Increasingly, the international community recognises global or development volunteering as an important tool for overcoming the challenges of international development (including addressing the issue of migration). However, volunteering is difficult to define and even more difficult to measure, as its forms and ways vary across borders and cultures. This case study written by Dr. Boba Markovic Baluchova presents selected positive examples of Slovak volunteering practice and its impact on entire communities – both in specific low-income countries and at home.

In this study, we use a specific example of ADRA Slovakia (one of the members of Slovak Platform for Development Organisations – Ambrela), to illustrate how their volunteers’ views of global challenges and future plans change. Further, we will outline how the volunteers acquire important social capital: new contacts, partnerships and an amount of useful knowledge, skills and experience. At the same time, we will show how the mitigation of forced migration through specific Slovak volunteer projects happens when the sent young people work directly with migrating communities looking for their new homes.

The Ambrela’s publication ‚Activities of Slovak Development Volunteers in Places Affected by Migration‘ is part of project entitled ‚SDGs and Migration – Multipliers and Journalists Addressing Decision Makers and Citizens in the EU‘ implemented within the framework of DEAR programme. It is available for downloading and reading here.