Platform2
Platform2 is a new government-backed volunteering programme that gives young adults from less advantaged backgrounds the opportunity to live, work and learn about life in poorer countries.
What makes Platform2 special and exciting is that it is aimed at unlocking the potential and developing the skills young people who wouldn’t normally have the opportunity to volunteer abroad. As part of the scheme, volunteers will be given the chance to make a real difference to poor people’s lives, as well as promoting wider development awareness on their return to the UK.
Volunteering placements will take place within a sustained programme of learning – starting with a one-day pre-departure training and ending with a three-day residential workshop back in the UK.
Over the next three years, Platform2 will offer 2,500 British 18-25 year-olds the chance to participate in a ten-week volunteering work programme in a developing country. The first groups (of roughly 12 volunteers each) are scheduled to leave in May of this year and will be followed by a regular programme of departures to countries such as South Africa, Ghana, India and Peru.
Platform2 is fully funded by the Department for International Development (DfID) and is implemented by a partnership of Christian Aid, Islamic Relief and BUNAC.
Callum Kennedy, Director of BUNAC said:
“BUNAC is excited and proud to be a member of this partnership and is looking forward to playing its part in this new DFID venture. Volunteering in a developing country shouldn't be the preserve only of those who can, literally, afford to give up their time to do it. Many people are unaware of the existing opportunities or do not have the means to take advantage of them.
“The DFID initiative will show that young adults from all walks of life and from all backgrounds can contribute to and learn from the volunteering experience.”
For further information about Platform2, visit the programme website. In case you are not eligible to participate in Platform2, you might like to consider some of BUNAC’s other volunteering schemes