Resources

Brochure

Brochure is being prepared as a follow up of the conference. There will be different practices from all over Europe presented.

Outputs of the conference

From 18 to 21 May 2021, we hosted an online international conference Volunteering and solidarity as a social capital of the city. It brought together 30 participants – representatives of NGOs, municipalities and socially responsible companies. Participants shared successful cross-sectoral networking practices, reflected on the needs of individual sectors and made a plan for future collaborations.

The purpose of the conference was to exchange good practices of promoting solidarity in local communities across Europe and beyond, to present various support mechanisms such as the European Solidarity Corps and to encourage mutual international cooperation of local communities in this field.

Cities and municipalities support solidarity in order to promote social cohesion in their local environments, which requires a thoughtful cross-sectoral approach and integration.

We were impressed by the keynote speaker prof. dr. Renata Salecl. A recording of the keynote is available here.

The round table on social capital, which took place on the first day of the conference, showed diverse views on solidarity in society, while opening up space for the exchange of ideas. You can see the recording here. Representatives of various sectors and organizations took part in the round table on the topic of approaches to promoting volunteering and solidarity in local environments:
– Marjeta Lužnik, Slovenian Philanthropy,
– Chris Welter, representative of the European Capital of Culture in Luxembourg,
– Markus Rebitschek, Voluntary Program Coordinator, EJBW Weimar, Germany,
– Simona Topolinjak, City of Ljubljana,
– Zorana Uzelac Bošnjak, Municipality of Zagreb, Croatia.

Jonathan Robertson also spoke at the conference as a researcher, whose task was to review and analyze the existing practices of the participants in order to identify the elements of success.

Their practices were presented at the conference:
– Oasis, Zagreb, Croatia
– Municipality of Minsk, Poland
– KNOF; Litija, Slovenia
– Fundació Catalunya Voluntaria, Barcelona, Spain
– Viška hiška, Slovenian Philanthropy, Ljubljana, Slovenia

In the central part of the conference, the participants discussed the needs of individual sectors and the common needs in relation to the local environment. We presented various support mechanisms to the participants, including a presentation of the European Solidarity Corps and the opportunities it offers.

We ended the conference by preparing action plans and planning future projects, and we also dedicated the space to socializing and networking.

The conference program was prepared and implemented by a team of experienced international trainers, and visually supported by a graphic recorder.

Keynote speaker prof. dr. Renata Salecl