4
Ethical Communication in Volunteering: Online course
Ethical Communication in Volunteering: Online course
Sobre
This activity helps young people, volunteers, and youth workers explore how to communicate ethically and reflect critically in multicultural and international youth work settings.
By completing the E-tick online course, you’ll deepen your understanding of ethical communication, learn how cultural assumptions affect dialogue, and build skills for more respectful, inclusive, and globally aware interactions.
By completing this activity, you will:
- Understand key principles of ethical communication and global justice.
- Recognise how stereotypes and cultural biases affect language and perception.
- Reflect on how volunteering and youth work can become more respectful and inclusive across cultural contexts.
Get inspired
E-tick is an interactive online course designed for volunteers and youth workers — but useful for anyone interested in improving communication in intercultural settings. Through multimedia modules, real-life dilemmas, and practical tasks, you’ll explore how ethical communication helps challenge prejudice, support global justice, and empower young people to speak with intention and care.
The course builds on concepts from global education, critical thinking, and anti-bias practices. It is rooted in the idea that words matter — and that ethical communication is an essential part of responsible volunteering and social change.
Access the course here: https://ethicalcommunication.org/
Take action: activities for different roles
Explore the role-specific badges below to access tasks that help you apply ethical communication in your youth work and volunteering practice:
- Young people and volunteers can reflect on their own experiences, explore examples of biased communication, and build strategies for inclusive dialogue.
- Youth workers can integrate ethical communication training in their volunteer preparation and facilitate discussions on power, privilege, and global solidarity.
- Youth organisations can review their communication policies and volunteer preparation programmes to ensure they align with principles of ethical engagement and intercultural awareness.
Suggested follow-up activities include
- Run a story circle and have your participants share their (volunteer) moments ethically: Host a reflective group discussion where young people and/or volunteers share real experiences and consider how they communicated about them — what could have been done differently to respect dignity and context?
- Analyse real NGO social media posts: Choose real examples of communication (from campaigns, social media, or reports) and analyse their tone, framing, and assumptions. Discuss as a group how these messages could be more ethically framed.
- Design your ethical communication guide: Create a practical checklist or visual guide for your team, volunteers, or organisation. Include language tips, reflection prompts, and red flags for unethical storytelling. Share it internally or publicly.
Claim open badge recognition
After completing the activities, participants can earn digital badges that recognise competencies in:
- Ethical and intercultural communication
- Global education and critical thinking
- Inclusive storytelling and youth empowerment
Who created this resource?
This activity is based on the E-tick online course on ethical communication, co-developed by Zavod Voluntariat (Slovenia), Comhlámh (Ireland), INEX SDA (Czech Republic), FOCSIV (Italy), and Društvo Humanitas (Slovenia) as part of a European initiative to improve the quality of international volunteering through ethical storytelling and critical global awareness.
The Digital Systemic partnership and the Cities of Learning Network use their online course to create this activity to further promote digital youth work and showcase existing quality educational resources in the European youth work field.
Next steps: Try expanding your learning by creating your own case studies or scenarios for ethical storytelling or integrating E-tick modules into volunteer training programmes. Or use the example of this online course to explore what are the topics you are an expert in and how you can create and online course that you would be able to share with youth organisations world wide.
Resources
Get activity badge
Ethical Communicator Get this badge
Awarded for completing the E-tick interactive online course on ethical communication and reflecting on how language, culture, and power influence global conversations. This badge recognises your ability to engage critically and communicate with respect in intercultural and volunteer contexts.
Skills and experiences gained
This badge supports the development of:
- Ethical and inclusive communication
- Critical thinking and cultural awareness
- Awareness of global justice and bias in storytelling
- Confidence in navigating intercultural dialogue
- Reflection on the impact of communication in volunteering
Você precisa concluir 2 tarefas para receber a patente
Tarefas
Task no.1
Evidence verified by: one activity organiser
Task no.2
Evidence verified by: one activity organiser
Reflect on one personal or observed example of communication that failed to respect cultural or social context. What could have been done differently?
Task no.3
Evidence verified by: one activity organiser
Create a short guide or list of “do’s and don’ts” for ethical communication in your personal or volunteer work.
Organizadores
Digital Youth Work Resource Hub
A Badgecraft roda uma infra-estrutura web para Cidades e Regiões de Aprendizagem. O consórcio Europeu desenvolve esta plataforma com o co-financiamento do programa da União Europeia Erasmus+
Alterar idioma:
