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Media releases > VSO and beso announce merger
Major development charities that work through volunteers come together to tackle poverty
(17 January 2005)
Two international development charities that work through volunteers today announced that they are to merge. VSO and beso are merging under the VSO brand. The merger will take effect from 1 April 2005.
Coming together will enable VSO and beso to offer a broader range of expertise to their partner organisations in 34 of the world’s poorest countries. It will also provide a wider range of overseas volunteering options for the UK public.
Mark Goldring, VSO Chief Executive, said:
The merger is an exciting opportunity for us to maximise the unique contribution international volunteering makes to development. Combining our expertise and experience puts us in a position to offer our overseas partners a wider range of support more tailored to their needs, both in terms of a volunteer’s professional experience and the length of their placement. We are confident this will help us make a greater impact on the development goals agreed by world leaders five years ago, which include halving of extreme poverty, a two-thirds reduction in infant mortality and universal primary education by 2015.
One key difference between the charities is the length of time volunteers spend in a developing country. VSO volunteers usually fill a two-year placement, whereas beso volunteers spend an average of just over a month overseas. The merged organisation plans to offer short-term volunteering opportunities, alongside the traditional two-year stint. The charities hope that this will engage a wider section of the British public in overseas volunteering and make it a more viable option for those unable to commit to spending two years abroad due to professional or family commitments.
Tom Harrison, beso’s Chief Executive said:
VSO and beso are complementary in many ways. We have a shared vision of volunteering and international development, we work in similar ways, and we increasingly seek people with the same experience and skills to volunteer. Coming together gives us the potential to create a far more effective agency. Initially short-term placements will be restricted to existing beso volunteers, VSO returned volunteers and volunteers recruited through VSO’s Business Partnerships scheme. By April 2006 it is planned that short-term placements will be available to the wider public.
Both VSO and beso receive funding from the Department for International Development, who have agreed to roll together two separate grants to give the merged organisation over £25 million a year.
For further information please contact Neera Dhingra in the VSO media team or Nicky Field at beso on +44 (0)20 7849 7906 or e-mail nfield@beso.orgbeso and VSO at a glance
beso is a development agency which offers professional expertise to organisations in developing countries and emerging economies worldwide.
- beso volunteers complete 400-500 assignments a year
- Volunteer placements last an average of 33 days
- The average age of a beso volunteer is 56
- There are 3,700 active volunteers on the beso register
- beso was founded in 1972 and has completed more than 8,000 assignments
- beso volunteers have particular expertise in enterprise development.
VSO is an international development charity which works through volunteers. Almost 1,500 skilled professionals are currently working as VSO volunteers in 34 countries throughout the world.
- VSO is the largest organisation of its kind worldwide
- Over 30,000 people have taken VSO placements since 1958
- Volunteers are aged from 17-75 - the average age is 38
- Globally, around 750 people are recruited as volunteers each year
- VSO volunteer placements are usually for two years, though there are a smaller number of 6-12 month placements
- VSO doesn't only recruit volunteers from the UK - there are also recruitment bases in Canada, Kenya, the Netherlands, the Philippines and India
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Find out more about our merger with beso |
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