What is the International Samaritan Network?
On the August 11, 1994, the following organizations have formed SAM.I:
- Arbeiter-Samariter-Bund Deutschland e.V. (ASB)
- Arbeiter-Samariter-Bund Osterreichs (ASBO)
- Dansk Folkehjaelp (DKFH) and
- Federation des SecouristesFrancais-Croix Blanche (CB)
Nowadays, this network counts 20 members from 19 countries and it is still in expansion.
IDC became its member in September of 2013. and is the only organization from Serbia that is a member of this network. SAMARITAN INTERNATIONAL has almost 3 million members, 150,000 volunteers and 45,000 employees in different countries and organizations.
Leading principles
SAMARITAN INTERNATIONAL is the European federation of non-profitable and non-governmental organizations which are independent of political and religious organizations, and working in the area of social services, civil protection, first aid and volunteer work. Cooperation among members has also been strengthened through disaster prevention and the development of international civil protection systems.
ADVOCACY
SAMARITAN INTERNATIONAL is the mediator, the agent between European institutions and its members in the area which are in the field of their work, and initially in the area of medical protection, volunteer work and humanitarian aid.
SAMARITAN INTERNATIONAL nourishes the mutual cooperation among all the organizations working in the area of interest for the members through a publication, organization of expert meetings and conferences, as well as the advocacy.
The activities carried out by SAMARITAN INTERNATIONAL are:
– Social services
– Qualified volunteering
– Civil protection
– European first aid
– Civil society in the EU environment
Social services
SAMARITAN INTERNATIONAL is dedicated to development of the quality and innovative social services in the area of elder support, children and working with youth as well as the area of care of people with disabilities.
Qualified volunteering
Members of the organization cannot perform their services without the contribution of 150,000 volunteers in all areas of activity: social services, first aid training or civil protection. While volunteers offer their time and engagement for free, organizations themselves must invest heavily in attracting, training and retaining volunteers. This investment is necessary to be able to provide a comprehensive range of services, in terms of different services offered, geographical and time coverage.
Civil protection
In October 2001, the European Commission established the EU Civil Protection Mechanism (UCPM). The mechanism aims to strengthen cooperation between EU countries and 9 participating countries in the field of civil protection in order to improve prevention, preparedness and response to disasters. EU Member States and Participating States allocate national emergency response resources to the European Civil Protection Pool (ECPP) and can request assistance in emergencies.
European first aid
SAMARITAN INTERNATIONAL has been actively advocating for a single European first aid certificate for many years. Member organizations of SAM.I. can offer their local population first aid training to a comparable standard, recognized by our working group, CC First Aid, as being based on the same state-of-the-art emergency medicine as defined by the European Resuscitation Council. This internal recognition is a practical initiative towards the goal of common recognition of national first aid certificates across Europe.
Civil society in the EU environment
The SAMARITAN INTERNATIONAL network brings together civil society organizations from the EU with civil society organizations from the countries of the Western Balkans and the Eastern Neighborhood. Experience has shown that those countries do not sufficiently deal with social policy during the preparations and negotiations for the EU membership process. Therefore, it is even more important and in the interest of the Union to strengthen and develop civil society outside the borders of the EU.