In the Caribbean, we have identified and prioritized the following documents as key for volunteer management:
Volunteer Management Toolkit (VMT)
This Volunteer Management Toolkit was designed by, and is intended for, the Caribbean National Societies and Overseas Branches. Its aim is to provide for a more systematic approach to the planning, recruitment, training, retention, reward and recognition of what is undoubtedly the most important resource in any Red Cross organisation – its volunteers.
The Seven Fundamental Principles Proclaimed in Vienna in 1965, the seven Fundamental Principles bond together the National Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, The International Committee of the Red Cross and the International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies. They guarantee the continuity of the Red Cross Red Crescent Movement and its humanitarian work.
Voluntary Service (Volunteer Management Cycle) The cycle of volunteer management illustrates a system that supports the goals and objectives of a National Society. It organizes voluntary effort in order to accomplish the mission of the Movement. The cycle moves through the various components of volunteer management, with each component playing an integral role. Communication and evaluation are ongoing aspects of volunteer management and are therefore included in this report. It includes the comments of volunteers and paid staff who, after all, are the experts in the field and who have been generous enough to share their thoughts and experiences.
Volunteerism and Legislation (A Guidance Note)
As part of its recognition of the importance of the International Year of Volunteers, 2001 (IYV 2001), the Inter-Parliamentary Council adopted a resolution at its 168th Session in Havana urging parliaments and their members around the world to identify and adopt policies to encourage volunteerism and to establish a legislative framework supportive of voluntary action from a good governance perspective.
In response, the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU), the world organisation of sovereign parliaments, agreed with the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC), the largest global network of volunteers, and the United Nations Volunteers (UNV), the focal point for follow-up to IYV 2001, to prepare a Guidance Note on Volunteerism and Legislation for use by parliamentarians around the world. The Note was prepared following extensive consultations, primarily through a questionnaire, with parliamentarians from all regions, North and South, volunteer-involving organisations and Red Cross and Red Crescent National Societies. Supplementary information was obtained from research papers, Internet searches, and face-to-face and phone interviews.
Volunteers 2005
A five-year Secretariat plan “Volunteer 2005” was produced in 2001after consultation with National Society, delegate and external experts on volunteering. Its principal aim is to provide a framework within which National Societies can develop and exchange knowledge on volunteering and volunteer management, thus contributing to their own development as well as that of others. A set of expected results (See Annex 2) have been agreed covering the different levels of the plan: Federation and its Secretariat globally and regionally, National Societies, and local level.
Volunteering Policy and Implementation Guide
This Volunteering Policy Implementation Guide has been produced by the Organizational Development Department of the secretariat as a resource for National Societies reviewing the issue of volunteers and volunteering. One very concrete application of the Guide will be for National Societies seeking to develop their own volunteering policies in line with the 1999 Federation Volunteering Policy.
