Participating organizations: African-German Youth Initiative, German Society for International Cooperation, Office of Youth Volunteer Service, Civil society organization(s), United Nations Volunteerism

2019 October 26th-28th, Ouidah (Benin) - The idea of mapping volunteer structures and civil society organizations in Benin came about in a context where there was a lack of information about these structures. The purpose of this census was to create a database of volunteer structures in Benin on the one hand; and to set up a platform on the other. The census was enabled 153 structures (NGOs, Associations, certain town halls and prefectures, etc.) to be registered in the period from 10 to 21 December 2018.

The workshop 'Restitution of the results of the inventory of volunteer structures and information on the implementation of the qualification system in volunteerism and exchanges' focused on actions in the humanitarian field. First, it was a question of restoring the results of the census. Then, the results of a workshop organized in the city of Ouidah on quality management in terms of volunteering and exchanges are presented. Finally, discussions turned to the creation of a platform of volunteer structures in Benin. The session was chaired by Mr. Céphise Béo Aguiar (Benin Office of Youth Volunteer Services, Benin). The workshop presented the criteria for qualifying volunteer structures, adopted at the Ouidah workshop (mentioned above), and the methods for evaluating those criteria, which were divided into ten categories and focused on:

• Legal Status and Physical Existence,
• The Evaluating Mechanism,
• Post-Exchange Support,
• Monitoring and Support,
• Reciprocity.

Among the several interventions identified during this workshop, one in particular received attention. The value of the quality criteria listed and the structure that would be in charge of their implementation raised questions. A suggestion to this concern was made by Mr. Eugène Some. Mr. Eugène Some suggests the promotion of flexibility in exchanges, the weighting of the criteria of the participants in the process of qualification of structures, the relevance of the safety criteria, utility, monitoring and evaluation and preparation in this process. To these criteria he will add the partnership as a reciprocal commitment between the related structures. With regard to the structure that would be in charge of the certification of volunteer structures, he suggested the creation of a joint committee composed of the OBSVJ and external structures such as CSOs.

Recommendations for action

• The quality and credibility of volunteer structures are essential to justify their existence and to be trustworthy. Effective measures are needed to report on existing structures and their actions on the ground to make them more responsive to sustainable development policies.
• The role of the OBSVJ and CSO structures needs to be further strengthened by stronger political commitment and the participation of other key actors. Donors activities and regional initiatives should be better coordinated in order to achieve synergy effects. It is therefore essential to create a platform of volunteer structures in Benin with the aim of bringing together actors in the field of volunteerism in order to build a national network of all structures, to offer opportunities to CSOs - by creating a crucible of visibility for them and their activities; by pooling CSOs activities; by setting up a mechanism to be to evaluate and quantify the contribution of volunteers and volunteer structures in view of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDO).
• Fluid communication between the OBSVJ and volunteer structures is essential. In order to do this, three focal points must be designated in each department of Benin. Foremost among all those focal points, a national representative will be chosen. Overall, we have thirty-six (36) focal points and twelve (12) national representatives for the twelve (12) departments of Benin.
• As the platform requires a roadmap, some proposals were made, including - the organization of a national volunteer day, the creation of a Facebook page and a Website for the platform, the planning of periodic meetings, etc.