2013 SU Update: Council of Europe Seminar successfully wraps up in Kazan

 

KAZAN – The Council of Europe’s two-day seminar on volunteer training for large-scale events neared an end on May 31st. A collection of ideas and volunteer recruitment, motivation and coordination projects will be published based on reports of the seminar.

It stands to mention that the seminar that brought together representatives of Russia, Kazakhstan, Italy, Monaco, Serbia, Poland and other European countries, launched its work on May 30th.

Day 2 agenda covered the mechanisms, models and instruments of volunteer recruitment, motivation and coordination. The seminar featured experience exchange reports of volunteer programs implemented by European Summer Games Special Olympics (Poland), Belgrade 2009 Organizing Committee (Serbia), Euro 2012 (Poland), Marocchi-Martellini National Football Championship (Italy).

«We’ve elaborated a reward scheme that became an excellent incentive for volunteer activity», Natasha Jankovic from the Belgrade 2009 Organizing Committee said. «Everyone involved in test events in the preparations of the 2009 Summer Universiade was granted a volunteer transport card and also discount cards to entertainment and fitness centers, the best of the best were awarded tourist vouchers.»

The seminar’s afternoon session was held in the form of workshops in different fields of volunteer activity. The seminar entrants also submitted offers aimed at defining legal regulation, solving visa problems, establishing coordination with education institutions and youth organizations, as well as finding venues for exchanging experience and consolidating volunteers.

«This seminar is the first of its kind», First Deputy Director General of the Kazan 2013 Executive Directorate Azat Kadyrov summed up. «I think that we received not just a positive energy boost from our foreign colleagues, but also practical guidelines to our work in the preparations of large-scale sporting events.» At the closing ceremony of the seminar each seminar entrant was granted a certificate, and Kazan 2013 volunteers involved in the seminar’s organization were handed a letter of thanks from the Enlarged Partial Agreement on Sport (EPAS). EPAS scheduled a series of seminars focused on developing effective cooperation of volunteers and management of large sporting events. EPAS Executive Secretary Stanislas Frossard concluded that all the reports would be published in a collection of ideas and volunteer recruitment, motivation and coordination projects.

 

(Source: Media Department of Kazan 2013 Executive Directorate)