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CEV News The Electronic Newsletter of the

European Volunteer Centre (CEV) April 2012

Issue 109

In this edition: Action points in red

CEV Activities:

CEV Members:

OPEN Registration for CEV Symposium Volunteering for stronger societies through innovation and cross-sector collaboration

CEV Annual Report 2011 is available online

CEV joined the Alliance for the European Year of the Citizens 2013

CEV takes part in the conference and networking visit organised by Social Platform in Nicosia (Cyprus)

CEV was represented at the 20th

Anniversary event organised by DG ECHO

Voluntary Action North Lanarkshire: The Saltire Awards, a tool to motivate young volunteers and recognise their efforts

Volunteer Ireland: National Volunteering Week

Perm Centre for Volunteer Development: Volunteerism- Avenue for Social Transformation

PFV: Volunteering Week in French speaking community of Belgium

WCVA: Volunteer of the Year Award

EU News:

European Citizens’ Initiative launched beginning of April 2012

Opinion by the EESC on the ERASMUS for All Programme

Working document for a Common Strategic Framework (CSF)

The 2012 Civil Society Day in the European Economic and Social Committee

The report on the overall assessment of the European Year for Combating Poverty and Social Exclusion 2010 was published

Calls for Proposals:

Other News:

Call for eLearning Papers, contributions to online publications on the topic of learning and active ageing

Call for nominations: Award for initiatives in the support of individuals suffering from dementia

Recommendations to increase youth participation in EU Member States put

forth by young delegates to EU Youth Conference

Documentation from the Sportvision 2012 conference is now available online

Informal consultation on the EU Structural Funds in England

Events:

European Day of Solidarity between Generations

Conference Active Ageing- the Challenges for providers on 27th

-28th

September 2012, Malta

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CEV Activities: OPEN Registration for CEV Symposium Volunteering for stronger societies through innovation and cross-sector collaboration

Registration to the CEV Symposium “Volunteering for stronger societies through innovation and cross-sector collaboration” is open to anyone interested in participating. The spring 2012 CEV Symposium will be held in Copenhagen, in the Danish Parliament on 9

th-10

th May and

will gather stakeholders from the voluntary sector to share experiences and to build new partnerships. The deadline for registration is 1

st May so

take a moment to fill in the registration form as soon as possible. Interpretation from English into Italian and Spanish will be provided during the plenary sessions. The provisional programme, practical information and a list with hotel suggestions can be found on the CEV website. The CEV Symposium is organised under the auspices of the Danish

Presidency of the EU. For questions and suggestions do not hesitate to contact the CEV office via email: andreea.nagy@cev.be or communication@cev.be.

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CEV Annual Report 2011 is available online

The CEV Annual Report 2011 is now online! The Annual Report includes information about CEV, its structure and mission. It compiles details on activities, events and meetings through which CEV contributed to achieving the objectives of the European Year of Volunteering 2011. The Year was a unique occasion for the voluntary sector in Europe, and thus, our report reflects not only the work carried out by the Brussels based CEV secretariat, but it also addresses the initiatives implemented by

CEV members. During the EYV 2011 CEV members organised conferences, campaigns, galas, and various activities at regional and national level. The CEV Annual Report 2011 comprises an overview of some of these activities aiming to map the multitude of ways in which volunteering can be promoted, and to recognise the efforts of CEV member organisations to create an enabling environment for volunteering in Europe.

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CEV joined the Alliance for the European Year of the Citizens 2013 CEV is a promoter in the campaign for the European Year of Citizens 2013 (EYC 2013) and a member of the EYC 2013 Alliance. An internal seminar will be organized on 17

th April at the

European Economic and Social Committee in Brussels, Belgium. The expected outcomes of the meeting are contributions to the drafting of a Manifesto which will state the main political positions and guidelines of the European Year of Citizens 2013.

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CEV takes part in the conference and networking visit organised by Social Platform, Nicosia (Cyprus) Social Platform will hold a Conference and Networking Visit: “How the Cyprus EU Presidency will respond to the social consequences of the EU crisis", on 19-20 April 2012 in Nicosia (Cyprus). CEV is being represented at the conference by the CEV Board of Directors member Mirko Schwarzel. The event will gather representatives from civil society organisations, European networks, and the

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Cypriot government for field visits and networking opportunities with the aim of discussing the social dimension and priorities of the upcoming Cyprus EU Presidency.

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CEV was represented at the 20th Anniversary event organised by DG ECHO CEV was represented at the celebration of the 20

th Anniversary of DG ECHO Humanitarian Aid and

Civil Protection by the Policy and Projects Officer Daniela Bosioc, on 20th March 2012. The event

was opened by the President of the European Commission José Manuel Barroso and the Commissioner for International Cooperation, Humanitarian Aid and Crisis Response Kristalina Georgieva. A video showcasing an overview of the changes in the field of humanitarian aid in the last two decades is available.

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CEV Members

Voluntary Action North Lanarkshire: The Saltire Awards, a tool to motivate young volunteers and recognise their efforts

Voluntary Action North Lanarkshire is the facilitating organisation for the Saltire Awards, a new initiative aiming to ensure recognition of young volunteers aged 15-25 years old. The Saltire Awards is a brand new project comprised of three stages that engage organisations, schools and young volunteers. The programme is recognised as the Scottish Government's central programme for recognising youth volunteering and promotional materials are made available

as of April 2012. BACK TO TOP

Volunteer Ireland: National Volunteering Week

This year Volunteer Ireland is coordinating Ireland‟s first National Volunteering Week from 14

th May – 20

th May. National Volunteering Week is the one week

of the year when everyone in Ireland is encouraged to give volunteering a try, so that everyone can learn that – even if it‟s only for a minute, an hour, or a day – volunteering can make a big difference and be a lot of fun!

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Perm Centre for Volunteer Development: Volunteerism- Avenue for Social Transformation

The Perm Center of Volunteerism Development, the United Nations Office at Geneva Library and the Youth organisation “Vector of Friendship”, with the assistance of the Youth Affairs Agency of Russian Federation, are organizing the conference “Volunteerism – Avenue for

Social Transformation” on 20-23rd

June 2012 in Geneva. The main questions to be raised are the following: (1) the influence of voluntary activities on problem solving in the local community: a drop in stress in society, international collaboration, amelioration of marginal social groups, ecological safety and other questions devoted to the improvement of the quality of life and social transformation and (3) the influence of voluntary activities on social and economic growth and the role of volunteerism in the paradigm of social development.

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PFV: Volunteering Week in French speaking community of Belgium

On 21-22 June 2012 Plate-forme francophone du Volontariat (PFV) organises the first edition of Volunteer Week (Volontariat pour tous) in Namur, in the French speaking Community of Belgium. Activities will include debates and conferences and the dialogue will be developed on the following topics: (1) the different profiles of volunteers and their

motivations, (2) voluntary activities and their role in social action and health, (3) the concept of time for the individuals who get involved and (4) accessibility for all to voluntary opportunities especially seniors, disabled people and individuals in a precarious condition.

WCVA: Volunteer of the Year Award

Wales Council for Voluntary Action (WCVA) organises the Wales Volunteer of the Year Award 2012 and is currently collecting nominations. The efforts of outstanding volunteers will be put in the

spotlight during the award ceremony in June. There are four categories for nominations: adult, young people (under 25), green volunteer and group.

European Union News European Citizens’ Initiative launched beginning of April 2012 On 1

st April 2012 the European Citizens‟ Initiative was launched, enabling Europeans to have a

bigger influence on the decision-making process at EU level. In order to qualify and be included in the agenda of the European Commission, an initiative has to gather support from at least one million citizens from seven EU Member States. A citizens‟ initiative can refer to any field where the European Commission has the power to propose legislation.

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Opinion by the EESC on the ERASMUS for All Programme On the 29

th March the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) issued an opinion on

Erasmus for All, the proposal for the future programme for education, training, youth and sport. The conclusions and recommendations by the EESC state that the programme should be a key instrument in increasing support for education and training. Concern is expressed with regards to some actions from the Youth in Action Programme which were not included in the present proposal. This might result in a decline in cooperation in the European youth field. Similarly, the focus on acquiring skills should not be restricted to their use to fight barriers to unemployment, but also to develop active citizenship and social cohesion, objectives that are not followed through the current proposal.

BACK TO TOP Working document for a Common Strategic Framework (CSF) On 14

th March 2012 the European Commission issued a working document with elements for a

Common Strategic Framework (CSF) from 2014 to 2020. The CSF aims to better coordinate and avoid overlaps of five funding programmes (The European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), the European Social Fund (ESF), the Cohesion Fund (CF), the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development (EAFRD) and the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund (EMFF)). These constitute the main source of investment at EU level to support Member States and ensure sustainable development in line with Europe 2020 objectives. The proposals have a crucial impact on civil society organisations and their involvement in community development.

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The 2012 Civil Society Day in the European Economic and Social Committee On 8

th May the European Economic and Social Committee organises the 2012 Civil Society Day:

Democracy in Europe: where do we stand? A civil society perspective, in Brussels (Belgium). The focus will be on participatory practices and the role of organised civil society in promoting citizens' interest, engagement and well-being. The event will be streamed via the web and registration for attendance is open until 30

th April.

BACK TO TOP The report on the overall assessment of the European Year for Combating Poverty and Social Exclusion 2010 was published The report issued by the European Commission on the implementation, results and overall assessment of the European Year 2010 was published. The four main objectives of the 2010 European Year for Combating Poverty and Social Exclusion were: 1. Recognition of rights (recognising the right of people experiencing poverty and social exclusion to live with dignity and to play a full part in society). 2. Shared responsibility and participation (increasing public ownership of social inclusion policies and actions, emphasizing collective and individual responsibilities in tackling poverty and social exclusion). 3. Cohesion (promoting a more cohesive society, by raising public awareness of the benefits for all of a society that eradicates poverty, works for fair distribution and marginalises no one). 4. Commitment and concrete action reiterating the strong political commitment of the EU to combat poverty and social exclusion, and promoting this commitment and action at all level.

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Calls for Proposals Call for eLearning Papers, contributions to online publications on the topic of learning and active ageing Deadline: 20 April 2012 A call for contributions to an online magazine supported by the European Commission is now open. The „eLearning Papers‟ will be published in May 2012. Submissions of articles on the topic of the involvement of civil society and governments in supporting lifelong learning, active ageing are accepted until 20

th April. The guidelines for proposals and the topics to be addressed in the

contributions can be found on the relevant website. BACK TO TOP

Call for nominations: Award for initiatives in the support of individuals suffering from dementia Deadline: 15 June 2012

The Fondation Médéric Alzheimer and the European local inclusion and social action network (ELISAN) call for nominations to award original projects supporting individuals who suffer from Alzheimer‟s disease and their relatives. The eligible initiatives should be based on an innovative concept to improve the lives of people suffering from dementia. In addition, projects should aim to enhance active citizenship in spite of the disease, wellbeing through involvement in the community and voluntary activities, issues faced by the relatives and the linguistic and socio-cultural specificities of people suffering from dementia. The deadline for the nomination of submissions is 15 June 2012.

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Other News

Recommendations to increase youth participation in EU Member States put forth by young delegates to EU Youth Conference The EU Youth Conference hosted by the Danish Presidency in Sorø on 18

th-21

st March focused on

youth participation and was concluded with the adoption of fourteen recommendations by the delegates. The conference was part of the structured dialogue on the theme of Youth Participation in Democratic Life in Europe and was organised in the framework of the Team Presidency of the EU (Poland, Denmark and Cyprus) with the next EU Youth Conference to be hosted by the incoming Cypriot Presidency in Nicosia on 11-13 September 2012.

BACK TO TOP Documentation from the Sportvision 2012 conference is now available online The Sportvision 2012 conference was organised by the Danish Presidency of the EU on 19

th-20

th

March in Copenhagen (Denmark). A section was devoted to volunteering and the link between the European Year of Volunteering 2011 and the European Year of Active Ageing 2012, by tackling the issues of training volunteers and partnerships in volunteering. You can download the presentations and notes from this session, and also find out more information on how to engage senior citizens in sport volunteering.

BACK TO TOP Informal consultation on the EU Structural Funds in England An informal consultation was launched in England regarding ways to exploit more efficiently the EU Structural funds from 2014 to 2020. The National Council for Voluntary Organisations (NCVO) urged civil society organisations to respond considering this a major opportunity for CSOs to have a bigger role in EU programmes. The informal consultation will be closed on 27

th April 2012.

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Events

European Day of Solidarity between Generations The EU Day of Solidarity between generations is organised in the framework of the European Year 2012 on 29

th April. The EY2012 Coalition has been promoting the day as part of its awareness-

raising campaign to increase support at European, national, regional and local levels and rethink the concept of solidarity between the generations. Further details can be found on the AGE Platform website. One project that will mark the European Day of Solidarity Between generations is generations@school. All schools in Europe are encouraged to open their doors and create a space for dialogue between their students and seniors.

BACK TO TOP Conference Active Ageing- the Challenges for providers on 27th-28th September 2012, Malta The European Association of Homes and Services for the Ageing (EAHSA) is organising the conference Active-Ageing –the challenge for providers on 27

th-28

th September in Malta. The topics

under debate will include participation and ways to enhance wellbeing for elderly thus exceeding a framework dedicated to employment policies but focusing on service providers for senior citizens. BACK TO TOP

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Find the CEV News in PDF on the CEV website.

Pour lire la CEV News en français, rendez-vous sur le site de France Bénévolat. If you want to share information about topics and projects related to volunteering, please send a short description before the 1

st of each month to communication[at]cev.be.

CEV Secretariat Rue de la Science 10, B-1000 Brussels, Belgium Tel: (32 2) 511 75 01 Fax: (32 2) 514 59 89 Email: cev@cev.be Website: www.cev.be

CEV receives support from the European Commission – sole responsibility lies with CEV – The European Commission cannot be held responsible for any information contained herein.