Meet With Volunteers Centre Skopje]. segaorg.mk. 30 July 2019. Retrieved September 12, 2022.
- ↑ "Ѓорѓиевски: Ја поттикнуваме свеста за волонтерството, хуманоста и екологијата" [Ǵorǵievski: We encourage awareness of volunteering, humanity and ecology]. biznisvesti.mk (in македонски). December 5, 2021. Archived from the original on November 22, 2022. Retrieved November 22, 2022.
- ↑ "Ѓорѓиевски: Ја поттикнуваме свеста за волонтерството, хуманоста и екологијата" [Ǵorǵievski: We encourage awareness of volunteering, humanity and ecology]. kurir.mk (in македонски). December 5, 2021. Archived from the original on January 20, 2022. Retrieved November 22, 2022.
- ↑ "Волонтерскиот центар организира акција за донирање храна и облека во Кисела Вода" [The volunteer center organizes an action to donate food and clothes in Kisela Voda]. republika.mk (in македонски). Skopje. December 5, 2021. Archived from the original on January 28, 2022. Retrieved November 22, 2022.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 "Be Part of Your Community". Volunteers Centre Skopje. Retrieved September 12, 2022.
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 "Why Do We Do This". Volunteers Centre Skopje. Retrieved September 12, 2022.
- ↑ 8.00 8.01 8.02 8.03 8.04 8.05 8.06 8.07 8.08 8.09 8.10 8.11 "Our Projects". Volunteers Centre Skopje. Retrieved September 12, 2022.
External links[edit]
- Official website of Volunteers Centre Skopje
- Voices magazine
- „За почиста Македонија“ и „Волонтерски Центар - Скопје“ со еко акции низ општините во Град Скопје (translated in English: "For Cleaner Macedonia" and Volunteers Center Skopje with eco actions trough the municipalities of the City of Skopje) on YouTube - a video aired on the Macedonian Radio Television, about the activities of the Volunteers Center Skopje
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