Share your interactive ePaper on all platforms and on your website with our embed function. But it is crucial for the long-term sustainability of volunteering, for keepingstandards high and for attracting and retaining volunteers.
However, volunteering is treated in a wide variety of ways across Europe, depending on thecultural, historical and legal context of the country concerned. What works well in one countrymay therefore not work as well in another part of Europe. So there is a huge potential value in learning about the variousapproaches to volunteering infrastructure in different countries, so as to be able to make thatinformed decision. The European Year of Volunteering was an excellent opportunity to emphasise theimportance of volunteering infrastructure.
The Year had four objectives, namely 1 creating anenabling and facilitating environment for volunteering in the EU; 2 empowering volunteerorganisations and improving the quality of volunteering; 3 rewarding and recognisingvolunteering activities; and 4 raising awareness of the value and importance of volunteering.
During the course of the Year, hundreds of seminars, workshops, conferences, exhibitions,meetings, activities and initiatives took place to discuss and develop, among other things,the infrastructures that support volunteering across Europe. The inclusion of these countries is due to the availability of the authors to contribute theirtime and knowledge, often on a voluntary basis.
We would like to include contributions fromcountries not covered in this edition as soon as they become available so we invite individuals ororganisations to contact us with their proposals. The dedication and expertise of the CEV members and partner organisations in their capacitiesas volunteering infrastructure organisations have made this publication possible by producingthe respective chapters with the support of their staff and volunteers.
