Organized by the International Relations Office (IRO) of Belo Horizonte, the International Volunteering Program aims to provide foreigners and Brazilian students of International Relations the opportunity to familiarize themselves with the public policies developed by the Municipality of Belo Horizonte. The Program facilitates their engagement in voluntary services, enabling them to exchange experiences and foster their professional development.
The Program has become an important tool for the international promotion of the municipality, by enabling knowledge exchange between volunteers and city officials. The activities carried out by the volunteers contributes to the development and implementation of diverse public policies by bringing a new and distinctive perspective, promoting innovation and multiplicity of solutions. Their contributions extend to the city’s internationalization efforts. upon completions of their volunteering tenures, these participants become effectively transition into “ambassadors” of Belo Horizonte in their countries of origin, thereby amplifying the city’s global presence and reputation.
Sustainable Development Goals
At first, the Program was established for foreign students only. It developed partnerships with public and private educational institutions to enable exchange students the opportunity, during their exchange period, to provide voluntary services at the City Hall. The main objective was to offer these students into the workings of public service within their respective fields of study, thereby providing practical experience and an opportunity to contribute fresh insights to the development of public policies.
Subsequently, the Program was expanded to include Brazilian students of the International Relations field. The idea was to expand the experiences of these students, and enable them to contribute to the internationalization of public policies. Given their specialized education, these students can fit in several areas of the City Hall, where they could identify and advocate for projects with international potential.
The Program aims to:
● Promote cultural and knowledge exchange between volunteers and municipal officials;
● Develop specific skills and competencies of volunteers according to the different professional areas;
● Support the publication of scientific papers through the approach between academia and the municipal public administration;
● Develop national and international partnerships with higher education institutions;
● Disseminate the public policies of the municipality abroad.
The International Volunteering Program was developed by the IRO via Decree no. 15.319 on September 3, 2013. Since then, it has been coordinated by IRO itself.
Through a system of partnerships, the program receives candidates from all over the world. The International Relations team, after careful analysis of their curriculum and interests, identifies the potential department of City Hall that will host the students. Contact is established between the candidate and the public administration, where the operation of the Program and the work that will be carried out are explained.
During the volunteering period, the volunteer is accompanied by a supervisor who is responsible for the development of activities. The IRO maintains constant contact with both volunteer and supervisor in order to ensure that activities are being carried out as agreed. The volunteer can work from 12 to 20 hours per week for a period of 90-180 days, according to their availability and respecting the priority of their commitment to educational studies.
Finally, after their volunteering tenure is completed, a meeting is held where volunteers present the results of their work in a scientific article, that can be published on the Belo Horizonte City Hall website.
Since its implementation, the Program has welcomed more than 190 volunteers from 28 different countries, including Brazil, bringing people with diverse experiences into the City Hall’s daily life, who contribute a unique perspective on municipal public policies.
Through networking with national and international Higher Education Institutions, the Program has been able to expand the level of cooperation with the Municipal Public Administration by making programs and projects implemented by the Municipality more visible, therefore contributing to local and territorial development. The creation of partnerships between the Municipality, private and public organizations and civil society both national and international, has contributed to strengthening Belo Horizonte’s international image as a destination for academic, cultural, tourism and business activities.
The main challenges and barriers faced by the Program were difficulties in political nuances, identifying city officials equipped to manage language differences and supervising foreign volunteers, making it appealing for exchange students to provide voluntary services in Brazil's public administration, and more recently, the constraints imposed by the COVID-19 pandemic which halted the intake of exchange students.
The Program has helped to expand the level of cooperation within the Municipal Public Administration, strengthening Belo Horizonte’s international image as a destination for academic activities, and expand the possibilities for cultural exchange.
https://prefeitura.pbh.gov.br/desenvolvimento/voluntariado-internacional
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