Asia and Australia

    
    Workcamp, SCI Malaysia (2010)                                                             Workcamp, SCI Sri Lanka (2010)

`Last year in December, I got the opportunity to participate in the regional Post-Conflict workshop organised by SCI Sri Lanka. The workshop mainly focused on the challenges faced in peacemaking in the modern world with special reference to Sri Lanka's post conflict environment.  (…) We even had a field visit to Mutur, Northern Sri Lanka, where we, the volunteers, were divided into teams and got the task of interviewing Muslim women and religious leaders. They expressed their strong feelings and their loss in the conflict. Indeed, it was an enlightening experience for me where I had the privilege to meet people from various social backgrounds`. - Ria Banerjee, a volunteer in Sri Lanka, 2010
 

After Europe, it is in the Asia-Pacific area where SCI has a strong presence. Currently there are SCI branches in Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Sri Lanka, South Korea, Japan, Malaysia, Pakistan and Hong Kong.  Apart from the SCI branches, SCI cooperates also with many partner organisations in this region. In Australia SCI is represented through IVP Australia.
 

Asian Development Programme

In the Asia-Pacific area SCI staff and volunteers have gathered in the Asian Development Committee (ADC). The ADC aims at facilitating, recommending and evaluating projects and activities in the framework of the Asian Development Programme. An example of a project under this programme is the Asia Pacific Peace Education Seminar that took place in Australia in 2010 and aimed at strengthening cooperation in the region and at promoting volunteering for peace. Another example is the Sri Lankan Post-Conflict Project, which took place in the form of a regional workshop in December 2010.
 

Coming to Europe

There is a special programme for volunteers from North Africa and the Middle East to go on a mid-term voluntary exchange to Europe. This programme is organised by a few European SCI branches. Volunteers on this programme get the opportunity to participate in European workcamps, and join special trainings, together with volunteers from Asia and Latin America. For more information about this programme you can contact your local branch or partner organisation, or one of the regional working groups.
 

Asia International Working Group

This is the international working group that aims at promotion and facilitation of voluntary exchanges between Asia and the rest of the world, and to coordinate and strengthen communication and cooperation between Asian SCI branches and other branches in the SCI network. For more information about the Asia International Working Group please see the section Working Groups.