What is VYA

Vision YouthAction(VYA) is a non-profit, voluntary organization working with the aim to promote volunteerism, youth social and global participation and international exchange in Taiwan and around the world.  It was founded in 2002 by 30 young leaders who participated in an international volunteer exchange project between Taiwan and U.S.A

(1)  VYA has been

※  The Vice President of NVDA from 2010 to 2014/01 and 2018-2020.

※  The Executive committee of IAVE-IRC (International Association for Volunteer Effort’s International Resource Center, IAVE-IRC) from 2005 to 2008.

※  Full Member of NVDA (Network for Voluntary development in Asia) since 2007.

※  Full Member of CCIVS under UNESCO (Coordinating Committee for International Voluntary Service) since 2008.

※  Official Partner Organization of Alliance (Alliance of European Voluntary Organizations) since 1^st Jan 2010.

※  Official Partner Organization of SCI since 2011.

(2) VYA at a glance

※  343436: Over 343,436 youths have gotten involved in our voluntary activities since 2002 to 2010.

※  260,000：Over 7,000 youths have served as volunteers, devoting more than 260,000 hours to social services.

※  2551: Has trained 2,551 youth leaders.

※  700: Has cooperated with over 700 NGOs around the world.

※  38：Has supported 38 Taiwanese young leaders to intern at NGOs in Washington D.C., USA.

(3)      Brief History

Vision YouthAction was founded in 2002 by 30 young leaders who participated in an international volunteer exchange project between Taiwan and U.S.A. From 2002 to 2007, VYA has been successful in setting up a regional youth volunteer center to promote community service projects that lasted from a day to a week. Over 7,000 youths served as volunteers, donating more than 260,000 hours to social services from 2006-2008. In August 2007, in collaboration with NICE Japan, the first international workcamp in Taiwan was held in a small fishing village in the mid-western coast of Taiwan. Since then, VYA has been developing rapidly and diversely, catering to the large need of projects & motivations of people!

(4)      Our Missions and Future Prospects

※  Promoting youth participation in their communities as well as in international volunteering projects, on order to promote cultural exchange, global understanding and friendship among people from all over the world.

※ Nurturing future young social entrepreneurs, by assisting youth in running Not for Profit organisations with the concept of social enterprise and venture capital, solving social problems efficiently based on a new business model.

(5)      Activities

To achieve our missions and future prospects mentioned above, VYA runs the following activities:

※  Global Youth Service Day: Working with the National Youth Commission, VYA encourages Taiwanese youths to get involved in community voluntary services. Every year, at least 2,000 youth volunteers are involved in VYA VSTCSP and initiate more than 130 community service projects by themselves.

※  Taiwan International WorkCamp: VYA organizes workcamps that bridge the gap between local and overseas NGOs for Taiwanese volunteers. The first Taiwan international workcamp was held in 2007 in cooperation with NVDA and NICE. From 2007 to 2018, the number of projects grew from 1 to 25, the number of international volunteers  from 8 to 157, the number of local volunteers  from 10 to 619, and the number of countries  from 3 to 45.

※  VolunteerMatch.org.tw: the first professional online IT system for volunteer management in Taiwan. This website offers NGOs & youth volunteers training courses, applications for service certificates, a database of volunteering opportunities, and consultancy of volunteer management.

※  Training Projects for Young Social Entrepreneurs: VYA maps out a series of training projects for young people developing a long-term career in non-profit organizations. By doing so, we cultivate young social entrepreneurs to be equipped with global perspectives, leadership skills, civil values, and the capability of organization and management.

(6)      WorkCamps and Volunteers since 2007

Workcamps are generally of 2 week duration enrolling a participation of 5-10 Int volunteers without extra fee. They should be adults (18+). workcamps are held all over Taiwan.

The work involves creative arts & paintings, cross Generation cultural exchange, teaching children, renovation of traditional house, animal conservation and environmental projects.

MTV project is related on community fundraising and community tourism which is welcoming volunteer who can stay for 6 months or at least 3 months without extra fee.

Special projects for 4 days only, which are related with organic agriculture and creative arts with extra fee USD 150.

The social and economic impact of VYA in international workcamp volunteering movement.

-cooperation with 300 NGOs from over 100 countries.

-sent 10,891 National youth in 60 countries and engaged in 3,962 community projects.

-Hosted 1,118 international youth from 33 countries in Taiwan community service projects.

-Donated more than 628,250 service hours and created more than NT 94,660,000 economic contribution for the global society

(7)      Members and Partners

VYA is completely independent from any political, religious, or economic power. There is 9 full-time staff working for VYA and 4-15 regular volunteers as assistants. The General Assembly/Executive Committee of VYA meets twice a year.

VYA has:

※  2442 members around the world and 1,118 volunteers in Taiwan.

※  32 local partners and has built partnership with more than 200 local NPOs around Taiwan to promote voluntary service.