About IVP Indonesia

International Volunteers for Peace (IVP) of Kanal Perdamaian Foundation actually began in 2010 with an IVS peace project in the post-conflict area of Ambon, Maluku. Two organizers — who later became long-term activists of IVP Indonesia — were involved in a youth newspaper created by pupils from both Islamic and Christian junior high schools (SMP). After evaluating this project, the idea emerged to establish another IVS organization that would operate in the same spirit and with the same mission and vision as SCI.

Our first activity was sending one of our volunteers to a “No More War” seminar in Germany in late 2011. IVP Indonesia was officially founded and registered in 2012. In September that same year, the first workcamp was held in Getasblawong village (Kendal, Central Java), marking the beginning of a long-term collaboration with SMK Lentera, a local secondary vocational school.

IVP organizes projects throughout Indonesia, supporting local communities in their efforts for social and environmental change. Moreover IVP sends volunteers to similar projects abroad. By bringing volunteers together from different countries and background, who live and work together for social change, we try to make the world better, more peaceful.

Topics of projects can vary from working with disadvantaged children till nature-conservation, from working with refugees to supporting alternative life-communities.

About SCI International and Asia-Pacific

IVP Indonesia is strongly aligned with SCI (www.sci.ngo), which has similar aims as IVP Indonesia. SCI has 40 branches, mainly in Europe and Asia and many partner-organizations. It is the oldest IVS-organization in the world, with a rich history of appealing peace-projects. Every year, SCI sends around 2000 volunteers to a workcamp (short term volunteering project) abroad. SCI has consultative status with UNESCO and is member of several networks.

SCI in Asia-Pacific is nowadays represented by the Asian Development Committee (ADC), which consists of representatives of Asia-Pacific branches. This committee meets twice a year at the Asian Platform Meeting (APM), where topics as bilateral/multilateral Asian projects, exchange, and general development of branches/the region are discussed. IVP Indonesia is quite involved in Asian Development Committee.

About IVS history, Pierre Cérésole, and SCI involvement (upcoming 100 years)

SCI – and therefore the concept of international voluntary service (IVS) in general – started with a project in Esnes, a village near Verdun, France, just after World War 1 (1920). One of the organizers and founder of SCI was Pierre Cérésole, a Swiss engineer. Main idea was ‘Deeds, not Words’: peace should start with concrete actions, and after the war with re-building and reconstruction. The project lasted for several months. Most special was that German volunteers helped with the building, despite the negative attitude of French people towards Germany.

Soon more projects followed. Teams of volunteers were considered as a concrete and positive alternative for the army. The history of SCI is marked by the presence of many conscious objectors.

SCI in Asia started in India in 1934, relief work after a severe earthquake. After the sixties, the slogan of SCI changed into Deeds and Words.  Concrete voluntary service can or even should be accompanied by discussions about the background and the aims of the work done, or about peace in the broadest sense. The concept of peace-education came up as well, with trainings and seminars as result . The main concept of SCI is however still international voluntary service, modernized and in most cases shorter of period than in the beginning, but with the aim to achieve peace and mutual understanding. In 2020, we celebrated our 100th anniversary.