I Have a Right Foundation delegates represent Dominica at Abu Dhabi conference, encourage community volunteerism

I Have A Right Foundation Inc., an NGO based in the North Eastern District of Dominica was represented at the 26th IAVE World Volunteers Conference in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates from October 24 to October 27, 2022, and the Good Deeds Day Conference from  October 27 to October 29, 2022.

The World Volunteer Conference (WVC), which is typically held biennially, aims to ‘create an environment that encourages networking, sharing of knowledge, and continuous learning for all those who believe volunteering improves their communities and the lives of those who volunteer and is a strategic asset to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)’.

This is the first time that Dominica has been represented in either of the conferences, with over 1000 participants coming from around the world, representing various spheres of the volunteering community from individual leaders to civil society organizations, government agencies, academia, and businesses. Overall, the Caribbean region comprised a comparatively small but significant contingent at both conferences this year, with representatives from Guyana, St. Lucia, Haiti, Trinidad and Tobago, and ST. Kitts and Nevis.

The World Volunteer Conference 2022 began with an opening ceremony and gala dinner on October 24, and subsequently included plenaries, forums, and practice seminars involving almost 100 speakers including Lucien Alexander-Anatol, Program Coordinator of IHARF, who was invited as a speaker/panelist on the topic, ‘Creating an Enabling Environment for Youth Volunteerism to Flourish’.

The conference was hosted for the first time in the Middle East by the Emirates Foundation, an organization whose objective is to shape, guide, and deliver innovative volunteering programs that increasingly encourage community members to volunteer, with far-reaching national impact.

The Good Deeds Day Conference was also hosted in Abu Dhabi and included about 85 participants from over 60 countries with a similar goal of emphasizing the significance of volunteering as a catalyst for local, regional, and global
development. Good Deeds Day (GDD) is an annually recognized global movement that provides tools, inspiration, and a global network to changemakers who desire to make a better world through deliberate action. I Have A Right Foundation Inc has been the country leader of GDD since 2019 as part of the regional arm via the Caribbean Volunteers Exchange Network (CVX) based in Trinidad and Tobago.

Both representatives, Lucien Alexander-Anatol, from Wesley, and Auretta Warrington from Calibishie, one of the lead volunteers of IHARF, agreed that the conferences were quite impactful and inspiring and believe that to achieve social
and economic development, volunteerism must be given greater sociocultural emphasis.

I Have A Right Foundation encourages both corporations and civil society to be active participants in Good Deeds Day 2023, which will be recognized on April 16, 2023. Nevertheless, activities can be held leading up to, and after the tokened day.

“As plans are being drafted out for Good Deeds Day Dominica 2023, we are expecting considerable community involvement from other organizations and corporations as well as independent volunteers. Updates will be provided via
media, and we are expecting a large turnout next year since 2022 was scaled down due to COVID-19. As the theme for Good Deeds Day 2023 states, let’s continue to pass the goodness around’.”