Beyond Painting Classrooms Conference 2013

• South Africa’s first conference on employee volunteering, Beyond Painting Classrooms, was held in Johannesburg from 13 to 14 August 2013. FirstRand Volunteers Programme, Volunteer and Service Enquiry Southern Africa (VOSESA), and the Charities Aid Foundation Southern Africa (CAF SA) convened the conference to consider the role of corporate volunteers in sustainable development and social change in South Africa.

  The objectives of the conference were to share knowledge about the practice of corporate support for volunteering in South Africa and its role in development; promote learning, exchange and critical reflection on the field; create a networking space for key stakeholders in the field; and secure commitments from other companies to support the engagement and development of the network.

  To plan for the conference, VOSESA held three workshops with over 40 companies to discuss ways of aligning corporate employee volunteering more closely with the country’s development priorities. Participants confirmed the need for companies to work together for greater impact, to share good practice and explore opportunities for strengthening employee volunteering programmes.

  The conference engaged approximately 100 participants active in the field of corporate support for volunteer action in South Africa. A select number of champions of corporate volunteering from the southern Africa region were invited to foster cross-border learning and engagement. The conference programme was structured in ways that promote critical and multi-stakeholder debate on major issues facing the sector, in-depth learning on programmatic and strategic issues related to the field, networking amongst the various players, as well as recognition of the contributions of all partners.
  
  
  

   

1. VOSESA
2. VOSESA