CCS Represented at Momentous DC International Volunteering Forum
July 2, 2010
WASHINGTON — Cross-Cultural Solutions (CCS) attended a forum on International Volunteering and Service held at the Brookings Institution which presented research findings and policy recommendations for a “Service World.”
The event was co-hosted by Global Economy and Development at Brookings and the Washington University at St. Louis Center for Social Development (CSD). It included a keynote address, and subsequent panels introducing groundbreaking research about the impacts of international service and a new policy platform for the future of international service.
Keynote speaker, Ambassador Elizabeth Frawley Bagley, Special Representative for Global Partnerships for the U.S. Department of State, began her address with personal praise for CCS and the value of international volunteering. Bagley, whose daughter recently traveled on a CCS volunteer program to Tanzania, said “I can vouch for it, because I can see it’s already changed her life.”
Bagley went on to speak about the future of international service, and why it’s relevant now. “Service must be about making a real difference throughout our connected world,” she said. “It takes a shared, global response to meet the shared, global challenges we face. Our response must be integrated and coordinated.”
Later, Amanda Moore McBride, CSD Research Director, unveiled new findings on the “Perceived Impacts of International Service on Volunteers,” and CCS is one of two organizations studied. The study has found that volunteers return from abroad with increased international awareness, stronger international connections, and new outlooks on how to integrate a global view into their careers. Later reports will show what the impacts of international service are on organizations who receive volunteers, and the communities that host them. Representatives from the Peace Corps also shared new research on the “Impact of Peace Corps Service on Host Communities and Host Country Perceptions of Americans.”
In the final panel of the day, CCS Executive Director and Chairman of the Building Bridges Coalition (BBC) Steve Rosenthal helped to introduce the new “ServiceWorld” policy platform. This initiative includes several plans for the future of international service, all aiming to expand opportunities for “individuals of all ages and socio-economic groups to learn about global problems and find more effective ways to solve them.”
Former Senator Harris Wofford, one of the creators of the Peace Corps and an early supporter of the ServiceWorld initiative, said that the policy platform aims to make “a quantum leap in international service.”
The day was a momentous one for the field of international volunteering. While it ended with the forum at Brookings, it began with a meeting of the BBC, a consortium of international volunteer organizations, corporations, universities, and government agencies working collaboratively toward increasing international volunteerism.
Both events are a part of continuous efforts to increase participation in and understanding of volunteer service abroad by the Brookings Institution, BBC, and CSD, gaining more attention and traction as more research and policy plans are published.
“It’s our responsibility to pave the way and make sure the expansion of international service opportunities for all is going to happen,” Rosenthal said.
About Cross-Cultural Solutions
Cross-Cultural Solutions was founded in 1995 and operates volunteer programs in 12 countries around the world in partnership with sustainable community initiatives. As a not-for-profit organization with no religious or political affiliations, Cross-Cultural Solutions brings people together to work side-by-side while sharing perspectives and fostering cultural understanding.
Contact Info
Kam Santos, Director of Communications
1-914-632-0022
kam@crossculturalsolutions.org
