Read the book: "La historia de Alumni Solidari", by Eliane Guiu
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REPORT
February 5th was the date chosen for "Collaboration and impact: Strength to continue adding up", a conference to celebrate the dedication of the more than 1,000 volunteers who have contributed to the Alumni Giving Back project, and also the presentation of Eliane Guiu’s book La historia de Alumni Solidario: colaboración e impacto, the tale of the project since it began eight years ago.
Our selfless actions, no matter how insignificant they may seem, may have a great impact on society. Being a volunteer calls for dedication, and personal and professional involvement that often seems overwhelming, so ESADE decided to give its volunteers and the staff at the NGOs it works with a few ideas to help them carry on enthusiastically, at a conference designed to thank the 1,000 volunteers who have already taken part in Alumni Solidario for their efforts.
Josep Santacreu, ESADE Alumni Vice-president, commented that the conference itself was a celebration: "We’ve worked very hard on the project and it’s already come of age. We’ve grown up and are afraid of nothing. We’ll face new challenges bravely".
Since its inception, Alumni Giving Back has worked with more than 150 third-sector organisations, volunteering more than 50,000 hours of consultancy services worth more than €5,000,000.
The conference was a meeting point “for big-hearted people said Bruno Sokolowicz, journalist and founder of Scanner FM, and the conference moderator. Bruno began by interviewing Eliane Guiu, a project volunteer and the author of La historia de Alumni Solidario: colaboración e impacto. She explained that the main motivation for Alumni Giving Back volunteers is to contribute professional knowledge to the third sector as a way of paying society back for opportunities received. But it’s also a chance to work in a social setting, plus the things one learns and the happiness that doing something for others brings. "I have seen very committed professionals and in many cases, this is a life-changing experience", she said.
Achieving a fairer world
Next, Gonzalo Bernardos told the audience about the size and economic impact of the third-sector on today’s society and shared his thoughts about the great value of social volunteering. "This is one of ESADE’s most important projects because, being a business school with great human and social values it is obliged to help redress the increasing inequalities in income distribution caused by the crisis. ESADE is anticipating the future with this programme because things just can’t go on like this. What can we do about it? We can do things for others", he said.
But working in the third sector can also be exhausting, so one of the speakers was Amanda Comoretto, a psychologist specialised in resilience as a tool for stress management, who shared her research into resilience in NGO officers and their volunteers.
Comoretto defined resilience as the ability to adapt positively in adverse situations, and outlined attitudes that can help us be more resilient: tolerance of ambiguity, pragmatic idealism, ability to solve problems, having a sense of meaning and aim, good social support, cultivating optimism and positive emotions, knowing how to manage our emotions and adopting a mens sana in corpore sano lifestyle. She also offered practical advice and gave the audience a questionnaire to determine their own level of resilience.
The audience then enjoyed a networking cocktail courtesy of the NGO Cuina Justa.
Programme:
Our unselfish actions, however insignificant they may seem,
can have a great social impact. Being a volunteer requires dedication – a personal and professional involvement than might overwhelm us. But keen, determined volunteers can achieve amazing results.
We’d like to share
some ideas with our volunteers and the staff of the NGOs we help about how to carry on unwaveringly and with maximum enthusiasm. This event is also to thank the 1000 volunteers who have already helped Alumni Solidario, for their efforts.
We will be joined by a
special guest, the well-known journalist and founder of
ScannerFM,
Bruno Sokolowicz, who will moderate our session.
What’s in store?
Amanda Comoretto will talk about
resilience and how to
be stronger and work well in critical conditions.
Gonzalo Bernardos will address the dimension and economic
impact of the third sector in today’s society and the importance of social volunteering.
The idea is to get together and celebrate the dedication of the more than
1000 volunteers who have contributed to the Alumni Solidario project and, thanks to all your help, celebrate the events of these eight years with the presentation of the
book “La historia de Alumni Solidario: Colaboración e impacto" by Eliane Guiu, one of our volunteers.
Come along and let out speakers’ enthusiasm for volunteering rub off on you.
Don’t miss this great talk! See you there!
The conference will be followed by a networking cocktail for attendees.
For further information:
935 530 217
alumni.solidario@alumni.esade.edu
