site.btaVolunteering Centre Coordinator Proposes Single European Web Portal for All Volunteer Organizations

All volunteer organizations in Europe should be included in a common portal, Albena Yoncheva, Head of the Local Centre for Working with Volunteers at the Regional Library in Lovech, said in an interview for BTA on Wednesday. Yoncheva underscored that volunteering in Europe is a valued tradition and further popularizing and developing the activity would culturally enrich Europe.   

Yoncheva urged for the preparation of a national strategy for encouraging volunteering and recognizing volunteers' rights in Bulgaria. According to her new programmes for financing volunteering causes can be created. 

Local Centre for Working with Volunteers at the Regional Library in Lovech

Yoncheva has been the coordinator of the Centre since its establishment in 2007. Among the initiatives realized by the children and adolescents in the Centre are urban picnics for parents and children, charity concerts, campaigns in support of the elderly, environmental activities, and sports competitions. They partner with the Regional Centre for Support of Inclusive Education in Lovech and have created the first adapted theatre for children with special educational needs. For Yoncheva and the initiative's participants, it is a pleasure to be an example for the citizens of Lovech. 

Active Children Develop Europe 

Children with active citizenship will positively impact Europe's development. "They know that the world is not only materialistic and we have to open our hearts to understand it", Yoncheva added. 

She said that there is more to be done in Bulgaria to encourage more people to become volunteers. Volunteering in Bulgaria is a non-formal type of education and has not yet found a wider realization. It lacks recognition in schools and teachers should be urged to encourage students to volunteer, Yoncheva noted. 

Volunteering Act 

According to Yoncheva, the number of volunteers is declining, while solidarity and civil society are encouraged, but no action is taken. "There have been repeated attempts to pass a Volunteering Act in Bulgaria, but without success," Yoncheva pointed out. Volunteers in Europe are well aware of their rights and obligations as volunteers. One might get a discount for university accommodation and tuition fees, receive a scholarship, or have their experience recognized if they have volunteered in a field before. Yoncheva expressed hope that Bulgarian volunteers will one day benefit from such an Act. 

Yoncheva urged the European Volunteering Service to use its full potential by establishing a single Internet portal for all European volunteering organizations. Thus Europe will benefit from the exchange of experience between different cultures and will become even more active and diverse, she added.