MUNICIPAL PROGRAM OF INTERNACIONAL VOLUNTEERING
THE PROGRAM
The municipal international volunteering program aims to provide foreigners living in Belo Horizonte with the opportunity to get to know the public policy implemented by the municipality of Belo Horizonte. The volunteers participate in the everyday life of the areas of the direct administration of the city, where they can acquire and exchange new experiences and knowledge. Furthermore, they contribute to the process of internationalization of the city of Belo Horizonte.
GENERAL AIMS
AIMS
The program offers voluntary practical trainings to foreigners in the municipal public agencies of administration by forming partnerships between the municipality of Belo Horizonte and institutions of higher education, organizations of the private sector and of the national and international civil society. SPECIFIC AIMS
Enable an exchange of experiences and ideas between the students and the institutions; Develop partnerships abroad to corroborate the process of internationalization of the city;
Promote the scientific production based on practical experiences and previously acquired professional knowledge and skills.
Cultural exchange and exchange of knowledge between the foreign volunteers and the municipal employees;
EXPECTED RESULTS
Development of the volunteers´ skills and specific competences, according to the different professional areas and the acquired knowledge, creating, simultaneously, gains for the municipality and the partner institutions of education; Development, support and production of academic publications in order to bring closer the academy and the public municipal administration; Establishment of national and international partnerships with institutions of academic education, of the private sector and with organizations of the civil population; Dissemination of the public policies of Belo Horizonte in foreign countries and inclusion of the city in the international circuit of volunteering managed by international institutions such as the United Nations and transnational non-governmental organizations .
METHODOLOGY
STEP I Opening of the application process to the partner universities. Dissemination of the selection edict with the partner universities and in the website of Belo Horizonte city hall. STEP II Collection of the applications Selection of the curriculums, interviews and selection of the candidates. STEP III Articulation between the municipal agencies for the inclusion of the volunteer in the team of collaborators: (1) Identification of the voluntary work supervisors. Every volunteer´s work will be directed by a supervisor who always will be a municipal civil servant of the municipality of Belo Horizonte. (2) Elaboration of the Work Plan, considering working journey; duration of the volunteer program; description and place where the activities will take place; details about the project/program in which the volunteer will be included and the main goals. (3) Signature of the Adhesion Term from the International Volunteer Program and Work Plan.
METHODOLOGY
STEP IV Beginning of the activities The volunteer is integrated into a project in one sector of the public administration. Thereby, one promotes his capacity of information absorption and the control of what he intends to execute. During the execution of the work, the volunteer will produce an academic article at most 10 pages about the project/ area in which he is involved. STEP V Presentation of the results A workshop will be organized at the end of every semester to offer to the volunteers the opportunity to present their experiences to the population and employees of the municipality. STEP VI Delivery of the certificates After finishing the voluntary service the participants will receive the title “Ambassador of Belo Horizonte� with the objective of stimulate the exchange of experiences and public practices. The volunteers will become key points in the interaction between Belo Horizonte and their original cities. They can present their experiences to the municipality of their cities, helping in the creation of an informal network among the cities and establishing an exchange of practices in public policy.
ADHESION TERM
METHODOLOGY Adhesion Term
The voluntary service starts with the signature of the “Adhesion Term of the Voluntary Service” which has to include the rights and duties of the volunteer and the municipality. Furthermore, it should include a working plan, a timetable of the working hours and the duration of the Program – all these details are individual.
This adhesion term doesn´t have a labour character and is protected by the municipal law nº 10.234 of the 1st of August of 2011 and in the case of exchange students of an academic educational institution are as well protected by the federal law nº 8.859 of the 23rd of March of 1994. The requirements for the signature of the term of adhesion are the following ones: - possession of a visa valid for a stay in Brazil during the time of the execution of the voluntary work; - health insurance for the stay in Brazil.
WORKING PLAN AND DURATION
METHODOLOGY Working plan
The working hours of the volunteer service may vary between 16 and 20 hours per week, and the predicted duration varies between 3 and 6 months. The activities of the volunteer service have to compatible with the student´s schedule of his academic activities with the working hours of the practical training to fulfil the conditions. During university vacation time, the working time of the volunteer service can be accorded between the volunteer and the supervisor. The determination of the schedule for the volunteer service is flexible and the volunteer has the total liberty to choose it along with his supervisor.
WORKING PLAN
METHODOLOGY Working plan
The volunteer´s working plan is elaborated by the supervisor and has to agree with the duties that the volunteer assumes in the area of the specific project in which he is involved. The working plan considers as well the working hours and the duration of the volunteer service. This will be contained and agreed in the term of adhesion. Furthermore, the working plan contains the description of the activities that have to be developed very well, and it contains the locations where the activities take place. The working plan possesses a pedagogical character and has to be developed in the way that the volunteer knows the historical and the actual practical training and that he gets an idea of the future of the project in which he is involved.
FINAL ARTICLE
METHODOLOGY Final article
The academic articles will be written during the period of the volunteer service with the help of the coordinator and under the management of one teacher or of one postgraduate or doctor student, who is also a volunteer. The articles should be written in Portuguese, have at least 04 (four) pages, and have a subject linked with the work developed during the volunteer work. They will be published in City Hall of Belo Horizonte’s website, and can be sent to the partner institutions.
Other possibilities of publication can be considered as well, for example in special editions of magazines or in newspapers through the formation of partnerships.
TECNICAL VISITS Popular Restaurant & Vila Viva Program - 08.11.2012
TECNICAL VISITS Landfill November 22nd 2012
Launching and Closing Events
PILOT VERSION Evidences
“When I heard about the idea of becoming part of the Volunteering, I thought that it would be really cool, a very good experience for my education. I met great people and I am grateful for everything. I think that everybody who has this opportunity should take it.” María Daniela, Argentinian, Law student UFMG
“As foreigners we do have restrictions in gaining work experiences or practical training. This is why the International Volunteering Program came as an ideal mechanism to get to know the practical part of how to interact with the city and to get to know what is going on in the city in my area of studies.” Luis Alejandro, Venezuelan, Master in International Relations - PUC-Minas
Evidences 2nd Edition 2012/1
“The first steps in the professional life are important, but the International Relations field is hard to access. The Program gave me opportunities I would never have any other way and it was a great experience, as a university student and personally speaking as welll.” Clemence Loyer, french, Relations’ student - PUC-MG
International
“In my point of view, The International Volunteer Program is an irreplaceable professional experience, because it enables a bigger and deeper knowledge of Belo Horizonte and how its City Hall works. My advice for other foreigner students? Join the Program because you won’t regret it!” Karl Frederick, american, masters student in Languages - UFMG
Evidences 3rd Edition 2012/2
“At the Municipal Culture Foundation in Belo Horizonte I could develop my habilities as a future graduated student in International Relations, looking for na international articulation to the Foundation’s recognised programas, such as FIT, FIQ and FAN. It is mandatory, in a transnationalized world that we live, to potencialize the ties and partnerships with other countries, and the culture field is the window to the world Belo Horizonte has to consolidate its image in the international scene. My contribution was in this direction”. Greta Rubinich, argentinian, Relations student - PUC-MG
International
“My work was based on the optimization of the operational logistics in the recyclable material processing sheds from the Selective Collection Program. The City Hall of Belo Horizonte is the biggest and most important organization in this city and, because of that, this Programa representes an incredible opportunity to apply the knowledge acquired in the University.”. Pedro Malfatti, argentinian, Production Engineering student - UFMG
Evidences 4th Edition 2013/1
“I think it’s an unique experience to get to know the public policies in the city where we live during the exchange. It’s very interesting to leave the tourist point of view and deeply see another face of the city”. Natalia Dalinkevicius argentinian, Sociology student - UFMG
“The International Volunteer Program has other important elements to the exchange students’ professional formation that you can’t get in the academic scope”. Tomás Yaber, argentinian, Law student UFMG
COLLABORATIONS
The “Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais” (UFMG) is one of the most prestigious universities in Brazil. It is the biggest university in the state of Minas Gerais, and has a campus in the city of Belo Horizonte and in Montes Claros. It develops programs and projects of education in the levels of graduation and post-graduation, research and extension, offering activities in presence and in distance in eight areas of knowledge.
The “Pontifíca Universidade Católica de Minas Gerais” (PUC Minas) is a private and catholic Brazilian institution of superior education, that is situated in Belo Horizonte. The university, founded in 1958, is the biggest catholic university in the world and one of the most prestigious Brazilian universities, as well present in the ranking of the best LatinAmerican universities “QS World University Rankings”.
Website
www.pbh.gov.br/voluntariadointernacional
https://www.facebook.com/groups/volunt ariosBH/
SUPPORT
PROGRAMA MUNICIPAL DE VOLUNTARIADO INTERNACIONAL SECRETARIA MUNICIPAL ADJUNTA DE RELAÇÕES INTERNACIONAIS SECRETARIA MUNICIPAL ADJUNTA DE RECURSOS HUMANOS Av. Álvares Cabral, nº 200, 11º andar – Centro CEP: 30170-000, Belo Horizonte, MG, Brasil Prefeitura de Belo Horizonte aainter@pbh.gov.br Telefone: +55 (31) 3246-0027 Fax: +55 (31) 3246-0033