Around 100 million Europeans participated in volunteer activities in the last 12 months, it was revealed at the General Assembly of the European Volunteer Centre at the Permanent Representation of Luxembourg in Brussels.
The conference was opened by Minister of Family and Integration and the Greater Region, Corinne Cahen, who commented on the necessity of volunteering for social cohesion, making it a selfess act beneficial to volunteers as well as recipients.
"Volunteering, is to give some of one's time and knowledge...But as a volunteer, you receive more than you give," commented Minister Cahen. "There is no greater feeling than to help others."
Before a hundred participants from various volunteering associations in the EU, the Minister recounted her recent meeting with a British woman who has been volunteering in a primary host structure for refugees having been in the Grand Duchy for only two weeks. She stated that volunteering does not represent a personal gratification for those performing it, but can also be a real benefit with the Ministry of Education officially recognising the extra-professional experience.
Corinne Cahen also outlined the potential of volunteering in achieving social cohesion, stating "Unfortunately, we have to face hard times such as the economic crisis and the refugee crisis in order to remember that volunteering is not only an act of leisure, but also an important, even essential, activity for our societies". The Minister commended the various citizen-borne initiatives in Europe aiming to help governments hosting refugees.
In this respect, it becomes important to promote volunteering throughout the EU and was one of the objectives of the 2011 European Year of Volunteering (EYV). The 'Helping Hands, Hope for Europe' event, organised by the CEV and the Agence du Bénèvolat under the Luxembourg Presidency of the EU Council, will test whethre the 2011 EYV had a positive impact in the field of volunteering.
The EYV 2011 was comprised of four objectives, namely to create a favourable environment for volunteering, improve the quality of volunterring, in order to finally get the recognition and awareness among stakeholders, policy makers and the public regarding volunteering.
Photo by Ministry of Family, Integration and the Greater Region (Cristina Rigman (Director of CEV); Corinne Cahen (Minister of Family and Integration); Caroline Milbert (Agence du Bénévolat); Marc Crochet (Association du Bénévolat))
