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The European Year of Volunteering Tour was in Sweden and Denmark this summerThe European Year of Volunteering Tour, operated for the European Commission by P.A.U. Education, has completed its Swedish and Danish stops during this summer with great success. This was due to the large number of organisations and visitants that have joined the discussions, conferences and different activities that were organised in each city.
Ms. Lena Adelsohn Liljeroth, Minister of Culture and Sports, and Ms. Pernilla Baralt, Head of Communication at the Swedish Representation of the European Commission, delivered the opening ceremony speeches. Ms. Adelsohn Liljeroth talked about the government's role in voluntary work in Sweden. She also mentioned her personal volunteering experience as the Chairwoman of the Foundation Fryshuset, involving dads and moms around town and various shelters. According to her, many Swedes are indeed involved in voluntary work, which is an important piece of the puzzle for the future of the society. A panel discussion took place right after the opening ceremony in the Debate Room about the future of volunteering and new tendencies. According to Professor Svedberg, professor at Ersta Sköndals University and one of the principal speakers, social media is becoming ever more important and is creating more online engagement. Ms. Ylva Tiveus, Director of the Citizens' Directorate at the European Commission, reflected these points on a European level. According to her, even though the importance of social media is rising, the people will get more involved in voluntary work in person. A Dialogue café between politicians and organisations was one of the principal activities that took place during the EYV Tour stop in Sweden. It was an exemplary activity for other countries to follow, where decision makers and active volunteers had a fruitful opportunities to share their views and come to solutions on different issues. The EYV Swedish Tour stop will end on August 12th, 2011. Celebrating EYV Tour stop in Copenhagen At the opening ceremony of the EYV 2011 Copenhagen Tour Stop (which was held between August the 1st and the 3rd, 2011) Ms. Benedikte Kjaer, Minister for Social Affairs, wearing the volunteering T-shirt, said: “I believe that the European Year of Volunteering 2011 and the events like the EYV 2011 Tour really contribute to a movement in the right direction. It does so because the volunteers deserve attention and a ‘thank you’ for their efforts. And it does so, because it helps even more people to open their eyes to the opportunities of the voluntary work.” Ms. Kjaer added that it is equally important to put action behind the words at national level. She was pleased to see that the European Year of Volunteering 2011 took place at the same time as the implementation of the Danish Government's National Civil Society Strategy. During the Copenhagen Tour stop, the visitants found out about the work of different voluntary organisations. One of them was ‘Music Life’, an all-volunteer music school whose purpose is to provide young adults with a healthy leisure time activity. Their target group is adolescents between 13 and 18 years old, living in low-income areas. They offer free singing lessons, private and group instrument lessons and tuition for music production. More information at: http://europa.eu/volunteering/en |    |