Košice, 2019 European Volunteering Capital

On 2 December, in the Irish city of Sligo, the 2017 European Volunteering Capital, it was announced that this city will be the volunteering capital in 2019. The lucky one is the Slovak city of Košice, after a close call with Augsburg and Cascais. 

Košice, a municipality with 240,000 inhabitants, will take over from the Danish city of Aarhus, which will hold this position during 2018, after Sligo (2017), London (2016), Lisbon (2015) and Barcelona (2014). 

This competition was created in 2013 by the European Volunteer Centre (CEV) with the aim to promote volunteering at the local level, by giving recognition to local municipalities that offer support and close collaboration with organizations and associations of volunteers or that promote altruism, as highlighted by the recommendations set out in the Policy Agenda on Volunteering in Europe. 

The competition is held every year and the winning municipality is chosen by a jury composed of many personalities from the European volunteering sector.

Sligo 2017

During the event, the Sligo Volunteer Centre concluded its experience as the 2017 European Volunteering Capital, showcasing the work done during this period.

The Irish municipality highlighted the positive synergies for the Public Administration to work hand-in-hand with Third Sector organizations, while also acknowledging the training of volunteers and the value given to these volunteers by the public, with campaigns to promote volunteering and encourage future volunteers to work especially with people at risk of social exclusion.

In this video you can see a short summary of the event held on 2 December and the light show marking the end of the 2017 European Volunteering Capital.

Font del vídeo: RTE News