AIBIS Launches International Volunteer Programme (IVP)

The African Institute for Biodiversity and Sustainability (AIBIS) has launched an International Volunteer Programme (IVP) in the fields of biodiversity conservation, agroecology and climate justice.

Allan Kalangi, the AIBIS Executive Director has said that the programme is aimed at giving students, activists, conservationists and agroecologists an opportunity to have practical experience in those fields where most of them just have theoretical knowledge.

He said that the AIBIS Agroecology Demonstration Farm in Kyankwanzi District was designed already with the idea of hosting local and international volunteers in mind.

“Currently, we live in one global village. The challenges faced in one part of the globe easily escalate to another part. When it comes to issues of environmental protection and climate change, that is already one big global issue. Therefore, AIBIS found it of great importance to set up a centre for people from different parts of the world to converge and work on getting solutions collectively,” Kalangi said.

He added that AIBIS is working out some arrangements to enable it place some Ugandan volunteers in other parts of the world so that they can also acquire knowledge and experiences that can help them serve their communities better.

The first beneficiary of the AIBIS International Volunteer Programme is Vera de Vries from the Van Hall Larenstein University of Applied Sciences in the Netherlands. She is already working with the AIBIS team based in Kyankwanzi District.