First EUAV pilot

As part of a pilot scheme to test out the European Union’s new EU Aid Volunteer humanitarian initiative, VSO sent 31 volunteers to placements in Bangladesh, Pakistan and South Sudan.

VSO’s first EU Aid Volunteer project ran from February 2012 to April 2013.

Part-funded by the European Union, the pilot project tested out innovative ways to recruit, assess, train and deploy volunteers from across Europe for humanitarian placements.

The project team successfully recruited 31 volunteers of 9 different European nationalities, for VSO placements focussed on disaster-preparedness in Bangladesh and Pakistan, and on post-conflict recovery in South Sudan.

VSO’s project team included: VSO International, VSO Nederland, VSO Ireland and Romanian volunteering NGO Pro Vobis.

This first pilot project provided significant learning on the best ways to recruit and deploy volunteers for humanitarian placements, benefiting both the consortium partners and the European Commission.

Read VSO Ireland’s information leaflet, The EU Aid Volunteer Initiative and VSO