The China Africa Initiative welcomes passionate individuals, including young people, who are willing to become members and volunteer their time and energy towards building the next generation of mutually beneficial and friendly relations between China and Africa.
Whether you are into sciences or arts, it doesn’t matter what field of endeavor you are coming from.
Membership of the China Africa Initiative is currently open upon the payment of an annual membership due, which can be done monthly or quarterly for convenience.
As a member of the initiative, you participate in carrying out some assignments that will help in projecting the initiative and enhancing cooperation between China and Africa.
The assignments that every member can engage in are listed below followed by the benefit.
Basic Assignments:
All members of the Initiative are expected to engage in the Basic Assignment, which include:
Specialized Assignments:
The following specialized assignments are not constantly available, so it is only advisable but not mandatory that all members participate in them.
propagating the objectives of the initiative – to enhance China-Africa cooperation there is work for you to do and there are also benefits to be derived.
Let us highlight the work that can be done first.
Accumulate Work Experience
Benefit of working with an International Organization
Employers are well aware that working for an international organization, whether as a volunteer or paid staff, helps you learn how to build relationships with foreigners and also build stronger cross-cultural sensitivity, tolerance, self-reliance, and dependability. So they usually favor employees with some level of international contact.
Improve Skills
Recommendation Letter
As a member of CAI, you are assumed to be a volunteers
BENEFITS
Benefit of being a member of the China-Africa Initiative includes but is not limited to the following (each member can benefit from one or more):
Priority Consideration for Volunteer Positions from PASDO and the United Nations Online Volunteers (UNV) Platform
As an internationally-oriented organization that actively engages volunteers, PASDO has been recognized and officially registered with the United Nations Volunteers Service (UNV).
This enables PASDO to publish volunteering tasks on the UNV website for volunteers from around the world to apply.
Members of the China Africa Initiative (CAI) who apply for any of PASDO’s volunteering opportunities on the UNV can get priority consideration since their membership of CAI is already some kind of evidence of their interest for international development.
Volunteers who successfully complete their assignments to satisfactory standard are usually awarded electronic Certificates that features the UNV logo.
These certificates are very useful for educational, career or political purposes.
Self fulfillment and Satisfaction.
The China-Africa Imitative (CAI) demonstrates how responsible and well-meaning people and organizations can put in little efforts to help achieve much bigger positive impacts both nationally and internationally.
Being a member of CAI offers you that opportunity to impact the world in meaningful ways.
Anytime CAI executes a project or is in the news, you can beat your chest and be proud that you helped make that happen.
Accumulate Work Experience
A member of the initiative who is in good standing (by keeping to the mandatory responsibilities) may claim to have worked for PASDO, though on a voluntary, less-formal basis.
So students, unemployed individuals and other interested persons can begin to gradually accumulate work experience by becoming a member of the China-Africa Initiative and helping execute some assignments.
This is subject to the Regulations below and approval from PASDO as at the time of need.
Members who have received consent may be assigned titles that include but not limited to the following, depending on the nature of activities that they have engaged in:
– Advisor (general)
– Research Assistant
– Trade Advisor
– Procurement Assistant
– Product Sourcing Assistant
– Tourist guide
– Logistics Advisor
– Planning Assistant
– Delegate, etc.
Such work experience is usually helpful for both local and international employment or educational endeavors.
Each year as a member of CAI can count towards work experience for you.
Added Advantage of an International Organization
Employers are well aware that working for an international organization, whether as a volunteer or paid staff, helps you learn how to build relationships with foreigners and also build stronger cross-cultural sensitivity, tolerance, self-reliance, and dependability. So they usually favor applicants or employees with some level of international exposure.
Get Certificate/Recommendation Letter
Long-standing members who put in their best to promote the Initiative and its objectives can get a Certificate or Letter of Recommendation from PASDO for the good work they have done.
Build confidence, interpersonal and other soft skills
Getting engaged in CAI activities can help to build your skills and confidence.
When you take on assignments that have to do with interacting with other people (both the high and low), you build your interpersonal skills. When you do assignments that has to do with the use of technology (like making videos), you acquire useful skill. Almost all activities you engage in for the China Africa Initiative helps you build one skill or another.
Connect with high profile persons and build useful network
In carrying out some assignments for the Initiative, CAI members get to meet and network with high profile individuals in the society, including top management personnel of in the academia, politics or in reputable companies. Having such contacts can have lifelong benefits.
Earn some stipend.
Members who help to facilitate some assignments under CAI that involve monetary transactions may receive some stipend as incentive.
This is not absolute and will only apply on a case by case basis, depending on the type of transaction that has been carried out.
TASK FOR MEMBERS
As a member of the initiative, you are expected to keep to some basic responsibilities and also participate in carrying out some assignments that will help in strengthening the initiative and enhancing cooperation between China and Africa.
Basic Responsibility:
The basic responsibilities are quite simple and doesn’t cost much to carry out. All members of the Initiative are expected to the following responsibilities:
– Be of good conduct
– Pay annual membership due: all members are required to pay specified annual dues.
For convenience, however, members may elect to pay the dues on monthly or quarterly installments.
Members who default in paying their fees cannot claim benefits, and failure to pay prescribed dues at the right time could lead to loss of membership. See detailed regulations at the end of this page.
– Recruit at least two members to join CAI:
– Follow CAI on WeChat and LinkedIn, and Commit to engaging and sharing CAI updates on social media
– Participate in all CAI questionnaires, surveys.
– Attend CAI online meetings/lectures.
– Endeavor to participate in other calls or activities that are termed “general”.
Spread the word about the Initiative to your friends and colleagues.
– Follow CAI on social media (Wechat and LinkedIn). Details below.
– Engage with posts on social media by liking and offering meaningful comments.
– Share CAI Posts on social media
Social Media For CAI:
LinkedIn:
Specialized Assignments:
Specialized opportunities are not steady and the openings are usually quite few whenever they are available.
So it is only advisable but not mandatory that every member participate in them.
Under this, members can:
– Act as advisors by offering their opinion to help shape the general direction and policy of the China Africa Initiative. This sort of opinion is usually sought from time to time.
– Take actions to help promote educational cooperation between China and Africa.
As CAI is aiming to help establish cooperation with Chinese universities, actions that CAI members can take may include offering their opinion on the best approach to establish such cooperation for their academic institutions (for members who are students), helping to make simple inquiries in the schools, acting as emissaries/representatives or researching about existing partnerships from which CAI can learn from, etc.
CAI also aims to vigorously promote “Study in China” campaign to encourage more Africans to look to China for tertiary education as this would lead to more interactions and better understanding between the two parties.
Members of CAI can work in various capacities to help realize this objective.
– Take action to help promote trade between China and Africa.
The Initiative aims to facilitate the trade of goods and services by individuals and companies on both sides. This include helping African merchants source for and import products from Chinese companies.
For Chinese companies seeking to expand into Africa, CAI can help them to sell their goods and services in Nigeria and other African countries through already existing indigenous companies in Africa, thereby saving them the stress and of registering new companies and offering them a much smoother path.
For those that would actually need to venture into physical businesses in Africa, be it in mining, agriculture or other sectors, CAI can help with preliminary investigations and market research, as well as use it’s contacts with the government to ensure a smoother process.
Chinese companies who seek to import raw materials, agricultural produce and other kinds of goods can receive support from the Initiative.
CAI members will help facilitate these processes.
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Making inquiries via phone call or actual visit
Inspection
Acting as representative or agent for physical consultations
Joining as delegate for official meetings.
– Take action to help promote tourism between China and Africa.
– Take action to help promote language cooperation; teaching of Chinese language to Africans by native Chinese speakers, and teaching of English language to Chinese by Africans who are native English speakers.
IMPORTANT REGULATIONS
Members may derive membership benefits only when they meet with the stated membership responsibilities, including but not limited to being of good conduct and paying membership fees.
Regarding Membership Fees.
Member
This means that members who default in the stated responsibilities
First year members
It is important to note that members who are yet to pay for a complete calendar year cannot claim any membership benefit until such a time that.
Defaulting in payment of membership due for up to 3 months may lead to loss of membership