Statistics officials and civil society leaders met in chilly Podgorica, Montenegro on 27 January for a technical workshop hosted by the European Volunteer Measurement Project (EVMP), the Association for Democratic Prosperity-Zid (ADP-Zid in Montenegro), and Monstat, the Statistical Office of Montenegro. The aim of the workshop was to connect statistics offices with civil society, to provide them with training in the ILO Manual on the Measurement of Volunteer Work approach, and to discuss the possibility for the implementation of the ILO Manual in these countries. The workshop took place within the International Conference “Improving the Quality of Community-based Voluntary Services.” The workshop attracted the participation of statistical offices and civil society representatives from eight countries including Montenegro, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Slovenia, Italy, Poland, Macedonia, and Bosnia and Herzegovina. Of these, Italy has already formally committed to adopting the Manual, and Poland has already produced results. Czech officials also currently measure volunteering as part of the work to produce annual satellite accounts on nonprofit institutions, however they do so using an organization based survey. In the end, perhaps the most important outcome from this workshop was the emphasis participants put on the importance of civil society and...
Continue readingEuropean Volunteer Measurement Project Kickoff Training in Tallin
On May 6, European Volunteer Measurement Project partners CEV, SPES, and CCSS hosted a Kickoff Training Workshop in Tallinn, Estonia to introduce volunteer leaders to the new ILO Manual on the Measurement of Volunteer Work and to enlist their help in making sure that the Manual is used. The workshop was planned to coincide with and compliment the CEV symposium entitled “The future of volunteering: concepts, trends, visions,” held from May 4th through 6th. This first orientation and training session was conducted by Center Director Lester Salamon. Nearly 60 volunteer leaders representing 23 countries attended the session. The training aimed to familiarize these leaders with the ways that the ILO Manual approaches the measurement of volunteer work, to outline the advantages of gathering cross-nationally comparable data on volunteering, and to discuss ways in which volunteer leaders, organizations, and advocates across Europe can help to make certain that the Manual is implemented by statistical authorities in their countries. As explained by Dr. Salamon during the orientation, governments are not required to implement the ILO Manual; it is in the hands of volunteer and civil society leaders to apply the pressure necessary to assure that their respective counties do so. Advocates were asked to take several steps to make that a reality by: bringing this Manual to the attention of statistical authorities; encouraging...
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