Here are some voices of volunteers who participated in the SCI Placement Officer Training (POT) 2023 in Köniz (Bern, Switzerland) between 13 and 19 February. Volunteers or staff in SCI who place (other) volunteers in volunteering camps had the opportunity to get to know all the practical procedures, the OPS online database, tips, tricks, possible challenges and good practices around that – as well as to get a better understanding of SCI as a movement and the possibilities of getting active in it and making it more inclusive.
DAY 1:
First day of POT training 2023! A group of 32 people from all over came together to get to know SCI through non-formal education.
Among other things we made theater scenes about its history, had discussions about its values and talked about volunteering, global injustice and racism.
We even celebrated the birthday of one of our participants!
By Julien Chil.
DAY 2:
Intensive and shiny day for all the pax!
Today, after exploring a bit more about the practical procedures to find a camp, we have gone deeper into the jungle of the Online Placement System (OPS) with lots of courage and without losing anyone!
As intense to the brain the day would be, we also got our body shaken with dance, ping-pong and aerobics in the sun!
By Hari HoupiI.
DAY 3:
Day 3 of the Placement officer training brought us to discussion on discrimination, privileges and inclusion. We started with a group work, a presentation and discussion about structural discrimination. Afterwards we had a walk and talked in the forest (where we met a friendly dog), exchanging our positions, experiences and perspectives on the topics. In the afternoon, the group had a chance to explore the city of Bern and connect even more on a personal level.
By Maja Mlinarec.
DAY 4:
On Thursday, volunteers were taught about discrimination & inclusion.
They had the opportunity to take a walk in the forest to talk about this and to think about the different concepts.
On the afternoon, they went to the city center to discover the beauty of Bern.
By Clara Joubert.
DAY 5:
The training is coming to an end. We concentrated today on getting to know the international dimension of our organization and how we can get involved into different working groups. In the afternoon we concentrated on our mental health and how to take care of ourselves as placement officers.
By Maria Jagodzińska.
We would also like to thank the cooking team for their hard work and support. The food was delicious!
This project was financially supported by Movetia. Movetia promotes exchange, mobility and cooperation within the fields of education, training and youth work – in Switzerland, Europe and worldwide.