Will your city be the next European Volunteering Capital?

The European Volunteer Centre (CEV) launches the 10th edition of the European Volunteering Capital competition. It aims to promote volunteering at the local level by giving recognition to municipalities that support and strengthen partnerships with volunteer centres and volunteer-involving organisations in their communities. It is also a way to celebrate and promote the impact made by volunteers.

As a candidate, the city will gain European-wide visibility for excellence in policies and programmes that support volunteers and volunteering. Besides that, the municipality will be rewarded with recognition for its existing practices, and for its ambitious, credible and quality-focused plans for future growth and development in the field of volunteering.

The awarded municipality will be chosen from the candidates by an international jury of key personalities connected with volunteering, representing civil society, the private, for-profit sector, as well as the EU institutions.

The winning municipality will be granted the title of European Volunteering Capital 2023 and will be promoted throughout Europe and beyond. The winners from the previous editions are Gdansk (2022)  Berlin  (2021), Padova (2020), Kosice (2019), Aarhus (2018), Sligo (2017), London (2016), Lisbon (2015) and Barcelona (2014).

The application form is online

Municipalities of any size from a member state of the Council of Europe can already fill the application form. The deadline for applications is 7 June 2021.

The information provided in this form will count as 70% of the final score allocated to each candidate. 30% of the score will be allocated on the physical presentation in Berlin, EV Capital 2021, in September 2021 combined with a video of maximum of 5 minutes to demonstrate volunteering in the municipality.

The winning municipality will be announced around 5 December 2021, on the International Volunteer Day.

For more information