The EYV2011 Working Groups

The EYV2011 Alliance has set up six Working Groups (WG) which aim at shaping the political agenda on volunteering. Each WG team is responsible to develop a policy paper, including recommendations, towards the European Commission, to be taken into account in the drafting of their Communication on volunteering planned for Fall 2011.

CSR Europe is represented in three of these WG: Volunteering Infrastructure (CSR Europe secretariat); The value of volunteering (Randstad Holding); Employee volunteering (Foretica). 

Name of the WG

Objectives

1) Quality Volunteering

 
  • Work towards a common understanding of “quality volunteering”,
  • Identify and disseminate good practices in the field of quality assurance and quality assessment tools used by volunteer organisations.

2) Legal Framework of Volunteering 
  • Map research on the legal status of volunteers in Europe,
  • Advocate for recommendations for improvement of the legal status of volunteers and a clear legal status for volunteers everywhere in Europe.

3) Volunteering Infrastructure
  • Instigate a pan-European debate between different stakeholders on the role and the elements of an enabling volunteering infrastructure, with an equal access for all, and work towards a common understanding,
  • Map the state of play and the understanding of the concept of a volunteering infrastructure in different European countries,
  • Gather data about the effectiveness of different forms of volunteering infrastructure,
  • Make recommendations about EU level action to foster an enabling volunteering infrastructure in Europe.

4) Recognising Volunteering

 
  • Map existing tools for recognition of volunteers – extract good practice examples,
  • Formulate recommendations for better recognition of volunteering in different areas and by different tools.

5) Value of Volunteering
  • Identify tools and ways to identify, measure and express the value of volunteering,
  • Valuing the contribution of volunteering in positively shaping the European society.

6) Employee Volunteering
  • Raise the knowledge and awareness about the Employee Volunteering schemes and its benefits,
  • Increase understanding of the importance of Employee Volunteering as a key component of responsible business practices (CSR),
  • Build a cooperation between European Union, civil society organizations and business when developing the concept of employee volunteering and the CSR agenda at European level.