Voices for Change: Music and Volunteering for a Decolonial Environmental and Social Justice Agenda

The aim of the “Voices for Change” is to strengthen the capacity and recognition of the International Voluntary Service movement through developing new partnerships and advocating for EU policies with a decolonised approach, especially in relation to the EU Green Deal and the Inclusion and Diversity Strategy.The project builds on previous successful initiatives, campaigns and projects coordinated by CCIVS in the field of environmental sustainability and international cooperation. Furthermore, it intends to meet the need to react to the current challenges affecting the EU, developing a global perspective to be adopted when developing policies, solutions and strategies.The project features a diverse partnership including organisations from all regions of the world, in order to gather global inputs that are representative of different contexts within and outside the EU, ensuring also a wide dissemination of the results. The involvement of the International Music Council in the consortium combines the tools of hands-on volunteer work with music to create impactful outcomes.The activities include a Global Reflection Meeting, to contribute to achieving a comprehensive assessment of IVS in the topics of inclusion, environmental sustainability and decolonisation, followed by Online Impact Measurement Training and an “Earth Artivists Training and Songwriting Workshop” which will build capacity within the consortium and will feed the following activities. Through hands-on, voluntary local actions, the partner organisations will collect “Voices for Change” from communities around the world to contribute to the environmental and social justice agenda. A “Symposium on Environmental and Social Justice” will provide an opportunity to showcase the achieved results, whereas the concluding online summit “EmpowerEU” will amplify the advocacy dimension of the project and disseminate its outcomes.