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Budapest Stop of the EYV Tour: successful event to celebrate the commitment of volunteers in HungaryThe first stop of 2011 the Tour of the European Year of Volunteering has just been hold in Budapest's Millenaris Theatre to give Hungarian volunteers and their organisations a chance to showcase their work and engage with policy makers and the general public for a week, from 8 January to 14 January.
Mr. Pál Schmitt, the President of the Republic of Hungary, inaugurated the Tour with a keynote speech. He was followed by Mrs. Viviane Reding, Vice-President of the European Commission, responsible for Justice, Fundamental Rights and Citizenship, and Mr. Stavros Lambrinidis MEP, Vice-President of the European Parliament. Together, the distinguished guests visited the participants' stands and interacted with the volunteers. Children and youngsters enlivened the projects, reinforcing the theme of “children, youth and sports.” Among the participants was the Bátor Tábor Foundation, which offers complex therapeutic recreation programmes for children with cancer, diabetes, juvenile rheumatoid arthritis or haemophilia and for their families. Some children were making simple jewelers for children suffering in hospital. Another exhibitor was the “Hintayo” project which visible component is a giant arc-shaped see-saw, with space for more than twenty people; the VIPs climbed on board the Hintayo see-saw, and after a few moments posing for a group photograph, the assembled group succumbed to the urge to set the structure into motion. They all rocked the see-saw: volunteering can be fun. A relay team made up of 27 European volunteers, one from each Member State and with a background in journalism, will cover each stage of the EYV 2011 Tour. The team will share stories from volunteers living in other Member States and will produce a series of video and audio clips and articles that will be broadcast and published in the media and on the Web. Jasper Declercq, from Belgium (cameraman, 24 years old) is reporting in Hungary , and reported the following : « The first organization I'll be reporting on is the Museum of Fine Arts which has, apart from an extraordinary collection, 170 volunteers working. For a country with a low minimum wage and a country which is still rebuilding the volunteering is rocketing. In only 4 years this museum went from no volunteers to a trusting group of valued members, allowed to touch and be around million dollar pieces of art. The second organization is Korazi Onkentes. They visit people who're spending a long time in hospital. I expect lots of laughing faces and strong stories. I'll keep you up to date!” The Tour next stop will be Vienna, Austria, on 25 to 27 January 2011. For more information about the Tour go to: http://europa.eu/volunteering/en/tour. |