[I Can, We Can] Launches the Syrian Volunteers project

(on behalf of Eiad El Yafi)

The participating youth in the "I Can, We Can" project have developed an online platform for volunteers in both Lattakia and Homs. The idea have come when the research team found in focus group results that there is a volunteering issue in the society, so the project participants tried to find a solution to address this issue using ICT.

The site www.syrianvolunteers.com was launched on Sat 24 April in both Lattakia and Homs in the presence of representatives of many NGOs in both cities. During the launch event, a user name and password were given to each NGO to use whenever they need volunteers in their projects and activities. The project participants also trained the NGO’s representatives on how to use the site.

The online platform also contains a page through which the youth too can apply online for volunteering opportunities. The applicant may choose his/her area of volunteering like health, social, environment etc. and his/her name will be added to the system's database of volunteers so that they can be approached by concerned NGO.

Syria Trust for Development CEO, Mr. Omar Hallaj, attended the launch in Lattakia early morning and Homs in the evening.

Many media representatives attended the launch and it was broadcast on the Syrian TV as well. Eiad El Yafi, the "I Can, We Can" project coordinator, was also interviewed by France 24 TV and talked about this project in the first reportage on volunteerism and NGOs in Syria, and the importance of IDRC's support for this project. The interview can be watched on this link.

More press coverage (in Arabic) is here.