Strategic Partners


 

  1. AVS-Logo-HighResAssociation for Volunteer Services (AVS) – www.avs.org.lb
    The Association for Volunteer Services is the coordinating partner of this Initiative. AVS was established to promote, facilitate, and improve volunteering and community service throughout Lebanon and beyond. It has had 10 years of experience in developing programs and providing consulting and training on all aspects of volunteerism, not only in Lebanon, but also in Egypt, Kuwait, the UAE, and Syria. Its President and Director, Dr. Patricia Nabti, is the initiator and coordinator of this Initiative and is the Regional Representative of the International Association for Volunteer Effort (IAVE) for the Arab Nations (2009-2011). AVS has been the National Representative of IAVE in Lebanon since 2003.

     

  2. Arab Thought Foundation (ATF) – www.arabthought.org
    ATF logoWe had sought to have a primary sponsoring partner who is indigenous to the Arab World, has broad representation in the region, is highly respected for the quality and integrity of its programs, and is committed to improving Arab society through sharing, collaboration, mutual support, and active and positive civic engagement. The Arab Thought Foundation has all those attributes and far more. And so we are tremendously honored that its Board of Trustees, as its meeting in December 2009, accepted to serve as a strategic partner for the Initiative, providing substantial financial support, access to its important networks in the region, experience with organizing world class conferences, and integration with some of its other programs (like its educational initiatives), along with its considerable credibility among the most educated and socially concerned leaders of the Arab World.

     

  3. The International Association for Volunteer Effort (IAVE) – www.iave.org
    IAVE LogoThe International Association for Volunteer Effort is a primary partner in the Initiative, providing it with international recognition and credibility. IAVE was created in 1970 by a small group of people from throughout the world who shared a common vision of how volunteers can contribute:
    • To the solution of human and social problems, and
    • To the development of bridges of understanding among people of all nations.

    They recognized the importance of international exchange of information, best practices and mutual support as a way of encouraging and strengthening volunteering worldwide.  IAVE is the only international organization with the mission to promote, celebrate, and strengthen volunteerism worldwide. IAVE holds regional conferences in different regions of the world.  AVS plans to host the first IAVE Regional Conference for the Arab World in Lebanon in 2010 as part of this Initiative, and to end the Initiative with the 2nd IAVE Regional Conference for the Arab World in December 2011 in another country in the region. The IAVE Youth Office in Catalonia is actively collaborating on the Initiative, particularly in terms of its youth-related components.