European Employee Volunteering Awards Case Study Report - Increasing the employability skills of people facing barriers to work. A report published by Business in the Community (BITC), 2011.

Flash Eurobarometer 319a "Youth on the move",  Survey conducted by The Gallup Organization, Hungary upon the request of Directorate-General Education and Culture, European Commission, May 2011.

Description: The primary objective of the Flash Eurobarometer survey "Youth on the Move" (No 319a) was to study young EU citizens' participation in society. In detail, the survey examined young people's participation in:

- sports clubs, youth organisations, cultural organisations and non-governmental organisations

- political elections at the local, regional, national or EU level

- voluntary activities; particularly those aimed at changing respondents' local community/ environment

- activities and projects fostering cooperation between young people from various countries.

The Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports of the Czech Republic and the National Institute of Children and Youth are very pleased to invite you to the international conference within the framework of the European Year of Volunteering 2011 – "Voluntarily across the Border - Volunteering as a Tool for Connecting and Enriching Neighboring Border Communities", 22 -23 June 2011, Prague, Czech Republic.

The aim of the conference is to support creation of new opportunities in the field of cross-border volunteering, with a close focus on the cooperation of local communities in neighboring border regions in central Europe.

What you can expect from the conference?

The conference will welcome stakeholders from different sectors: non-governmental organizations, the public administrative sector (public servants as well as politicians from regional and local levels), companies, grant agencies and other donors. This composition will enable exploration of the widest possible of cooperation. 9-12 examples of good practices in cross-border volunteering initiatives/projects will be presented. There will be an opportunity to present your organization, yourself and your network at the market of organizations. There will be facilitated time and space for initiating ideas and projects, and for finding partners to take the first steps towards creating new forms of cooperation.

Subsistence and lodging costs are covered by the organizers. There is no participation fee. Travel costs will not be reimbursed. The working language is English. Capacity is limited to 80 participants.

If you are interested to attend the conference, you can apply online http://www.nidm.cz/public-relations/international-confererence-voluntarily-across-the-border. Please register no later than May 23, 2011.

Volunteers provide an invaluable service to countless communities around the globe, yet often their sacrifice and dedication are underappreciated and go unrecognized.

To mark this year's World Red Cross Red Crescent Day – 8 May 2011 – the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement is calling for greater recognition of the sizable contribution volunteers make in a world increasingly confronted by challenges linked to such adversities as natural disasters, disease, war and other armed violence, poverty, hunger and climate change.  Read More.

Volunteers from all over Europe prepare for the Euro Basket Tournament in Vilnius Lithuania.  Like so many other events and activities across Europe it is only because of the contribution of volunteers that the event can take place.  The volunteers are being recruited, trained and supported in their role by the Lithuanian Youth Council (LIJOT), a member of the EYV 2011 Alliance Executive Group member European Youth Forum (YFJ). 

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.

Give & Gain Day 24th June 2011

On the 24th June thousands of employees across the UK, and throughout the world, supported the community they work or live in by taking part in Give & Gain Day 2011 – the UK's only national day for employee volunteering.

By signing up to Give & Gain Day participants joined a growing movement of companies that will make a real difference on the issues that matter to schools, local charities and community groups across the UK.

At the same time, employers invested in their people by offering them the opportunity to take part in a fun and rewarding day that builds skills and makes them feel good about working for you. 

Going International

This year Give & Gain Day went international with activity taking place in 16 countries throughout the world resulting in 535 organisations providing over £3m worth of support going to communities most in need. 27, 530 employee volunteers worked on 422 projects to support over 330,000 individuals. Activity in the UK alone supported 25,406 pupils/excluded individuals to feel more ready for work, offering them insight into the workplace and the future career opportunities available to them.

Give & Gain Day 2012 is on the 18th May 2012 - whether you give an hour or a full working day – make a difference in those communities that need it the most and join www.giveandgainday.org.uk

First European Employee Volunteering Awards 2011 : Businesses across Europe are recognised for improving the employability skills of people who face barriers to work.

On 17 March winners of the first European Employee Volunteering Awards 2011 were announced at an exclusive reception held at Business in the Community’s (BITC) Responsible Business Convention 2011.

BITC developed the Awards scheme with 21 European partners from the CSR360 Global Partner Network in recognition of the European Year of Volunteering 2011.

Sue Adkins, International Director, BITC said: “Employment continues to be a central concern for the European Union, in particular the importance of addressing barriers to employment, experienced in more disadvantaged communities. Around 100 million Europeans engage in some form of voluntary activity – if they were a country they would be the biggest member state of the EU. BITC is delighted to be supporting the first European Employee Volunteering Awards and celebrate the wonderful contributions that these millions of volunteers make every day.”

Over 250 entries from 22 countries across Europe were received:

The Final awards event took place in London, UK but the Awards were run in 22 countries across Europe:

Belgium
Czech Republic
Estonia
Finland
France
Georgia
Germany
Greece
Hungary
Ireland
Italy
Netherlands
Poland
Romania
Serbia
Slovakia
Spain
Switzerland
Turkey
Ukraine
Scotland
UK

 

The European Employee Volunteering Awards were co-funded by the European Commission and kindly supported by Alliance Boots, Hewlett Packard and Tata Consultancy Services.

The awards ceremony included a poster exhibition of the 60 national award winners and the launch of a Case Study report showcasing best practice from across Europe.

 

The Awards were presented by:

Ornella Barra – Chief Executive, Pharmaceutical Division, Alliance Boots;

Brendan Burns – Member of the European Economic and Social Committee;

Jane Hodgen, UK&I Human Resources, Tata Consultancy Services;

Sue Bird – DG Employment, Social Affairs and Equal Opportunities, European Commission and 

John MacDonald – Head of Task Force for the European Year of Volunteering 2011, European Commission.

Awards were given for the following 5 category winners:

Large Company Winner: Koç Holding A.Ş. (Turkey)

Small Company Winner: NORSYS (France)

Innovation Winner: MITIE Group (United Kingdom)

Newcomer Winner: Abbott (Ireland)

Public Authorities Winner: Magistrate of the City of Wiesbaden, Office for Social Affairs (Germany)

 

Through rewarding company’s Employee Volunteering Schemes, BITC hopes to increase the level of employee engagement, particularly during 2011, the European Year of the Volunteer and the UN Year of the Volunteer.
 
The Case Study Report demonstrates the value of corporate volunteering and how at these uncertain economic times, businesses can play a crucial role in enabling people back into work.

Related links
For more information contact: Tessa Kipping, CSR360 Global Partner Network Manager at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or on +44 (0)20 7566 6642
For more information about the European Employee Volunteering Awards please visit: http://www.bitc.org.uk/global/european_volunteering_awards/index.html
For more information about removing barriers to work please visit: http://www.bitc.org.uk/community/employability/work_inclusion.html
For more information about setting up employee volunteering programmes please visit: http://www.bitc.org.uk/community/employee_volunteering/
For more information about setting up employee volunteering programmes internationally please visit: http://engagetoolkit.bitc.org.uk/

Regional and local authorities in action during the European Year of Volunteering 2011. Proceedings of the Forum held at the Committee of the Regions (CoR) on 26 January 2011 in Brussels. Edited by the Directorate for Communication, Press and Protocol of the Committee of the Regions, March 2011.

More information including speeches, presentations and a video can be found at www.cor.europa.eu/EYV2011