A Picture of Volunteering in Diaconia. A publication by Eurodiaconia, May 2011.

Description: This publication is one of Eurodiaconia's activities carried out on the occasion of the European Year of Volunteering 2011 as a means to celebrate volunteering in diaconia and to promote the sharing of best practice in volunteering among Eurodiaconia's members. This publication is aimed at volunteer managers in diaconal organisations and churches and volunteering policy makers in diaconia. It is also targeted at anyone who would like to learn more about diaconia and in particular what volunteers do in diaconal organisations. The publication is also available on Eurodiaconia's website: http://www.eurodiaconia.org/publications-and-resources

On 30 November 2010 EUCIS-LLL co-organised a public hearing on "Recognising the role of volunteers and volunteering for social cohesion and active citizenship" with the European Civic Forum and Volonteurope in partnership with the European Economic and Social Committee in Brussels. An interesting debate took place on the recognition of volunteers and volunteering in the context of formal, non-formal and informal learning for social inclusion and active citizenship and the role of civil society organisations as the main supporters of volunteers

Final Report of the Research Seminar "Mobility of young people – Opportunities and obstacles for cross-border volunteering for young people, particularly with fewer opportunities" (European Youth Centre, Strasbourg 11-13 December 2011), a report produced for the EU-CoE youth partnership and does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the partner institutions

Young Volunteers Stand up!

On September 7-11, the European Youth Forum organised the biggest Civil Society event of the European Year on Volunteering proving and showcasing the impact and outreach of volunteers in youth organisations: the II Youth Convention on Volunteering.

The event, hosted by the European Parliament, was a space for young volunteers and youth organisations to work together, to discuss with European decision-makers and to celebrate the commitment of young people throughout Europe building a better Europe every day.

The Convention consisted of a wide range of activities, most notably the Stakeholder Conference on the Rights of Volunteers, the Volunteer Bridge dedicated to the EU-China Year of Youth, the Volunteers Village, hosting Member Organisations' and other partners' stands and activities, the launch of the European Youth Forum Alumni Network and the YO!Fest which celebrated 15 years of the European Youth Forum.

Part of the Convention was the Volunteer Bridge, one of the flagship events of the 2011 EU-China Year of Youth, organised by the European Youth Forum in partnership with the All-China Youth Federation, the European Commission and the European External Action Service and with the support of the Policy Dialogue Support Facility. A World Music Village Workshop, a Graffiti Workshop and the III China-Europe Symposium on Youth Work Development featured in this event. It provided an experience of volunteering and showcased the contribution of participatory youth organisations to the volunteering sector and to society.

The Village provided the space to more than 80 organisations, Members and non-Members of the platform, to present their work, to bring forward the added value of volunteering within their specific contexts and to engage participants and visitors in a set of workshops and interactive sessions. This Village showed the diversity and strength of youth work and the work of youth organisations. The Youth Forum therefore held a meeting in the Village with experts of the institutions who work on the new cycle of EU Programmes dedicated to Youth.

Overall the Convention gave visibility to volunteering in youth work, showcased the impact of youth organisations, provided them with a space for exchange and to learn from best practices and gave political visibility to the European Youth Forum across the institutions in Brussels. One of the first results was the support to the draft Charter on the Rights and Responsibilities of Volunteers from several important actors such as Mr. Staffan Nilsson, President of the European Economic and Social Committee, Mr. Gianni Pittella, Vice-President of the European Parliament, Ms. Isabelle Durant, Vice-President of the European Parliament, Mr. Jean-Pierre Vandersteen, Director General for Communication of DG Communications (EC), Ms. Marian Harkin, EP Coordinator of the European Year of Volunteering.

 

The video report of the Convention can be viewed on the Youth Forum's Vimeo page.

EUCIS-LLL key messages on the European Year 2011 on Volunteering

The European Civil Society Platform on Lifelong Learning (EUCIS-LLL) brings together 25 European networks working in education and training. Together, they cover all sectors of education and training including networks for secondary and higher education, vocational education and training, adult education and popular education. Together they represent millions of students, school heads, parents, human resources professionals, teachers and trainers, reaching out to hundreds of millions learners all over Europe and beyond.

Volunteering plays an indispensable and capital role in lifelong learning. EUCIS-LLL key messages on the European Year 2011 are the result of the discussions that took place during the EUCIS-LLL annual conference on "The role, place and value given to volunteering in education and training" (9 May 2011, Krakow) and EUCIS-LLL working group on the social dimension of education and training.

Traditional Scout campaign revived

The Scout Association plans to re-launch the campaign that was once very successful. Bob-a-job week, first introduced after the Second World War, became an annual fixture in which boys knocked on doors to ask for work to do and expected a shilling in their fundraising envelope in return. It will be in modern form and will be called Community Week, designed to comply with health and safety laws and to avoid the risk of compensation claims.

Instead of offering to wash cars or mow lawns for a shilling, the new 'community week' will see Scouts offering help to hospitals, care homes or volunteer groups. Around 40,000 scouts are expected to undertake activities. Sometimes there will be tasks carried out for private households in return for a donation to the local scout troop - although with the ruinous level of inflation they would probably hope that the old rate of a shilling would be superseded by something higher.

Probably the greater focus will be on a single project lasting a week and involving the whole group - perhaps polishing items in a museum or doing some gardening for a hospital of care home, or clearing woodland or building work on a local playground. The work will be done for free but residents in the local community who appreciate it will

be invited to give money.

There are 400,000 scouts in the UK - aged from six to 25. There are another 30,000 on the waiting list to join as there is a shortage of adult volunteers. There are 94,000 of them but that isn't enough. 'Modern working patterns make it harder for people to commit to always be able to do a slot like a Tuesday evening,' the Scouts spokesman Simon Carter tells.

Junction49.co.uk is an online platform that inspires and supports young people across the UK aged 13-25 to set up and deliver their own social action projects around the issues that matter to them.  Through our dedicated helpdesk, young people receive tailored support and advice around how to plan their project, help with finding and applying for funding as well as putting them in touch with other young people who may be able to help.

The Region Friuli Venezia Giulia, Centro Servizi Volontariato Friuli Venezia Giulia and CSVnet, Italian Federation of Volunteer Support Centres, organise the International Conference "Italy – Central and South Eastern Europe Volunteering and institutions in comparison - International Conference for the European Year of Volunteering 2011".
At the border between Italy and Slovenia, in Gorizia, from the 7th to the 9th October, the Conference opens up spaces for in-depth analysis and comparison between European, national and local institutions and voluntary organisations on issues fundamental for social cohesion and for the European strategy 2020.
As follow up of the first international conference "Dialogues of Europe: Italy – Balkans" in 2008,the second edition continues and analyses in depth issues such as diversity and social inclusion, young people and participation and, starting from these experiences, draws routes for development of shared planning and policies.
The event represents, moreover, an important occasion to involve in scheduled initiatives the volunteering systems of some countries not yet members of the European Union.
There are no charges for participation, but the registration is mandatory. For more information and for registration contact This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it . 

For more information, visit the website of the conference:
http://www.destinazioneeuropa.eu/calendario/dettaglio.asp?idevento=108&idambito=6http://dersuuzala/de2011aev/calendario/dettaglio.asp?idevento=15&idambito=2#testo
(English versions of programme and registration form at the bottom of the page)

The International Social Innovation Competition for Naples is open.

 

Working in partnership with local organisations and Unicredit Foundation we have identified 6 challenges in Naples such a villa confiscated to Camorra - the criminal group - to be turned into a profitable business for the community, and called social innovators to submit their solutions.

All innovators are eligible including public and private, profit and not for profit institutions, organisations and enterprises from across the world. This is an opportunity for everybody if interested in taking a challenge for the good of society testing his/her skills and creativity on a difficult ground as Naples.

An international jury will evaluate the applications and proclaim 6 winners at the international conference taking place in Naples on 21 - 23 September.

The winners will receive 10'000 € each one to transform the idea into a project working in partnership with local partners. The organisers will fundraise for the entire budget to implement every project they deem effective and sustainable.

To apply please here

Please contact This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it for any enquiries.

Are you running a project in which people are helping others via the Internet? The 'Discover e-volunteering' Competition is just for you! Hurry up – there are 6 days left to join the Competition, win prizes and show Europeans how much good they can do in the Web!

 

E-volunteering is volunteering conducted via the Internet. Free Web counseling, forming assistance and self-help groups, promoting partnership, searching for information, or on-line language courses are among many examples of e-volunteering. Through this Competition we hope to show their diversity and to encourage all Europeans to undertake social activity in the Internet!

All organisations from the European Union cooperating with volunteers through the Internet may take part in the Competition. The application form is available on the website: http://www.e-volunteering.eu/competition/ . The deadline for submitting the applications is July 31, 2011.

The Competition will consist of the following stages:

• May, 25 – July, 31, 2011 - Call for appliactions
• August, 22 – September, 5, 2011 – The Competition Selection Committee selects 9-12 best projects
• September, 12 – October, 12, 2011 – On-line voting
• November 2011 – Final Gala in Warsaw

Attractive financial awards for the Competition winners are funded by the Polish Fundacja Orange (1st prize) , Fondation Orange from France (2nd Prize) and Intel Technology Poland Ltd (3rd prize). The total sum of prizes in the Competition is 6 000 euro.

'Discover e-volunteering' is the only competition, both in Poland and in Europe, which aims at honouring and promoting the most interesting projects concerning the co-operation of non-governmental organizations with the e-voluntaries seeking to help others via the Internet.
It has been also chosen by the European Commission as one of the flagship projects of the European Year of Volunteering 2011.

Detailed information on the Competition, the Regulations, and promotional materials are available on the website: http://www.e-volunteering.eu/competition/

For more information please contact:

Patrycja Rokicka

This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Marzena Kacprowicz

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The European edition of 'Discover e-volunteering' is organized by the Good Network Foundation and Fundacja Orange, in cooperation with Competition Partners. The European edition of 'Discover e-volunteering' competition is pursued under the project 'Values ​​and activities of volunteering and e-volunteering' co-financed by the European Union. The European Union is not responsible for any content generated by the project.