MEP Michaela Šojdrová, Co-Chair of the proposed EP Volunteering Intergroup (VIG) and CEV have been working on gathering additional support.MEPs: Domènec Ruiz Devesa(S&D),Ellie Chowns(Greens), Maria Walsh(EPP), Patrizia Toia (S&D), Fred Matic (S&D) have all confirmed. Contact gabriella.civico(at)cev.be to identify additional Co-Chairs or members of this new intergroup and ensure its existence for the next 5 years in order to support and strengthen volunteering and solidarity in Europe. Vote Volunteer Vision!
#EURegionsWeek2019:
Led by the current EVCapital 2019, Košice, members of theEuropean Volunteering Capital Candidate Community (EVCCC) will host a participatory lab "Solidarity and Volunteering - European Rights and Values from the bottom up" on8th October from 14:30 - 17:00 in the Committee of the Regions, Brussels. The event will be followed by a networking cocktail at the Kosice Regional Office in Brussels from 18:00 - 20:30. Check the Agendaof the session for more information. No onsite registration will be allowed, so register here.
EUROPEAN VOLUNTEERING CAPITAL 2021
Strovolos (Cyprus), received the European Volunteering Capital 2021 Candidate Certificate on 29th July. Strovolos joins the unique European Volunteering Candidates Community (EVCCC) with other like-minded public authorities strengthening, inspiring and celebrating volunteering and solidarity in Europe. The certificate for Berlin (Germany), the other European Volunteering Capital 2021 Candidate, was presented earlier in July.
KOSICE STUDY VISIT
On 15-17 October, a study visit to Košice, EVCapital 2019, will take place when 18 representatives of the European Volunteering Candidates Community (EVCC) from Aarhus; Berlin; Cascais; Lisbon; Padova; Ringkøbing-Skjern; Stirling; & Strovolos will visit Kosice to understand better how volunteering in Kosice and Kosice Region is organised and supported.
STIRLING EVCAPITAL CANDIDATE 2020
Stirling, EV Capital Candidate 2020, is holding its 3rdFestival of Volunteering. Inspire Volunteering Awardswere given to teams of volunteers within charities, organisations, social enterprises, and groups to celebrate what volunteers can achieve when they work together.
YMCA at 175
On 5 August Gabriella Civico, CEV Director, attended theYMCA175 event in London. The event celebrated the175 years of YMCA was hosted by YMCA England and Wales. It gathered thousands of youth leaders, volunteers and YMCA members from 6 continents to celebrate the power of youth in bringing change to the world. The discussion focused on ideas and initiatives that can transform communities and shape lives which were also the objectives of London when it was the EVCapital in 2016.
Save the Dates: A list of upcoming events comprising information on activities CEV is organising and/or will be part of in partnership with institutions & other organisations in 2019, is available here.
CEV BOARD MEETING
CEV’s Board met in Sardinia to discuss and oversee the implementation of CEV’s work plan and strategy for 2019, 2020 and beyond. Are you interested to join the CEV Board from 2020 onwards? Contact gabriella.civico(at)cev.be for more details about the election process.
AUTUMN VOLUNTEERING CONGRESS
OPEN Registration! The CEV Autumn Volunteering Congress 2019 will take place on 20-21 November. The Congress will consist of the following events: the Lever UP International Conference, the #EVCapital 2021 Candidates Presentations, the CEV General Assembly & Elections, and the European Conference “Impact and lessons of ESC - Legal status, traditions and cultures of Volunteering and Solidarity in Europe”. It is supported by the Europe for Citizens Programme, Erasmus+, The Permanent Representation of the Slovak Republic to the EU, and by Košice, European Volunteering Capital 2019. Volunteers and representatives of civil society organisations, municipalities, and EU institutions are expected to participate. Register here and join us!
EUROPASS
Do you want to help shape the new Europass? Contact gabriella.civico(at)cev.be if you have a couple of hours available to test the new interface and its suitability for volunteers to showcase their skills and competencies acquired whilst volunteering.
EMPLOYEE VOLUNTEERING ONLINE TRAINING
CEV online Employee Volunteering training courses are taking place from May - October 2019. They are delivered in English and focus on three different modalities of Employee Volunteering (corporate volunteering), that can be realised in the context of a supportive employee volunteering policy. They are based on the content of the EVEN workbooks for employee volunteering. Find out more about the courses, how to participate, and the deadlines for registrations here.
WISH
Submissions are still being collected for WISH - Welcome, Inclusion and Support Hub for Refugees and Asylum-Seekers in Europe. WISH is an online platform, developed by CEV in the frame of the European Solidarity Corps, where volunteer-based and/or volunteer-led initiatives that support the inclusion and integration of migrants and refugees will be geographically displayed, categorised depending on the kind of support they offer. Submit your initiatives here.
VOLONTOURISM TOOL-KIT
CEV has prepared a voluntourism tool kit which aims to help volunteers find good practice volunteer programmes abroad. Check it out here.
EVS-REALM - QUALITY MENTORING FOR ESC
On 18-19 July, Giulia Bordin, CEV Project and Policy Officer, participated to the last EVS Realm Project meeting, in Cluj, Romania. The project outcomes aim to increase the quality of Full Time, long-term ESC volunteering projects, with a special focus on the mentoring dimension, highly underestimated and underused in ESC projects. Find the project outcomes here.
CSE INFOGRAPHICS
The Civil Society Europe working group on the Recognition of CSOs chaired by Gabriella Civico, CEV Director, prepared an infographic on the impact of CSOs to be used in meetings with officials or when the value of civil society organisations need to be demonstrated. The infographic can be found here.
VOLUNTEERING INFRASTRUCTURE PUBLICATION
A new Erasmus plus summer internfrom East Anglia University (UK) joined CEV, to work on new and updated chapters of the VIP and on developing a new section of the CEV website to serve as a repository of studies and reports focusing on the impact of volunteering. Learn more about Charlottehere.
ERASMUS PLUS
On 11 September, Gabriella Civico attended the Erasmus+ Coalition meeting, where general updates and key points for the meeting with DG EAC on the design of the future programme, in particular with regards to civil society cooperation, were discussed, together with the implications from the new European Commissioners.
CIVIL SOCIETY EUROPE WORKING GROUP MEETING
On 3 September, Gabriella Civico, CEV Director, chaired a Civil Society Europe working group meeting on the Recognition of CSOs. The group met to follow uproadmap on civil dialogue, letters to EU decision makers and discuss other post EP election strategies in order protect civic space in Europe and facilitate volunteering, solidarity and active citizenship.
CSE & EP VICE-PRESIDENTS MEETING
On 10 September, Gabriella Civico, CEV Director and member of the Civil Society Europe Steering group, and Carlotta Besozzi, CSE Coordinator, met with EP Vice Presidents Othmar Karas and Katarina Barley to discuss the importance of civil dialogue, transparency, the threats of shrinking civic space and how to combat this.
HOME AWAY FROM HOME
Gabriella Civico, CEV Director, was a speaker at the final partners meeting for the Erasmus Plus Home Away from Home meetingin Brussels on 11 and 12 July. This project aimed to research and disseminate best practices in the integration of refugees, asylum seekers and migrants in European societies where youth – especially young volunteers – are playing a major role.
MOODY'S - TEAMUP VOLUNTEERING ACTION
In July, 15 Moody’s employees in Brussels participated in a TeamUp volunteering action with the local Association SOS Kauwberg which supports the protection of local flora in green areas around Brussels within the Employee Volunteering European Network (EVEN). Volunteers from Moody’s and SOS Kauwberg participated in a cleaning up action aiming at eradicating a weed damaging the local flora. Find more about the projects and activities within EVEN here.
VOLUNTEER MANAGEMENT TRAINING CALENDAR
Volunteer Ireland has published its new volunteer management and leadership calendar and will organise a series of training in the coming months. To learn more, visit their website here.
INTERVIEW WITH CHRISTINA RIGMAN
CSVnet interviewed Christina Ringman, CEV President, about the volunteering intergroup and the importance of volunteering in people’s lives. Read it here.
EU AID VOLUNTEERS NEWSLETTER
The August edition of the EU Aid Volunteers newsletter has been published.Read it here.
2019 EP ELECTIONS REPORT
European Election Monitoring Centrepublished a web-based archive and database of the electoral campaign for the 2019 European election as well as a country by country report for the 28 member states. Read the report here.
ESC PROJECT PROPOSALS
The European Solidarity Corps 2019 Call for project proposals launched with a budget of more than €96 million available to support solidarity activities for young people in 2019! Deadlines for submission of projects fall between 5 February and 1 October 2019 depending on the type of activity. More information is available here.
EU AID VOLUNTEERS CALL
The call for tender for the online and face-to-face training of EU Aid Volunteers is now open. The deadline for submissions is 09/10/2019 at 16:00 (CET/CEST,Brussels time). For more information visit the website.
AMIF PROJECT CALL
The European Commission published a call for proposals for transnational actions foreseen in the 2019 work programme for Union actions in the framework of the Asylum, Migration and Integration Fund (AMIF), with a special focus on the role and importance of volunteers and volunteering, amounting to € 58.3 million. Application deadline 30 January 2020. For more information visit their website.
EUROPEAN YOUTH CENTRES
The European Youth Centres published a call for proposals for events to be held in the second semester of 2020. The deadline is 1 October 2019. Learn more here.
REGIONS for INTEGRATION BLOG LAUNCH
The European Committee of the Regions has launched the #Regions4Integration blog that features successful initiatives aimed at integrating migrants and refugees by town, cities and regions across the EU, including those with a volunteering element. To learn more about the blog visit their website.
ESC STAKEHOLDERS EVENT
A stakeholders’ meeting and consultation for the European Solidarity Corps will take place on 30 September 2019 in DG EAC. In the morning, from 9:30 to 13:00, organisations in the current implementation of the European Solidarity Corps will have a chance to share their insights on the programme. The afternoon session, from 14:00 to 17:30, will provide a platform for organisations interested in the future of ESC and its incorporation of the humanitarian aid strand.
EUROPASS
Do you want to help shape the new Europass? Contact gabriella.civico(at)cev.be if you have a couple of hours available to test the new interface and its suitability for volunteers or some time to share your experience as part of a short video.
REPORT ON CORPORATE VOLUNTEERING
International Association for Volunteer Effort (IAVE) published a report on corporate volunteering. The document compiles the activities and approaches to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of 14 member companies of the IAVE Global Corporate Volunteer Council. Read it here.
STUDY SESSION ON ROMA VOLUNTEER INTEGRATION
Phiren Amenca International Network- a network of Roma and non-Roma volunteers and voluntary service organisations- organises a Study Session in Budapest between September 30th and October 4th about involving Roma young people in volunteering projects. Learn more here.
INTERNATIONAL VOLUNTEER DAY 2019
The themes and tagline for International Volunteer Day 2019 has been announced by the UN. This year’s theme "Volunteer for an Inclusive Future" will contribute to volunteering by empowering people to participate in their own communities as a way to promote inclusion, diversity, non- discrimination, and to reduce inequalities in society.
For other European Volunteering and Civil Society related matters check out and subscribe to other newsletters here.
CEV is always willing to welcome new members to our network. You can read more information about membership on our website or in our “Why to be a member of the CEV network?” flyer.
