In Guinea -Sebastien Audet

Not a run of the mill experience
International Volunteering
This article will be published in the April edition of the newsletter "Bénévol Volunteer Montreal", from the Volunteer Bureau of Montreal.

Formerly seen as the preserve of seasoned specialists in international co-operation, overseas voluntary service is increasingly open to men and women interested in experiencing globalisation first-hand. Internships and postings from two-weeks to two-years in duration are now available, notably through the Uniterra Programme’s network in South America, Africa and Southeast Asia. 

All Uniterra projects have set their sights on attaining the UN’s Millennium Development Goals, i.e. a 50% reduction of poverty in the world by 2015. 

Sébastien Audette is a young business administrator who departed for Guinea in March 2006. Armed with five years of experience in export development in Quebec, Sébastien will work as a planning consultant at CIEPEX, le Centre International d’Échanges et de Promotion des Exportations (International Centre for Trade and Export Promotion), which is based in Conakry, the country’s capital.

“I’ve been interested in living abroad since my university days,” admits Sébastien. “I think this experience in Africa will be very enriching on the personal as well as the professional level.”

CIEPEX specialises in developing Guinea’s foreign trade. Intent on strengthening its capacities in marketing, CIEPEX asked Uniterra to recruit a volunteer that could help it to achieve its objectives.

“If you want to work overseas, the most important criterion is to have the qualifications and/or skills that a partner organisation requires,” explains Uniterra Recruitment Officer Valérie Millette.  “Candidates must also be in good health and demonstrate a capacity for openness towards other mentalities and ways of life.”

A number of opportunities for overseas volunteering are posted on the Uniterra website.  Uniterra is an initiative of the Canadian Centre for International Studies and Co-operation (CECI) and World University Service of Canada (WUSC).

For more information:
www.uniterra.ca