Get more involved with UNA Exchange

Volunteers are at the heart of UNA Exchange. There are many different ways in which you can get involved in our work in Wales:

Lead a project

We need experienced volunteers to lead projects in Wales. Leaders work with a group of volunteers from across the world for two weeks.

Leaders need to motivate, coordinate and inspire their volunteers. If this sounds like a huge challenge, don’t worry!  Leaders’ Training is an exciting and participatory course designed to equip you to lead. It covers issues such as:

  • Group dynamics
  • Team-building
  • Cultural exchange
  • Communication skills

It will also give you plenty of practical advice about leading a volunteer project, from arranging social activities to budgeting.

Leaders' Training 2013 will take place from 27th March to 2nd April at the Amelia Trust Farm near Barry (the first day is the arrival day and the final day is the departure day, with the training running from the Thursday to the Monday). This year, UK participants will be joined by volunteers from across Europe and the event is co-funded by the European Youth in Action programme. Here's some more information and an application form.

"I have benefited from generally learning more about the projects, organisation and ethos behind UNA Exchange. The most valuable thing about the training programme is that whilst encouraging debate and an open-minded approach, it aims to give you confidence in your own abilities and ideas….important for life in general."

(Leaders' Training participant, 2010)


Become a trainer

UNA Exchange training is designed and run by volunteers like you. We work with teams of volunteers to deliver Leaders’ Training and Volunteer Abroad Training. Being a volunteer trainer for UNA Exchange is an exciting challenge and a great way to develop new skills.

We have a few places left on our Training for Trainers course from 8th to 10th February 2013. We're looking for experienced volunteers who are prepared to become part of our training teams. Training for Trainers helps you understand different learning styles and training methodologies. It also gives you the chance to try planning and leading different training activities. Here's some more information and an application form.


Support the trainers

We also need volunteers to help out behind the scenes at training and other events. This might include cooking, sorting materials for training sessions, organising social activities or performing a sock puppet show!

We're currently looking for volunteers to support our Training for Trainers event in February and our Leaders' Training event at the end of March. Contact us if you're interested.


Help promote UNA Exchange

If you’ve had a great experience volunteering with UNA Exchange, why not hold an event to talk about what you did? You could talk at a local college or university, or with another group that you think might be interested.

If you’re interested in promoting UNA Exchange then we can make sure that you have plenty of information and materials to help you. Contact us if you’d like to know more about talking about UNA Exchange at a publicity event.


Volunteer in our office

From time to time, we have opportunities for people to volunteer in the UNA Exchange offices. This is a great way of gaining work experience and of finding out more about what we do. We usually look for volunteers with certain skills to help us with specific tasks. Placements can last for a few days or can continue over a period of months. If you'd like to find out more about an office placement at UNA Exchange, then contact us. We're especially interested in hearing from volunteers who have an interest in publicity, promotions and fundraising.