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Thoughts ahead of International Volunteer Day
Sunday, December 4th, 2011
I have been preparing for International Volunteer Day on December 5 by meeting very special volunteers in Bavaria and Poland.
First let me tell you about Jacek Ryng, to whom I had the privilege of presenting an award in Warsaw. Read the full entry
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Say hello to the first European humanitarian volunteers
Friday, June 17th, 2011
As “the crisis Commissioner” I often deal with bad news – you, dear reader, know this from many of my posts.
But today I want to give you some good news – the European Corps of humanitarian volunteers is turning from an article in the Treaty of Lisbon into reality. The first batch of European humanitarian volunteers – around 100 of them – will soon begin their training; a few months from today, the volunteers will take up their assignment – in places where they will help with post-disaster relief, or in countries where they will work together with the local population in disaster prevention. Read the full entry
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Europe’s future voluntary humanitarian corps: we want to hear from you!
Thursday, October 7th, 2010
Today I want to tell you about an initiative I will be launching soon – the European Voluntary Humanitarian Aid Corps. I have started exploring the ways in which we can make a tangible success of this innovation, introduced by the Treaty of Lisbon.
As you know, in many of our member states there are numerous examples of voluntary public service in humanitarian aid and other areas. We know, and are proud of, the wonderful results that can be achieved through the committed work of individuals who want to make a positive difference in the world.
Many of our citizens – 1 in 5 of those over 15 – volunteer some of their time in one way or another. And yet, volunteering is not always perceived as equal opportunity or equally attractive. For some, volunteering may be highly desirable, but not affordable, because of economic hardship. For others, especially in Central and Eastern Europe, there may be less-than-fond memories from the times when students and workers were regularly “volunteered” to do community work. I myself have mixed memories – they range from feeling trapped into a “volunteer” job I was not really good at in a food processing factory, to a sense of genuine satisfaction while helping elderly neighbours with their day-to-day chores. Read the full entry
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