Applications open for KVT board of 2025

Toiminnanjohtaja on 16.10.2024

Are you interested in association activities and gaining a deeper understanding of the management of a small organization? Would you like a front-row seat to influence what happens in KVT? Apply to join the board for 2025!

Kansainvälinen vapaaehtoistyö ry (KVT) has been working for over 75 years to promote peace and understanding between people. At KVT’s volunteer camps, volunteers from different backgrounds work together towards a common goal, helping to challenge prejudices and break down barriers. KVT’s activities are grassroots-level peace work, grounded in cooperation and equality.

KVT’s activities are planned and carried out by a board, known as “Johtis,” consisting of 9-12 volunteers elected by KVT members. In Johtis, you will gain a deeper understanding of KVT’s work and peace activities both locally and internationally. You’ll gain experience in organizational governance and have the opportunity to do meaningful volunteer work with a great team. As a board member, you’ll develop your skills not only in traditional board activities but also by participating in events, trainings, and seminars.

The board meets about once a month, and meetings are held both in person and online, depending on the preferences of the board members. It’s also possible to attend in-person meetings remotely if needed.

You are welcome to join Johtis with any level of organizational experience; there are roles for both beginners and veterans. Board members share tasks based on their interests, and you don’t need to know everything beforehand. The most important things are enthusiasm for KVT, active participation in the board’s work, and sharing KVT’s values.

Each year, KVT elects a chairperson, 7 full board members, and 1-4 deputy members. At the start of the year, 1-2 vice-chairpersons are elected from among the full board members. The chairperson is expected to have at least some familiarity with KVT’s activities and experience in board work. The chairperson’s duties include chairing and preparing board meetings in collaboration with the executive director, representing KVT as an employer, coordinating the annual activity plan and report, and overseeing the organization’s finances with the executive director.

If you’re interested or would like to ask for more information, please send a short introduction about yourself to Chairperson Hanna Rask () by November 12th at the latest. In your introduction, please mention who you are, how familiar you are with KVT, and why you are interested in becoming a board member. The board members will be elected at KVT’s autumn general meeting on November 26th.

Volunteer opportunities in Finland outside the camp season: join KVT’s working groups!

Hanna Rask on 2.10.2023

Ryhmä ihmisiä istuu ringissä. Yksi ihminen seisoo ja puhuu ryhmälle.

Working groups have an important role in keeping KVT’s core activities going, for example by coordinating long-term volunteering exchanges and workcamp activities in Finland. Working groups are also a great opportunity to learn more about KVT’s work outside the workcamp season and about the field of international voluntary work in general. At the moment we are looking for new members to two active working groups:

Koordis

Ihmisiä pöydän ääressä. Pöydällä paperilappuja, joissa tekstiä.

Koordis is the coordination group for KVT’s international voluntary workcamps in Finland. Koordis searches and keeps up contact with our local camp hosts, recruits and trains camp coordinators, visits the camps during summer time and evaluates the camp season. In Koordis you get a chance to have your impact on what kind of camps KVT organizes and to participate in shaping the camp experience of our volunteers and camp hosts. If you got interested or would like to know more, please contact our volunteer and exchange coordinator Gweal Monykuany:

Pave

Pave is the coordination group for KVT’s long-term volunteer exchange (in Finnish ‘pitkäaikaisvapaaehtoisvaihto’, hence the name). Pave group consists entirely of volunteers and its tasks include processing applications for long-term volunteering projects, interviewing and training our outgoing volunteers, collecting feedback from returning volunteers and keeping up contact with our partner organizations abroad. If you have some existing experience or knowledge of long-term volunteering and are interested in joining the group, feel free to reach out to Anni Lamponen ().

Social media and working group for equity issues

In addition to these two working groups, we are looking for new volunteers with at least some existing knowledge of KVT’s work to join our social media group. Volunteers in the group take care of updating content on KVT’s social media channels (Facebook, Instagram) in one-week shifts according to predefined themes. For more information, please contact Hanna Rask: . Also: if you have a new idea that you would like to make become reality in KVT’s communications, we are more than happy to hear about that!

KVT has also had a separate working group for advancing equity in our work and improving accessibility of our activities to volunteers of diverse backgrounds. In the past the equity working group has, among other things, helped with communicating about KVT’s workcamp opportunities in Finland to asylum seekers and immigrants. The group has been inactive for a while, but we hope to restart it in the near future – if you would like to be part of that, feel free to contact Hanna (see email above) for more information!

Join KVT’s board for 2024!

Hanna Rask on 1.10.2023

Would you like to get to know how a small NGO operates? Do you wish to have a greater impact on what KVT is doing? Join our board for 2024!

KVT has worked for peace through grass-root level voluntary work already for more than 70 years. On our voluntary workcamps we bring together people from different backgrounds to contribute to a common cause and to learn from each other, which we believe helps to create understanding and combat harmful stereotypes and prejudice. This grass-root level peace work is based on ideas of cooperation, equity and promoting of active citizenship.

KVT’s work is planned and coordinated by our board that consists of 10 to 12 active volunteers. As a board member, you will learn about KVT’s activities and peace work on both local and international level, get experience of how a board of a small organization operates, and get to do meaningful voluntary work in inspiring company. In addition to ‘traditional’ board activities, you will also get to participate in different events, trainings and seminars.

The board meets about once a month, either in person or online depending on the board members’ preferences. It is also possible to attend the in-person meetings online if needed.

The board is open to people with all levels of NGO experience; whether you have years of experience in different NGOs or are just beginning to learn about the field, you are welcome as you are. Tasks are divided among board members according to everybody’s own interests, and you don’t need to know everything beforehand. The most important that you are interested in having your impact on KVT’s work, share our values and are ready to commit to be an active part of the board.

If you are interested or would like to know more, please contact the chair person Hanna Rask () to provide a short introduction of yourself, of how well you know KVT and why you would like to join the board. The new board members will be elected in our annual meeting on Tuesday, November 28th.

Are you already familiar with KVT and board work, and into broadening your experience of both?

We are also looking for a chair person and two vice chairs for 2024! Some of the tasks of the chairs are chairing of board meetings, preparing the meetings together with the executive director, representing the board as an employer, coordination of the annual plan of action and annual report, and closer follow-up of KVT’s finances together with the executive director. The chair person will be elected in the same annual meeting on November 28th, and the new board will select the vice chairs at the beginning of the year. Contact Hanna for more details!