European Volunteer Centre (CEV)

Deadline: depend on chosen project
Open to: everybody interested in volunteering
Duration: local/international long term or short term volunteering

About

The European Volunteer Centre (Centre européen du volontariat, CEV) is a European network of over 80 mainly national and regional volunteer centres and volunteer development agencies across Europe, that together work to support and promote voluntary activity. CEV channels the collective priorities and concerns of its member organisations to the institutions of the European Union. It also acts as a central forum for the exchange of policy, practice and information on volunteering. The member organisations of CEV represent thousands of volunteer organisations, associations and other voluntary and community groups at local, regional, national and in some cases international level.

Objectives

• To promote and win recognition for volunteering as an expression of active citizenship in Europe to the general public, the media, businesses and policy-makers on all relevant levels of government
• To act as a bridge for communication between volunteer organisations and the work of the European institutions
• To develop policies and promote and support the role of volunteering infrastructure in advancing volunteering as an expression of active citizenship in Europe
• To serve as a knowledge and research resource for volunteering in Europe
• To promote innovation and good practice in the field of supporting and reinforcing volunteering, participation and active citizenship through exchange, structured dialogue and network-building
• To develop strategic partnerships and alliances with key stakeholders across all sectors
• To increase and diversify the membership of CEV
• To maintain and develop the efficient management of the organisation

History of CEV

CEV’s origins lie in an initiative by the two Belgian Regional Volunteer Centres, Vlaams Steunpunt Vrijwilligerswerk and l’Association pour le Volontariat who, together with le Centre National du Volontariat (France), the National Centre for Volunteering (UK), and el Centro Nazionale per il Voluntariato (Italy) organised a Meeting in Lucca, Italy 1989 for the representatives of National and Regional Volunteer Centres in eight European countries. The outcome of the meeting was a joint declaration for increased European cooperation. The European Volunteer Centre (CEV) was founded in February 1990 on the basis of this declaration, and in 1992 was officially granted the status of “international non-profit organisation” registered under Belgian law. On 5 December 1995, CEV organised the first ever European Day for Volunteering in the European Parliament, Brussels, Belgium, with the active support of the European Parliament, the European Commission, the Council of the European Union and UNESCO.

Between 1993 and 2001 CEV administered as Technical Assistance Office over 13 contracts of the European Commission’s PHARE and TACIS-LIEN Programme in Central and Eastern Europe and CIS and released a series of publications within these programmes.

Why volunteering matters

• Volunteers mirror the diversity of European society with people of all ages, women and men, employees and unemployed, people from different ethnic backgrounds and belief groups and citizens from all nationalities being involved
• Volunteers are engaged in a diverse range of activities, such as the provision of education and services, mutual aid or ‘self-help’, advocacy, campaigning, management, community and environmental action. Volunteering is one of the ways in which people of all abilities and backgrounds can contribute to positive change
• Volunteering is a means of social inclusion and integration. It contributes to a cohesive society creating bonds of trust and solidarity and, thus, social capital. It is a powerful source of reconciliation and reconstruction in divided societies
• Volunteering plays an important role in finding solutions to societal issues. Volunteers and their organisations are often at the forefront of developing innovative actions to detect, voice and respond to needs arising in society. Volunteers help to improve the quantity and quality of services and to creatively develop new services
• Volunteering is an significant economic factor. The voluntary sector contributes an estimated 5% to the GDP of our national economies and many voluntary sector organisations depend heavily on the work of volunteers to carry out their activities
• Volunteering helps create of innovative partnerships between businesses, public authorities and voluntary sector organisations. Such partnerships, coupled with the pioneering nature of many volunteering actions, can lead to the creation of new employment opportunities
• Volunteering provides informal and non-formal learning opportunities and is therefore a crucial instrument in life-long learning. Through volunteering, people gain knowledge, exercise skills and extend their social networks, which can often lead to new or better employment opportunities, as well as personal and social development

CEV Countries

CEV members map here

Belgium, Bosnia And Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Moldavia, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, United Kingdom, USA

For more information about volunteering and organizations visit Official website