Volunteering in a new world

The European Centre for Volunteering (CEV) has announced that registration is now open for the the Symposium on “The future of volunteering: concepts, trends, visions” which will be held between 4-6 May 2011 in Tallinn, Estonia..

The social awareness that our societies are improved by active citizenship is growing and the coming months will see numerous projects, activities and awareness raising campaigns taking place across Europe. On the wave of the 2011 European Year for Volunteering, the symposium will look ahead at the future of volunteering in Europe and attempt to identify which core concepts needs to be safeguarded in decades to come. 

The CEV is aware of the speed of change in the world today – social media, technology, migration, the appearance of for profit players in the non profit world of volunteering all play a part in altering the “traditional” volunteering arena. The financial crisis has also raised many questions about the role of volunteering organisations within the economy and even within politics. Which is why it is calling on organisations to take part in this event and have their say in the direction volunteering in Europe should take.

Aims of the conference:

To provide an overview of the current trends in volunteering;

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

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

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

The conference will be organised in the framework of the European Year of Volunteering 2011 Tour Relay in Estonia (3-7 May),  the European Culture Capital 2011 Tallinn celebrations, and the Let’s Do It Estonia’ campaign on May 7.

Deadline for registration: 11 April.