Reflections on how volunteers were central to much of the work of the Millennium Development Goals, and how voluntary organizations are preparing to be an integral part of all global, national and local plans supporting the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, was a thread that ran throughout the IAVE 2014 Conference. IAVE, the International Association of Volunteer Effort held its 23rd World Conference this month on the Gold Coast of Australia. Close to 800 delegates from NGOs, Businesses and Governments representing more than 60 countries participated. The theme “Volunteering – Today’s Imperative” was especially evident in the business programing.
The Global Corporate Volunteer Council (GCVC) met the preceding two days with a deep dive into volunteering as a tool for professional development. I presented a Disney example of how a senior European executive charged with law and government relations was being groomed to take over as a country manager. She is smart and talented, but lacked hands on operational experience. The regional human resources lead called me to brainstorm. We suggested that she be placed on the board of an organization that the company had a strong relationship with and would offer the kind of exposure and governance oversight into a complex operation. In Kind Direct was chosen, a group that takes donated excess product and distributes it to NGOs who can utilize the product. The match was perfect as the company’s involvement with the organization deepened and the executive, who became country manager, received valuable operational oversight experience.
“We don’t make progress if we are not talking about it.. What are we not talking about now? What are the things we won’t talk about today? That is what we will talk about in the future!” said The Honorable Michael Kirby, retired judge of Australia’s High Court. “As volunteers we stand up for unpopular causes. Being kind to children does not really test us.” These statements from the opening keynote speaker. This man, who as a volunteer, was head of the UN Commission of Inquiry on Alleged Human Rights Violations in North Korea, has spent a career tackling the tough issues. He talked about how volunteers are often at the forefront of tackling unpopular issues. He held the audience in the palm of his hand for 45 minutes and energized the group.
Some of the business presenters had some great nuggets of information. Vanessa Cover of Deloitte (Australia) said that “micro-volunteering is the skilled volunteering of the digital age.” Nichole Campbell of Intuit (Canada) when discussing taking Skills Based Volunteering to the next level said they ask employee volunteers to identify social problems to solve, then solves them together. Jiseon Tak of Samsung (Korea) discussed social innovation in corporate philanthropy and told the story of an amazing innovation for people, who are without use of their body, to control a mouse with their eyes. Created for free by Samsung volunteers.
I presented a workshop and a Ted-Talk style presentation. The workshop was “Tell a Powerful Story about your Corporate Community Involvement.” This was a basic communications 101 for community relations and volunteer program managers. My talk was titled “Partnerships: The Exciting New Frontier with Stronger Outcomes.” I explored two deep long term partnerships, one between The Smith Family organization and Medibank in Australia and the other between Children’s Hospital Orange County and Disneyland Resort in the United States. ‘Businesses come in all shapes and sizes, just as people and NGOs do. This provides both opportunities and challenges for partnerships. There has been a lack of mutual respect and understanding in many “partnerships.” These are really “business deals” and not a true partnership. Many businesses have not realized that they can learn from NGOs. Many NGOs follow the money and not necessarily work with businesses in a way that truly advances their mission. Mutually beneficial outcomes should be the hallmark of a good partnership. But this takes more work on the front end, but it is worth it.”
A research working group on Disaster Related Corporate Volunteering was formed at the London IAVE World Conference in 2013. The initiative is led by UPS Foundation President Ed Martinez. An progress update on the work was given at the GCVC Meeting. A Disaster and Emergency Services Dialog was conducted for the conference delegates with representatives from the Swedish Red Cross, Student Volunteer Army (New Zealand), Emergency Management Institute, Asian Disaster Preparedness Centre and IBM (Australia) were panelists. Dr. Kenn Allen, who is conducting the research was moderator.
The 2014 IAVE Global Corporate Volunteering Awards were presented to IBM – Global Volunteer Program Award and BD – Inspiring Practice Award, Congratulations to both companies. Well deserved!
And as the conference ended, old and new friends said goodbye and looked towards reconvening at the 2016 IAVE World Conference to be held in Mexico City.
http://iave2014.org/
Interview with Jeff Hoffman: http://www.iave2014.org/news/87-international-philanthropist-and-guest-speaker-gives-his-thoughts-on-the-volunteering-effort