Self-Assessment Tool

AKLHÜ e.V. - Netzwerk und Fachstelle für internationale personelle Zusammenarbeit/Network and Policy Association for International Personnel Cooperation is a public-benefit association with 70 member organisations operating in the fields of personnel development cooperation, international volunteer service and development education. Its registered office is in Bonn, Germany.

Assisted by its member organisations, AKLHÜ organises specialist meetings and discussion groups to advance the idea of a development and volunteerism as social and peace services. AKLHÜ offers a forum for public discussion, and promotes networking among national and international actors.

The Association ‘Learning and Helping Overseas’ was formed in 1963, and was the first association of initiatives and organisations with practical relevance to personnel development cooperation. Founding members included active development and volunteer services, student groups, foundations, and educational institutions. In recent years, AKLHÜ has become an independent and member-financed association, and in the course of those developments it changed its name to ‘Network and Policy Association for International Personnel Cooperation’, retaining its original acronym, ‘AKLHÜ’.

Within the system of German development cooperation, AKLHÜ is a central umbrella organisation on issues and technical topics between national and international actors in development cooperation, and it plays an important networking role. It supports members in their efforts to achieve goals that are formulated jointly with their partners in various countries around the world, as a way of contributing to development.

Cooperation partnerships are an important way for AKLHÜ to support its members’ interests at various levels.

For 70 years, Australian Volunteers International (AVI) has brought the right people together to share skills and knowledge, building locally-driven capacity where it’s needed most – in people, organisations and systems.

Interpersonal relationships are central to AVI's approach. That's why they invest in long term partnerships with a range of businesses, governments and non-profit organisations.

These partnerships flourish into rewarding, cross-sector exchanges where learnings flow both ways, resulting in collaboration across cultures and a more informed and understanding Australian community.

AVI manages the contract for the Australian Volunteers Program, an Australian government funded initiative. The program is implemented in consortium with DT Global and Alinea International.

Comhlámh is a member organization that works to mobilize for an equitable and sustainable world. As the Irish association of development workers and volunteers, Comhlámh promotes responsible, responsive international volunteering and development work.  We support people in their journey of working for social justice.

We work with returned volunteers, partner organizations, and member groups to foster just, inclusive societies, through progressive grassroots activism in Ireland and internationally.

Since 1961, Cuso International has undergone a number of changes to become the organization we are today. Almost six decades on, we are still anchored by our vision to create a world where all people are able to realize their potential, develop their skills and participate fully in society. We do this by working with our organizational partners to develop and deliver programs that tackle poverty and inequality. For certain projects, we connect communities with skilled volunteers who share their knowledge to build lasting and positive change.

Cuso was created by a group of Canadian university graduates on June 6, 1961. They had a vision of a more connected world. A world where the social constraints people are born into wouldn’t dictate the entirety of their life.

These young people took a great leap of faith, rallied hundreds of other young graduates across Canada and founded Canadian University Service Overseas. Each young volunteer took their role as a Canadian “ambassador” very seriously as they filled skill gaps in developing countries as teachers, nurses and agriculturalists.

Over the next few decades as these early partners became the educators, health care professionals and natural resource managers, Cuso shifted its focus to tackling the root causes of poverty and inequality. Today, we work with our partners to amplify their impact in their communities to advance gender equality, increase access to education, develop economic opportunities and enhance women and girls’ health. Cuso International is a registered charity in Canada and the United States.

Forum is a global network of organisations involved in international volunteering. We promote the value of volunteering for development through policy engagement, mutual learning and by sharing innovative and good practices.

France Volontaires is the French platform for International Exchange and Solidarity Volunteers. Created in 2009 in the form of an association, France Volontaires is the result of a shared partnership between public and associative actors involved in international solidarity. As an operator of the Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs, it brings together the State, local authorities and associations around a mission of general interest: the development and promotion of voluntary and solidarity commitments internationally. It relies on a presence in France (and overseas) and on a network of Volunteering Areas in Africa, Asia and Latin America.

Oxfam-Québec s’emploie à renforcer ses partenaires et alliés des pays en développement dans la conception et la mise en œuvre de solutions durables à la pauvreté et à l’injustice. Elle mobilise la population du Québec dans l’expression de sa solidarité.

Since 1991, the Singapore International Foundation (SIF) has promoted understanding and strengthened ties and trust between Singaporeans and world communities to uplift lives and effect positive change, building enduring friendships. This is done through various programmes that enable different communities to come together and collaborate for positive change.

Unité is an association, founded in 1964 that groups 13 Swiss organisations who have the main objective of establishing and reinforcing support and solidarity towards disadvantaged populations in the South. Its full members receive contributions from the Confederation for personnel exchange development programmes and are subject to institutional analyses, monitoring the quality of their assignments. More information about the SDC contribution and how it is used can be found here. Associated members do not receive contributions via Unité but can benefit from offers of trainings and participate in Unité's quality control work.

In the South, Unité's member organisations work in close partnership with local organisations. In Switzerland, their role is to train people wanting to get involved in cooperation as well as awareness-raising of questions regarding North-South relationships.

As an association, Unité represents the interests of member organisations and the exchange of personnel in general on a national level. Furthermore, it has the designation of becoming a Competence Centre of personnel exchange. Therefore, it continuously develops standards for this kind of cooperation and monitors the quality and efficiency of its member organisations' work through independent external analyses. It offers training to the staff of the Swiss member organisations and their coordinators in the South. Additionally Unité and its member organisations undertake studies on the relevance, impact and value-added of the exchange of personnel in development cooperation.

Volunteer Service Abroad - Te Tūao Tāwāhi (VSA) is New Zealand’s largest and most experienced volunteer agency, connecting people across the moana between New Zealand and other countries in the Pacific Region.

Volunteers live abroad or connect remotely from their homes in Aotearoa to share experience, knowledge and cultures. Working with business, government and organisations located abroad, we collectively transform lives of many, provide greater cultural understanding, and create a fair future for all.

WUSC is a Canadian non-profit organization working to create a better world for all young people. We bring together a diverse network of students, volunteers, schools, governments, and businesses who share this vision. Together, we foster youth-centered solutions for improved education, economic, and empowerment opportunities to overcome inequality and exclusion in over 15 countries across Asia, Africa, and the Americas.