Guidelines - Responsible Exchange and Volunteering 2018

- Contact number of person picking them up - Contingency plan should the pick-up not be there on time (at least two numbers must be available for the participant to call if no other personnel are present at departure) - Give yourself enough unexpected traffic congestion / change a puncture time between the departure point and the airport

“How to remain connected / active” – Support Planning & enhance the Multiplier Effect

Develop, in collaboration with your partner Organisation, a post-project support plan for participants. While active participants are usually enthusiastic and full of intent to continue their participant experience benefits once they return home, relatively few manage to achieve this. There are a number of reasons for this, and as a host and sending partner, you can bring enormous value to the participant ’s good intent and facilitate further benefit by providing appropriate support and planning for this phase together with the participant and enable them to become a multiplier. 1. Alumni network – Alumni networks can create an important post-project community. It becomes an incredibly powerful post-project support mechanism, ideas forum and stimulator to change action projects which is one of the biggest tell-tale signs that exchange can be a multiplier. Where possible, it is recommended that exchange participants are given the opportunity to meet local alumni, engage at social media with these groups and be introduced to the networks in their own countries prior to departure. As the various programs and partnership relationships are so different, it is difficult to pre-scribe a best approach for maximizing alumni as multipliers, but it is absolutely recommended that a network must be in place and participation in the network encouraged. Well established networks are able to mobilize support, hold camps and drive action projects. Furthermore, exchange practitioners should, wherever possible, be engaging with these alumni networks and provide support and insights to alumni in an effort to encourage change action projects as mechanisms of change which are driven through alumni. In South Africa, an increasingly strong and coordinated alumni network is active. As a practitioner, it is your responsibility to optimize the integration of participants into this network. Click here “ Southern African Alumni Network ” to view their profile document, or go to page 62.

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