See The World With UNA
What are your plans for this summer?
Would you like to:
- Be a part of a festival in Iceland?
- Work in the botanical reserve on top of the mountain in Italy?
- Take part in restoration of an historical water tower in Argentina?
- Go to valleys of the Himalayas to learn about the Tibetan culture and the different issues related to the exile of its people?
- Support a local school in need?
There are plenty of similar voluntary projects around the world and only step away from you.
UNA Exchange is a charity that sends volunteers to local community projects worldwide. The majority of opportunities the charity provides do not require special skills or experience – enthusiasm and a desire to learn about other places, people and cultures are the only requirements.
The majority of volunteers who go abroad through UNA Exchange are between ages of 18 and 35, but there are also a lot of projects for teenagers available. It is a great way to develop interpersonal skills or to increase team working abilities – it also looks great on the CV for future employers.
If you would like to find out more about your opportunities please visit the UNA Exchange website and click here to search their projects database.
2 Comments – Post a comment
the gamer
Commented 62 months ago - 11th April 2011 - 13:52pm
this page dosent show you what una means and when they say volenteers do they mean they get to go to these places for free if so this would be a great thing to consider doing.
GwirVol
Commented 62 months ago - 11th April 2011 - 20:43pm
@the gamer
You make a very good point. Perhaps I could help explain this a little clearer:
A volunteer is simply someone who gives up their time to benefit others: they are rarely paid, although often receive 'payment' in other forms such as certificates, qualifications and new skills - all of which look great on a CV.
Depending on how expensive the project they undertake is, occasionally some money does have to be spent (for instance: flying to Africa will obviously cost a lot more than working down the road at your local community centre) but there are a lot of opportunities for young volunteers to apply for grants so they don't have to pay for this all themselves.
UNA stands for United Nations Association. The United Nations do a lot of work with human rights and bringing people across the world together - you may have heard of the UNCRC (United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child).
The UNA Exchange is a charity which offers short-term volunteering opportunities (often around 2-3 weeks) in more than 70 countries worldwide, doing anything from working in a bear sanctuary in Croatia to helping run a Fair Trade festival in Denmark or teaching English in a summer school in Japan. No experience or specialist skills are required, and it is aimed at young adults aged 15+.
While some cost is involved, they do what they can to keep the costs low and there are ways you can apply for funding (meaning some or all of the costs are covered for you). The best thing to do is to have a look at the UNA Exchange website for more details about that.
However there are also a lot of completely free volunteering opportunities out there for you to get involved in. A good place to start if you're interested in learning more about volunteering is www.GwirVol.org - we work alongside CLIC helping the young people of Wales get involved in opportunities, so if you have any more questions feel free to leave a comment here or head along to GwirVol.