I HAVE EXPERIENCED
A sustainable system to recognize competences. I’VE was the first documented system to assess and recognize competences developed in volunteering workcamps through non-formal education, peer assessment and mobile technology.
What is I’VE?
The first Erasmus+ Strategic Partnership supported by the Italian National Youth Agency that created the first system for recognizing competences developed in international volunteering workcamps
I’VE – I Have Experienced brought together associations and research institutes to create an innovative system that allows assessing, documenting and bringing out the competences that volunteers develop during international workcamps. Field research involved about 3,000 participants, employers and camp leaders to choose the most important competences and the most effective tools for identifying and valorizing informal learning in volunteering projects. A group of expert trainers and many tests defined the system structure that has been used by dozens of associations in the following decade.
Each year about 20,000 people participate in international volunteering projects in our networks: experiences that change lives, build bridges of solidarity and friendship, and develop new competences and abilities. That’s why schools and universities are interested: educational credits and work-based learning become real growth opportunities and not opportunistic or exploitative projects.
The I’VE system finally made it possible to recognize, valorize and be able to communicate these competences through a fun, sustainable process based on peer assessment, using non-formal education and mobile technology.
Why is it innovative? For the first time it combines peer support, mobile devices (app) and non-formal learning to create personalized competence recognition certificates validated by real collective and personal reflection.
The 13 I’VE Competences
- Autonomy
- Responsibility
- Initiative
- Learning to learn
- Civic participation
- Leadership
- Organization
- Teamwork
- Communication
- Creativity
- Understanding & Respecting diversity
- Open-mindedness
- Languages
An Exciting Journey
7 hours of interactive activities that transform your workcamp into certified competences
The I’VE Post Camp Event is not a boring meeting: it’s an engaging experience where volunteers tell their stories, recognize their peers’ competences, and receive a certificate validated by the group! Here’s some of the sessions.
Human Bingo
40 minutesBreak the ice with a dynamic game! Using the mobile app, you meet all participants through fun questions about the workcamp.
World Café
90 minutesThe heart of the experience! In small groups you explore the three dimensions of the workcamp: Work, Group and Community. Every 15 minutes you change tables and enrich the discussion.
Peer Endorsement
90 minutesThe magic of I’VE! Competence speed dating: 8 rounds where your peers recognize the competences you developed te most during the workcamp.
Why Does It Work?
Gamification + Peer Recognition + Deep Reflection = Reflective Certificate
The I’VE Tools
Everything you need to organize competence recognition events: toolkit, guides, handbook and mobile app
The Toolkit
Complete Manual for Post Camp Events
The detailed Toolkit for organizing I’VE sessions where volunteers tell their stories and assess competences. Includes information on necessary resources, alternative options according to group composition, and ready-to-print materials.
Duration: 7 hours of activities for 14-30 volunteers with 1-2 facilitators.
Download Toolkit (PDF)Users’ Guide
Guide for Volunteers
The Guide provides information and materials to prepare volunteers before the recognition event, so they can make the most of the experience.
Includes explanations of the 13 I’VE competences, advice on how to reflect on one’s own experience and how to prepare for peer assessment.
Download Users’ Guide (PDF)Handbook for Facilitators
Manual for Facilitators
The Handbook serves for preparing facilitators of Post Camp Events, with background information, practical suggestions and educational methodologies.
Includes guidelines for managing diverse groups, facilitation techniques, and how to address complex situations during sessions.
Download Handbook (PDF)App & Management Tool
Digital Tools
The mobile App and Management Tool automatically produce Competence Recognition Certificates and manage some Post Camp Event modules digitally.
The system also works in paper version for those who prefer not to use technology. Android version available on Google Play by searching “I’VE Lunaria”.
The Research
Two international studies involving thousands of volunteers, camp leaders and organizations to understand how to recognize competences in volunteering
Desk Research Report
In-depth study on how international volunteering workcamp organizations understand acquired competences and what tools exist to recognize and validate them.
9 Countries analyzed: Belgium, Czech Republic, Finland, Italy, Mexico, Russia, Serbia, South Korea, Spain and Turkey
Competences were divided into three categories: psychological (individual level), social (group dynamics) and cultural (understanding global contexts and otherness).
Download Desk Research (PDF)Field Research Report
Field research that collected data between February and May 2015 directly involving the protagonists of international volunteering.
2,500 participants from 51 countries:
• 1,889 volunteers
• 219 camp leaders
• 53 organizers
• 17 local partners
• 8 youth workers
• 14 employers
The majority of respondents welcomed a structured tool to validate learning in workcamps, with particular appreciation for the digital approach.
Download Field Research (PDF)How It Works
An innovative 3-phase process that transforms volunteering experience into recognized competences
Experience
Volunteers participate in an international workcamp, living an intense experience of non-formal learning, cooperation and intercultural exchange.
Post Camp Event
Upon return, volunteers participate in a 7-hour I’VE session: they tell their experience, self-assess and assess peers through non-formal activities and the mobile app.
Certification
The system automatically produces a personalized Competence Recognition Certificate, validated by the peer group and usable for CV and professional paths.
The European Conference
“The Incommensurable Experience?” – Brussels, August 27 – September 3, 2016
A Journey through Volunteers’ Competences
Brussels, Belgium • MolenbeekThe final conference brought together 60 organizations and institutions to present project results and discuss educational and political developments in recognizing informal learning in volunteering.
During 8 intense days, we put the I’VE system in the hands of 16 volunteers and facilitators from Finland, Korea, Catalonia, Russia, Mexico and France. We tested the model in its social implications, analyzing its usability on young volunteers from various social and personal backgrounds.
The conference addressed crucial questions: Does it still make sense to measure learning? How to keep the spirit of the workcamp alive while discovering the world of competences? How to help volunteers in a sustainable and supportive way?
We thank the guests who provided valuable input: Tanya Basaran (Youth Partnership EU-CoE), Gabriella Civico (CEV), Rita Bergstein (SALTO), Adele Tinaburri (Italian National Youth Agency), Marcio Barcelos (European Youth Forum), and many others.
The Project in Images
Moments from the final conference in Brussels and European workshops
The Global Partnership
16 organizations from Europe, Asia and America united for innovation in competence recognition
Lunaria, active since 1992 in International Voluntary Service and Social Research programs, decided to bring together a strategic partnership to further develop youth organizations’ capacity to connect their mission with employability and formal education.
Click on markers to discover partner organizations
🇮🇹 Italy
Lunaria – Project Coordinator. Organization active since 1992 in international volunteering and social research programs.
www.lunaria.orgCSVNet – National Coordination of Volunteer Service Centers.
www.csvnet.it🌍 European Network
Alliance of European Voluntary Service Organizations – International network of volunteering organizations with over 100 years of history.
www.alliance-network.eu🇧🇪 Belgium
Compagnons Bâtisseurs – Belgian volunteering organization for education and community building.
www.compagnonsbatisseurs.be🇫🇷 France
Solidarités Jeunesses – French association for youth volunteering and international solidarity.
www.solidaritesjeunesses.org🇩🇪 Germany
ISIS – Institut für Soziale Infrastruktur – German research institute specialized in social infrastructure.
www.isis-sozialforschung.de🇫🇮 Finland
Finnish Youth Research Society – Finnish society for youth research.
www.nuorisotutkimusseura.fiAllianssi – Finnish organization for international youth exchange.
www.nuorisovaihto.fi🇨🇿 Czech Republic
INEX SDA – Association for international volunteering and sustainable development.
www.inexsda.cz🇹🇷 Turkey
Gençlik Servisleri Merkezi (GSM) – Turkish center for youth services and international volunteering.
www.gsm.org.tr🇺🇦 Ukraine
Alternative V – Ukrainian organization for volunteering and intercultural exchange.
www.alternative-v.com.ua🇷🇸 Serbia
Young Researchers of Serbia (VSS) – Serbian association of young researchers.
www.mis.org.rs🇲🇽 Mexico
Vive Mexico – Mexican organization for volunteering workcamps and cultural exchange.
vivemexico.org
Project 2014-1-IT03-KA205-136 received support from the Italian National Youth Agency, within the Erasmus+ Programme, Strategic Partnership.
All I’VE materials, software and publications are released under Creative Commons BY-NC-SA 4.0 license.
Want to Use the I’VE System?
All materials are free and available for organizations and facilitators. Download the tools and start recognizing your volunteers’ competences!
Download ToolsFor more information or support in implementation:
