European Commission The European Year of Volunteering 2011 – progress so far John Macdonald Head of EYV 2011 Task Force European Commission DG COMM – C.2

European Commission “The European Year of Voluntary Activities Promoting Active Citizenship (2011)” Council Decision of 27 November

European Commission Key facts 3

European Commission 94 million people 23% of Europeans > 15 years old 4

European Commission Key challenges in the EU   Lack of data on volunteering   Lack of national volunteering strategies   Lack of a clear legal framework   Increasing professionalisation & skills mismatch   Lack of recognition of skills and competences   Problem with finding sustainable funding

European Commission What did we set out to do?

European Commission Objective 1: Create an enabling environment for volunteering BeforeAfter Lower obstacles to volunteering

European Commission Objective 2: Empower volunteer organisations

European Commission Objective 3: Recognise volunteering activities

European Commission Objective 4: Raise awareness about value & importance of volunteering

European Commission Commission’s Budget for the Year  € 3 million for Preparatory Actions in 2010  € 8 million for the Year itself  + other sources…

European Commission So, the stage was set!

European Commission We needed to build up momentum for change… …but how?

European Commission Our advantage: there are many, many interested parties! 14

European Commission EYV 2011 The Commission The National Coordination Bodies The “EYV 2011Alliance”

European Commission The National Coordination Bodies   The ‘voice’ of the Member State authorities   Were asked to develop a national action plan   Useful focus on volunteering   Responsible for EYV activities at national level   Led to lots of conferences and events across EU

European Commission The EYV2011 Alliance   39 EU-wide volunteering networks such as the European Red Cross, Caritas, European Youth Forum, etc.   The ‘voice’ of volunteering   Set up six working groups: they report on their work in December

European Commission European Parliament Council of Europe Committee of the Regions European Economic & Social Committee United Nations Non-EU Countries Non-Alliance volunteering organizations etc… EYV 2011 The Commission The National Coordination Bodies The “EYV 2011Alliance”

European Commission The importance of ‘Subsidiarity’ The decision-making power in most policies that affect volunteering lies with the relevant Member State authorities

European Commission How do we keep the momentum going?

European Commission EU-level thematic conferences   Four conferences   Bring together government, business and civil society   Aim: stimulate policy-making legacy for the European Year

European Commission Multilingual website     Includes non-EU activities   Human interest stories, official documents, news, downloadable resources   Lively: 6 new items per day   One-stop-shop for EYV agenda   Complements the EYV2011 Alliance’s website (

European Commission EYV ‘Tour’ and Relay   Showcase for volunteering in each country   Comes to the capital cities   Stays for about a week   Provides media moments   Volunteer ‘Relay Reporters’ cover the Tour   A/V and written reports uploaded to our website   ‘Best of’ compilation to be made into a TV documentary about the Year

European Commission Flagship projects   EUR 2 million available   For innovative projects that bring together minimum of 4 partners from volunteering organisations and public sector   35 projects chosen   Results will be known in 2012

European Commission Major political milestones at the EU level  Commission Communication on EU Policies and Volunteering (20 September 2011)  Council Conclusions on ‘the role of voluntary activities in social policy’ (3 October 2011)

European Commission International milestones  United Nations Volunteers acclamation of ‘Declaration on Volunteering for a sustainable future’ (17 September 2011)  Council of Europe Committee of Ministers adopted their reply to the Recommendation of CoE Parliamentary Assembly on volunteering (15 September 2011)

European Commission International milestones (cont’d)   ILO publishes the ‘Manual on the Measurement of Volunteering’   Developed by Johns Hopkins University’s Center for Civil Society Studies   Supported by UNV

European Commission Thematically-linked European Years help keep the ball rolling!  2010: EY against Poverty and Social Exclusion  2011: EY of Volunteering  2012: EY of Active Ageing & Inter- generational solidarity  2013: EY of the Citizen (to be confirmed) Volunteers are important in all these areas!

European Commission More information  Your country’s National Coordination Body  Our official website at  The EYV 2011 Alliance website at

Volunteer! Make a difference