Voluntary Services Overseas

VSO is the world’s leading independent international development organisation that works through volunteers to fight poverty in developing countries.

VSO’s high-impact approach involves bringing people together to share skills, build capabilities, promote international understanding and action, and change lives to make the world a fairer place for all.

VSO knows that young people have the skills and energy needed to make a real difference in the fight against poverty. They run two programmes which aim to put young adults at the centre of efforts to tackle poverty and inequality; Global Xchange and Youth for Development.

Friendship Club

The Friendship Club meets every Tuesday in Cafe del Mondo between 6.00 and 8.00 pm. It is an informal gathering of ethnic minorities and the wider community that meet for a chat, a cup of tea and some fun.

We organise board games days, international food, exhibitions, goods exchange, movies, poetry readings, music etc… You can propose the activities you would like to happen and the Friendship Club Coordinator will try to support you in the organisation of the event.

The Friendship Club is a charity event and the money collected for tea and coffee are given to a different charity every week. If you wish to organise an activity in the Friendship Club you can decide which charity you wish to donate the collection to.

Hands Off My Friend

The Hands Off My Friend campaign grew out of SEEDS’ support activities among the migrant community, by specifically targeting those areas of concern identified by migrants themselves. Initially, SEEDS responded to individual isolated reports of hate violence from victims uncertain where to turn. SEEDS became aware of the alarming rate of such violent attacks, and the need to adopt a more proactive strategy of awareness-raising to address this trend, as well as the culture of xenophobia, violence and impunity that supports it. The experience that such crimes often go unreported and unpunished strengthened the conviction that bold steps were necessary to address this very real community need. As policing is an issue in some communities there was concerns that some of the migrant population did not wish to formally report incidents of hate crime to the PSNI. As some of the migrant population is undocumented they did want to draw attention to themselves by raising awareness of attacks.

Active Citizens

Active Citizens is a non-profit programme that promotes community cohesion and improvement through civic engagement or volunteering in around 30 countries.

Run by the British Council and partner organisations, it aims to increase the contribution of community leaders towards achieving sustainable development both locally and globally. It also encourages peer-to-peer relations across cultural, geographic and political boundaries via a lively online social network of participants, as well as occasional international exchange visits.

Youth In Action

Youth in Action is the Programme the European Union has set up for young people. It aims to inspire a sense of active European citizenship, solidarity and tolerance among young Europeans and to involve them in shaping the Union’s future. It promotes mobility within and beyond the EU’s borders, non-formal learning and intercultural dialogue, and encourages the inclusion of all young people, regardless of their educational, social and cultural background: Youth in Action is a Programme for all.

Every year, thousands of projects are submitted by promoters in order to get financial support from the programme; a selection process aims at granting the best projects.

The project is run in conjunction with Youth Council Northern Ireland.

E-TIC

SEEDS is offering a tailored IT training course in the following areas: Using Microsoft Office programs (Word, Excel, Powerpoint, Publisher, Outlook, etc…), surfing the Net, e-mails, website design, applying for jobs, CV writing, completing application forms, use of Skype, social networking sites, and so much more.

Training

We also provide training in conflict resolution, mediation, cultural diversity, migrant worker rights, citizenship and global education.