Four municipalities candidate to be the European Volunteering Capital 2014

Four municipalities candidate to be the European Volunteering Capital 2014

Barcelona (SPAIN)
Guimaraes (PORTUGAL)
Laval (FRANCE)
Rennes (FRANCE)

The European Volunteering Capital Competition aims to promote volunteering at local level by giving recognition to municipalities which support and strengthen partnerships with volunteer centres and volunteer involving organisations in their communities.

Recently retired CEV Vice-President Susana Szabo announced the candidates at a reception dinner held at the Cultural Centre in Sarajevo, Bosnia Herzagovina.  Sponsored by the Visigrad fund and organized by the European Volunteer Centre (CEV) and their host in Sarajevo SEEYN. The event saw presentations from the candidates, including videos, describing their work and activities supporting volunteering.

The jury of nine key personalities connected with volunteering will now assess the candidatures.  The winner will be announced on International Volunteer Day 5 December 2013 and will able to use the title European Volunteering Capital 2014 throughout the following year.   The judging criteria are the recommendations in the Policy Agenda for Volunteering in Europe (PAVE) and special attention will be paid to the support and encouragement shown for cross border volunteering.

Commissioner Reding has personally welcomed the European Volunteering Capital Competition noting that it “continues to promote and support cross-border volunteering across the European Union. The launch of the European Volunteering Capital initiative in the framework of the European Year of Citizens 2013 clearly shows the strong link we intend to establish between European Years. “