Marian Harkin (ALDE), lead MEP for volunteering-related subjects in Parliament and among the promoters of the European Year of Volunteering 2011, wants to hear your story!

Are you a volunteer? What kind of activity have you been involved in? Or maybe you aren't yet but would like to become one? What do you think of this way of helping people? Marian Harkin (ALDE), lead MEP for volunteering-related subjects in Parliament and among the promoters of the European Year of Volunteering 2011, wants to hear your story!

She will join us for a chat on Saturday at 10:15, during Parliament's Open Day in Brussels. She will listen to your ideas and experiences ahead of Parliament's debate on volunteering in Europe.

The Year of Volunteering aims both at celebrating the commitment of millions of Europeans who engage in some form of volunteering, and at raising the profile of such activities.

Join us on Saturday 7 May from 10:15 to 10:45!

Interview to Marian Harkin on the European Year of Volunteering

CEV Symposium: " The future of volunteering: concepts, trends, visions", will be organised on 4th – 6th May 2011 in Tallinn (Estonia).

The topic of voluntary action has gained momentum in Europe over the past years. The European Year of Volunteering 2011 is the latest peek in the growing public awareness that our societies are better of with active citizens. The coming months will see manifold projects, activities and awareness raising campaigns to further promote, facilitate and develop voluntary action all over the continent and beyond. This seems like a perfect moment for us to hold our breath and to ask ourselves: Quo vadis volunteering? Where are we and where should the journey go? What are the current trends in our sector and what is our vision for the future?

Many new features and new developments characterise the voluntary sector with the new information technologies playing an ever rising role in our daily lives; an increasing commercialisation of international voluntary service placements; the appearance of business players in the nonprofit world of volunteering; with changing patterns of engagement by volunteers; and with our societies facing an economic and financial crises that may lead to unprecedented transformations to our societies and to the way the state perceives the unpaid contribution of citizens to economy and society. These and other developments have led our sector to ask questions such as: Where are the boundaries of volunteering? What are its inviolable core concepts and principles that we need to defend? What are opportunities and threats of further unleashing the potential of voluntary action to make our societies the places we want to live in? How do we shape tomorrow's volunteering and how do we empower volunteers to shape tomorrow's society?

Our conference will strive to achieve the following objectives:

1. To provide an overview of the current trends in volunteering;

2. To facilitate a space for debate on controversies that have developed over time;

3. To identify the core concepts and inviolable values of volunteering we adhere to and that we want to safeguard;

4. To develop a vision for the decades to come of how volunteering will continue to serve as a central cornerstone in all European countries.

Please find the draft programme, as well as the registration form, and tourist an hotel information on our website:  http://www.cev.be/136-2011_may_%28tallinn_estonia%29_the_future_of_volunteering_concepts_trends_visions-EN.html.

Please note: the deadline for registration is 23th April. Registration forms should be sent to This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it . Should you need any further detail or clarification, do not hesitate to contact the CEV Secretariat at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

"Volunteering across Europe. Organisations, promotion, participation" 27 country reports, volumes I, II, III, IV, V and VI. The research is coordinated by: Spes - Centro di Servizio per il Volontariato del Lazio, SPES – Volunteer Support Centre of the Lazio region, the publications of the research are under the patronage of National Observatory for Volunteering - Osservatorio Nazionale per il Volontariato, 2006-2011

Read and download all the country reports here.

Summary: Country reports of the research on volunteering in the European Union, collaborative effort of numerous partner organisations, gathering the available data on the third sector, its definitions and values, legal framework and in-depth studies on centres and on mechanisms for the support and promotion of volunteering. A first ground for comparative analyses on the infrastructure for volunteering in Europe.

"Volunteering across Europe. Organisations, promotion, participation" 27 country reports, volumes I, II, III, IV, V and VI. The research is coordinated by: Spes - Centro di Servizio per il Volontariato del Lazio, SPES – Volunteer Support Centre of the Lazio region, the publications of the research are under the patronage of National Observatory for Volunteering - Osservatorio Nazionale per il Volontariato, 2006-2011

Read and download all the country reports here.

Summary: Country reports of the research on volunteering in the European Union, collaborative effort of numerous partner organisations, gathering the available data on the third sector, its definitions and values, legal framework and in-depth studies on centres and on mechanisms for the support and promotion of volunteering. A first ground for comparative analyses on the infrastructure for volunteering in Europe.

EYV 2011 Alliance Executive Group member the European Youth Forum invites all relevent stakeholders to participate in the open discourse towards a European Charter on the Rights of Volunteers.  To join this debate and contribute expertise see the briefing included here.

OPINION of the Committee of the Regions (CoR) on youth on the move, EDUC-V-008, 88th plenary session, 27 and 28 January 2011

p7 "notes that the 2011 European Year of Volunteering will provide an opportunity to: (a) demonstrate, among other positive aspects, the value to young people of voluntary activity as a means of helping to develop their professional career paths; and (b) to address the obstacles to volunteering and the need for appropriate legal frameworks to protect volunteers' rights and entitlements;"

Volunteers from some of the European Youth Forum member organisations describe what they do as volunteers in this inspiring video.  Click Here.

Briefing paper # 26 - Volunteering and the European Year on Volunteering 2011. Briefing paper by Solidar (Conny Reuter, Francesco Zoia Bolzonello, Mathias Maucher). December 2010

Good healthy day.

 

My Name is Engr. Mohammad Bakhrieba, public goodwill ambassador for Ambassadors of the World program, that has started in 86 counties
world wide, I do social projects in Saudi Arabia in coordination with the Ministry of Health and now the ministry of Culture and
information. All the projects we conducted have made great impact on the society at the national level as we align our efforts with the
international community plans for the United Nation that meets the Saudi Government vision.

We will be pleased to participate and support any initiative that will impact the mutual understanding and sustainability for our young generations among the
world, we are very keen to partner, share and learn from our colleagues in Europe.

Yours Truelly,
Engr. Mohammad Bakhrieba,
Public Goodwill Ambassador, AWP,
UN-WHO International Organizational Partner,
Founder of STOP TB Jeddah Group,
AWP - International Coordinator.

Global Trends in NGO Law, The Legal Framework for Volunteerism : Ten Years After International Year of Volunteers 2001. A Global Trends in NGO Lawissue of the The International Center for Not-for-Profit Law (ICNL), 2010.