Non-Governmental Organization

Maailmanvaihto – ICYE Finland is a non profit voluntary service organisation that organises and co-ordinates long-term (6-12 months) voluntary service programmes with partners in more than 40 countries all over the world. Our programmes are reciprocal: besides organising opportunities for Finnish young people to join voluntary service programmes abroad, we receive foreign volunteers in our programme in Finland.  Maailmanvaihto ry – ICYE Finland  sends and receives 30-40 young people each year. Maailmanvaihto is a member of the ICYE (International Cultural Youth Exchange) International Federation. ICYE is one of the oldest youth exchange organisations in the world. ICYE Finland was founded in 1958.

People involved for many years in promoting "democracy with children" and children's rights came together to found the association "Macht Kinder stark für Demokratie" (prepare children for democracy!). They work in many domains such as the media, industry and commerce, educational institutions, public administration, and children's rights organizations. Makista wants to ensure that children are respected from day one and that they adopt democratic values. In this way, they can learn to respect others and take responsibility for the community at large. Many institutions and private sponsors are committed to the rights of children and youths. Makista aims to provide basic information concerning children's rights. We support opportunities to share ideas and experiences. We organize symposia and workshops, and we develop web-based information services for pupils, parents and teachers. We are a network of people who, for many years, have been committed to supporting the rights of children as laid down in the 1989 UN Convention on Children's Rights. A main concern of the Convention is to give children and youths a voice in all matters that affect them. Our many years of experience with the involvement of children and youths of all ages show that when young people are taken seriously, they can do much more than we normally expect. This assumes that adults provide them with a supportive environment. We would very much like to provide you with information on our experience in this domain, as well as addresses, links, literature, practical tips and suggestions for valuable projects. Makista is not associated with any political party and it is recognized as a non-profit organization.

We are a development Educatin Centre providing resources and support to teachers in bringing a global dimension to classroom practice and school policies.

The Swedish Cooperative Centre is the channel that the Swedish cooperative moment use for its activities in development cooperation. We are a non-governmental organisation which support cooperative development and popular movements in order to improve living conditions for poor people and give them more power in society. Our vision is a world without poverty and injustice.