Challenges

International Exchange and Solidarity Volunteering (VIES – Volontariat International d’Echange et de Solidarité) is an excellent lever to respond to several public policy challenges in the Overseas Territories:

• Support for young people’s openness to the world, employability and civic engagement. Volunteering contributes to the acquisition of skills and competences that facilitate social and professional integration.
• Strengthening regional or international cooperation partnerships. VIES increases the capacity of the Overseas Territories, and in particular of the regional authorities, to build and lead international partnerships and to make the most of the regions’ expertise for the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals.

Programmes

In order to facilitate access to these experiences for young people from the French Overseas Territories, France Volontaires has been supporting associations, regional authorities and institutions in the French Overseas Territories for the past 20 years in the development of international volunteering programmes.

France Volontaires is a partner of the Region and authorities of Reunion Island, the Department of Mayotte, the government and several provinces of New Caledonia and several authorities of the West Indies.

For the implementation of these programmes, France Volontaires relies on its offices in Reunion and in New Caledonia and its network of 24 Volunteering Centres around the world.