Lead by the City of Zagreb, partners of the transnational project Work for a Cause, Serve for Sport (W4C-S4S) met online on October 5, also symbolically marking 2 months to go until the International Volunteer Day, celebrated annually on December 5.

The W4C initiative aims to educate and equip volunteers for participating in organisation of national and international sporting events. Covering also the inclusion of people with disabilities in sporting events, it fosters social inclusion and equal opportunities in sport.



It is well known that taking part in sports and physical activity has numerous benefits. Physical benefits include improved health and fitness, potential weight loss and improved coordination. There are also significant mental health benefits which can be linked to a sense of belonging and friendship achieved from the social inclusion and interaction. Participation should not be restricted to doing sports or taking part in physical activity. There are many ways that people can reap the benefits from being involved in physical activity without taking part, including volunteering. Sports and physical activity sector relies heavily on volunteers to ensure that activities and events take place and are enjoyed.

Being a volunteer enables individuals to be part of the environment and benefit without necessarily taking part in an activity. For providers, having a diverse volunteer workforce of different ages, ethnicities and impairments ensures a wider range of experience and knowledge. This encourages creativity and innovations, their delivery more enjoyable and exciting. The valuable contribution volunteers bring to society is being more and more recognized. As all levels of government become more engaged in supporting active citizenship, volunteering is promoted as one of the best examples of how individuals can make a meaningful contribution to civil society with volunteering seen as an important expression of citizenship and fundamental to democracy. Consequently, numerous recent policy developments have been initiated to promote volunteering and improve the volunteering infrastructure.



Apart of the City of Zagreb (CRO) which is the co-ordinator of this project, W4C is supported by partners the Municipality of Almussafes (ESP), Society for the Development of Voluntary Work Novo Mesto (SLO), Institute for Social Innovation and Cohesion (GRE), GEA - Social Cooperative Society (ITA) and the EUSA Institute (SLO). The two-year project is funded by the Erasmus+ Programme of the European Union.

For more information, please see www.eusportvolunteers.com.