How to become a Polish Aid volunteer?
1. Find and contact a potential sending organisation.
2. Draft a volunteering project in cooperation with the chosen organisation. The project will be submitted for evaluation by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs under the call for proposals “Polish Aid Volunteering Programme”. The call is held once a year, and the call for project applications usually starts in late March and early April. The project must be implemented by 31 December of a given year.
3. The call for proposal’s procedure at the MFA usually lasts for about three months and consists of the following elements:
a) a formal evaluation of the project application (to confirm that the application has all necessary annexes and other elements specified in the Call Regulations),
b) a merit-based assessment of the project application (evaluation of the project’s goals and underlying ideas),
The applications are evaluated by a dedicated selection board.
c) successful conclusion of volunteer training courses organised by the MFA.
4. It must be noted that submitting a project application for the call for proposals does not guarantee it will receive funds and thus does not ensure the volunteer will travel abroad. The project must obtain a positive recommendation of the MFA selection board and must be approved by the minister responsible for development cooperation. Moreover, prospective volunteers must complete compulsory training by the date specified in the Call Regulations for a given year.