EYV FLOW - Issue 17, January-February 2012

Welcome to the final EYV Flow. In the text or through hyperlinks you can find EYV 2011 Alliance news together with profiles of the members and announcements. You can find all the EYV Flows on our website here.

PAVE is endorsed by 30 EYV 2011 Alliance members 

The objectives of the EYV 2011 Alliance included the development of the Policy Agenda on Volunteering in Europe (P.A.V.E). The work took place largely in the framework of 6 working groups who met 5 times during 2011. P.A.V.E. was approved at the EYV 2011 Alliance Steering Group meeting in November 2011 and provides recommendations for a more efficient and effective European policy framework to support and promote volunteers, volunteering, volunteer-involving organisations and their partners. The Alliance members presented P.A.V.E to the European Commission at the 4th EYV 2011 Thematic Conference on 1st December 2011 in Warsaw. Download P.A.V.E.

EYV 2011 Alliance Working Group closing conference

With special support from Intel the working groups met for the final time in Warsaw to review and evaluate the work and provide their expertise about the next steps for the future to secure a policy legacy for EYV 2011. It is thanks to the expertise and commitment from the WG members that P.A.V.E was produced and all those who contributed are included in the full list of WG members in P.A.V.E. The conference was also attended by the Head of the EYV 2011 Task Force, John Macdonald and the Polish NCB representative Aleksandra Krugły who also thanked the WG members for their excellent work.

EYV 2011 Alliance secretariat volunteering

Céline and Gabriella volunteered on 21 December 2011 at the Nativitas Soup kitchen in Les Marolles, Brussels. Founded in 1975 Nativitas serves around 70-80 meals a day and provides other social support services (hygiene, cultural activities etc...). There is a team of regular volunteers and more volunteers are always welcome especially during the week for washing up duty and at weekends to cook. Gabriella also followed in the footsteps of the millions of parents across Europe who regularly volunteer to support their children's activities when she helped the following day with her daughter's school and Guide Christmas celebrations .

 A vision for Volunteering in the EU

Project Manager for the EYV Alliance, Gabriella Civico was interviewed by Europe Direct Andalucia to share the situation regarding volunteering in the EU, the objectives of the EYV Alliance and perspectives for the future European Policy framework for volunteering. Read the article in English of "En Movimiento" 2011 special edition on volunteering (Spain). Read the Magazine in Spanish. 

EYV 2011 Alliance featured in the EESC newsletter

In a front page interview Project Manager for the EYV Alliance, Gabriella Civico describes the excellent cooperation with the EESC during 2011 and describes what is needed to secure the EYV 2011 legacy. Read the EESC Newsletter.

Eurodesk Slovenia

The 27th issue of magazine Mladje published by Eurodesk Slovenia includes a Slovenian translation of the article »Volunteering – Why does it matter«, which was published in the 17th issue of Coyote magazine (July 2011). Read Mladje here.

CID National Conference on Volunteering 

Unable to be there in person, a video presentation describing the contribution of the EYV 2011 Alliance to EYV 2011 and in support of the recognition of volunteers and volunteering-involving organisations was delivered by EYV 2011 Project Manager Gabriella Civico.

Aces – Academy of Central European Schools

EYV 2011 Project Manager Gabriella Civico has been invited to be a jury member for the aces yearly project competition offering a support scheme for cross-border school partnership projects involving 15 central and south east European countries. The judging will take place in Senec (Slovak Republic) from 27-30 March 2012 in an event that will be attended by over 370 participants organised by Interkulturelles Zentrum in cooperation with Včelí Dom (Slovak Republic) who have been supporting cross-border co-operation between schools for more than 20 years.

XIVth State Volunteering Congress in Galicia, Spain 

Daniela Bosioc, CEV Policy and Project officer spoke on behalf of the EYV 2011 Alliance during the Congress that took place from 29th November – 1 December 2011 in A Coruña, Galicia, Spain. One of the sessions in the conference was dedicated to European volunteering policy and touched upon policy developments from the European Institutions, promoted the work of the EYV2011 Alliance in developing the Policy Agenda for Volunteering in Europe (P.A.V.E) and highlighted synergies between volunteering policy development at institutional and civil society level. 

European Charter on the Rights and Responsibilities of Volunteers

In order to better coordinate their work following up on the recommendations in P.A.V.E the European Youth Forum invited CSO partners to discuss the cooperation on the "European Charter on the Rights and Responsibilities of Volunteers" as outlined in the P.A.V.E recommendations. The participants to the meeting discussed the timeframe for further steps and it was agreed that these should be within the Alliance Project framework between January and March 2012. One aspect of the next steps is the online consultation that you can contribute here until February 15th 2012. 

UK award for Tamara Flanagan from Volonteurope 

EYV 2011 Alliance Steering Group member and working group co-chair Tamara Flanagan from Volonteurope has been awarded an OBE in the Queen Elizabeth II 2012 New Year Honour's list. This is a UK award which recognises distinguished achievement or service to the community and is therefore undoubtedly a well deserved reward for Tamara's commitment to supporting and promoting volunteering.

EYV 2011 3rd Thematic Conference Report 

The official report of the conference looking at volunteering through the eyes of volunteer organisations is now available. The conference was attended by over 100 representatives from the EYV 2011 Alliance members who joined other participants from Member State governments, businesses and Greek NGOs. Using participatory methods the conference was designed to be highly interactive, giving the participants a maximum of opportunity to express themselves. Read the report.

NCB Warsaw Declaration 

EC Communication 'Youth Opportunities Initiative' 

In this communication, non-formal learning is identified as way to tackle youth unemployment. The European commission announces that the budget allocation for the European Voluntary Service will be reinforced in order to provide at least 10 000 volunteering opportunities in 2012 because such work experience in another Member State can provide important skills and help young people enter the labour market. Read the communication. Read the communication.

European Humanitarian Aid Corps Call for Pilot Project Proposals

The European Voluntary Humanitarian Aid Corps 2012 Call for Proposals is now published. 2,450.000 EUR will fund the selected pilot projects. All proposals should be send before 5th March 2012. In addition any queries on the call can be addressed to ECHO-POLICIES@ec.europa.eu no later than 13 February. DG ECHO will publish the answers to these questions on the website mentioned above no later than 23 February. Read more.

EYV 2011 Tour in Valletta

The final EYV tour stop took place in Valletta in Malta between 28 November-4 December 2011. The EYV 2011 Tour Book published in December 2011 contains highlights, stories and photos about the events, activities, volunteers, organizations, celebrities and high-profile visitors that attended the Tour stops in all 27 EU Member states. The EYV Tour book is available here.

EY2012 & Volunteering

2012 is the European Year for Active Ageing and Solidarity between Generations (EY2012) and the volunteering dimension continues as the promotion of active ageing in the community through volunteering is included. The EY2012 Coalition published a joint publication which aims at informing and mobilising a wide range of actors and encouraging them to take concrete commitments for the European Year 2012 and beyond. This publication can be downloaded from the AGE website (in EN and FR). You can check the official website of the European Commission for EY2012 here.

EYV Alliance calls for a volunteering dimension in EY2013 

The EYV Alliance urges the EC to ensure that the 2013 European Year of the Citizens has a volunteering promotion dimension. Volunteering represents a key element in fostering European identity and active citizenship , in the exercise of the rights and responsibilities of the citizens.

Danish Presidency on volunteering and the elderly

Danish Presidency of the EU calls on the Council to "continue the discussion of how volunteers may help the elderly and how older people may participate in volunteer activities to a greater extent". Read more.

Quality in International Youth Volunteering 

From 25th to 27th of October 2011 INEX-SDA and the City of Prague organised an international conference on Quality Standards and Evaluation Methods in International Youth Volunteering Programs in the Mayor's Residence. Read the conference results here. 

The importance of youth volunteering highlighted 

The participants of the International Seminar "YOUTH VOLUNTEERING IN A CHANGING EUOPE", organized by Toplum Gönüllüleri Vakfı and Youth for Exchange and Understanding International in The frame Of the European Year of Volunteering 2011, have developed a declaration on the importance of youth volunteering addressing stakeholders who dedicate their work to young people. Read the declaration. 

Volunteering through Children's Eyes 

An initiative by IYV+10 staff and online volunteers help us to see volunteerism through Children's eyes. The creative paintings and drawings, inspiring stories and insightful quotes showcase the difference volunteerism makes in our lives. Read the e-book.

UN General Nations General Assembly adopts resolution on volunteering 

The United Nations General Assembly held two special sessions to commemorate the tenth anniversary of the International Year of Volunteers in December 2011. A Resolution calling for global action on volunteering, facilitated by the governments of Japan and Brazil and co-sponsored by a total of 97 countries, was adopted (Resolution 66/67). Read the draft resolution here (The final version should be publicly available by March 2011). 

 EYV 2011 Alliance- Membership Profile

 CSR Europe is the leading European business network for corporate social responsibility with around 70 multinational corporations and 27 national partner organisations as members. CSR Europe is a platform for: (i) connecting companies to share and develop best practice on CSR, (ii) innovating collaborative projects between companies and stakeholders, (iii) shaping business and policy dialogue on sustainability and competitiveness. Since its foundation in 1995, CSR Europe has since grown to become an inspiring network of business people working at the forefront of CSR across Europe and globally. Read the CSR Europe Activity Report on the European Year of Volunteering here. Read more.

The European Federation of Food Banks (FEBA) was founded in 1986 and brings together 240 food banks in Europe, which fight daily against hunger and food waste. Its goal is to give each person in Europe access to a sufficient and balanced diet. The FEBA network of 240 food banks supported by more than 7 800 regular volunteers recovers food from the food industry, retail stores, European and national food aid programmes or from individuals and redistributes it, free of charge, to 28 000 charitable organisations who work with the deprived. Read more.

EYV 2011 - Gifts of time for 2011

Almost 2 Million hours across Europe

During 2011 the EYV 2011 Alliance worked towards the symbolic collection of almost 2 million volunteer hours from across Europe. Users completed the online form enabling them to print a 1-page-commitment thanking for hours committed to volunteer. This collection of hours contributed to the increased recognition of the contribution of volunteers and showcased the diversity of volunteering across Europe. Several cities collected high numbers of hours, for example Kristianstad (Sweden), Galway (Ireland), London (UK), Brussels (Belgium) or Tallinn (Estonia).

Announcements

EYV 2011 Alliance Final Evaluation Process 

As we approach the end of the EYV 2011 Alliance project the final monitoring and evaluation results will allow the EYV 2011 Alliance to assess the success of the project and make informed decisions for the future. Please complete the online questionnaire by 13th February, your feedback is important! 

EYV Alliance SG Member Tamara Flanagan submits a draft Council of Europe motion for a resolution on the promotion of active citizenship in Europe to rapporteur Earl of DUNDEE, United Kingdom, European Democrat Group. Read here.

Eurodesk promotes EYV 2011: Try their online quiz and read the special publications.

EU News:

EU-CoE youth partnership: The EYV Alliance participated in the EU-CoE research seminar "Mobility of young people – Opportunities and obstacles for cross-border volunteering for young people, particularly with fewer opportunities" in December 2011, the final report is available here.

Overview of flagship projects : The end of EYV 2011 also means finalising the EYV 2011 Flagship Projects. The projects were designed to leave a lasting legacy for EYV 2011 and the results will be disseminated later in 2012 in the official report of EYV 2011. For an overview of the projects click here. For more details contact the relevant NCB.

EYV Tour Book: The EYV 2011 Tour Book published in December 2011 by the European Commission contains highlights, stories and photos of the Tour stops in all 27 EU Member states. Read more

EYV 2011 Website: The European Year of Volunteering 2011's website will be archived and accessible only for consultation from 1 April 2012. Before this date, you can still send your contributions and stories following the same procedure as in 2011. The Citizenship website has been revamped recently and a specific section on the European Year of Volunteering 2011 has been created with the main information about the Year. The policy documents can be found in that section and all the future relevant information and policy documents on volunteering will be uploaded in that section as from now.

Resolution on the Importance of involving older people in volunteering activities (European Parliament), 2011. Read more

Youth in Action Programme, European good practice projects, focus on: European Voluntary Service (European Commission), 2011. Read more

Let's act today for the Europe of tomorrow. Europe for citizens Programme 2007-2013 (European Commission), 2010. Read more

Communication on Youth Opportunities Initiative (European Commission), 2011. Read more

Council conclusions on the role of voluntary activities in sport in promoting active citizenship (Council of the EU), 2011. Read more.

Communication from the European Commission: A renewed EU strategy 2011-14 for Corporate Social Responsibility, Brussels, 2011, COM(2011) 681 final. Read more. Read more

EbS, the Audio Visual team at the EC, have made available the third volunteering stockshots featuring volunteers from the EYV 2011 Alliance to be used free of charge by anyone.

Upcoming events:

February 8-11, 2012: "Young Volunteers in Sport" expert meeting by MOVISIE, NISB, Dutch National Agency for the Youth in Action Programme, The Netherlands.

February 14-17, 2012: SEVEN NETWORK: A Conference on Senior Volunteering. IMP.ACT. IMProving ACTion of Senior Volunteers in Europe, Frankfurt am Main, Germany. Download info or Program.

March 6, 2012: SOLIDAR Silver Rose Awards 2012, Brussels, Belgium.

March 19-20, 2012: European Sportvision2012 conference "Volunteering / Fitness Doping / Financing & Health", Copenhagen, Denmark

May 9-10, 2012: CEV Symposium 'Innovation and collaboration: strengthening societies together', Copenhagen, Denmark

European Economic and Social Committe Civil Society Prize 2011 - Rewarding excellence in civil society initiatives. Read about the winners.

The Volunteer Awards 2011 in Hungary were presented by the National Volunteer Centre in Hungary (OKA). Read about the winners.

Research and reports

Policy Agenda on Volunteering in Europe P.A.V.E (EYV 2011 Alliance), 2011. Read more

Position paper on volunteering (EUCIS-LLL), 2011. Read more

Volunteering, Making a difference (ESN Magazine), 2011. Read more

CSR Europe Activity Report. The European Year of Volunteering 2011 (CSR Europe), 2011. Read more

Volunteering for Democracy. Dangers and opportunities for good governance and active citizenship (ALDA), 2011. Read more

Position paper on active ageing through older volunteering (AGE), 2011. Read more

Better Return on Investment - better for CS and Europe (European Commission Structured Dialogue Group), 2010. Read more.

Corporate Responsibility Report (Intel), 2010. Read more

The Future of Volunteering: Concepts, Trends, Visions (CEV), 2011. Read more

Preliminary results of the groundbreaking survey on volunteer work in Poland (central statistical office of poland, Department Pozytkuznego), 2011. Read more

European Year of Voluntary Activities, Promoting Active Citizenship in Poland (Polish Ministry),2011. Read more

Working Paper revisiting the question 'what exactly is volunteering' (IVR), 2010. Read more

Volunteering as a participation pathway (NCVO, IVR, Big Lottery Fund), 2011. Read more

State of the World's Volunteerism Report (United Nations Volunteers), 2011. Read more

Final Report - 64th Annual UN DPI/NGO Conference (UN), 2011. Read more

International Voluntary Service in Southern African Development Community (VOSESA), 2011. Read more

Has EYV 2011 created a more enabling environment for volunteering in Europe? Is volunteering free of cost? Your opinion counts, vote here !

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