Database and website for volunteers being created

The Youth Department of the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sport is working with the Volunteerism Support Plat-form (VSP) to register volunteers (current and prospective) and volunteer-involving organisations (VIO) on a national database, a release from the project said.

This database will be part of a website that will promote work and volunteer opportunities of VIOs and volunteers within Guyana.  The database will also create opportunities to share best practices and for networking, to recruit volunteers, and will allow funders and stakeholders to collaborate to address bottlenecks.

Part of the scope of the database and website would be to raise awareness of the contribution made by the voluntary sector towards national development, to advertise resources and opportunities available for volunteers and VIOs, and to increase accountability of voluntary groups in relation to the services they provide, the resources mobilized and for volunteer organisations to receive feedback.

The VSP has been established to promote volunteerism and to ensure sustainability of volunteerism through partnerships with government, civil society and the private sector.  The VSP functions as a hub to enable voluntary organisations and volunteers to network, to facilitate the creation of national guidelines or policy framework to coordinate and measure the contributions of VIOs and volunteers.