With an eye to 2011, the Assembly wishes to send out a positive
message to the Council of Europe member states and to initiate practical
schemes in order to highlight the importance of active citizenship through
participation in public life. The Assembly therefore invites member
states to:
5.1 promote an energetic
policy in favour of voluntary service and be involved during the
European Year of Volunteers in 2011 in campaigns to raise awareness
about voluntary service, in close co-operation with the European
Union;
5.2 sign and ratify the European Convention on the Promotion
of a Transnational Long-term Voluntary Service for Young People;
5.3 create an instrument for assessing the value of voluntary
service in order to enhance its recognition by the political authorities
and incorporate it into all budgetary considerations at national, regional
and local levels;
5.4 consider introducing, if they have not yet done so, tax-deductibility
of donations made to voluntary service associations;
5.5 introduce a volunteer status to facilitate access to voluntary
work;
5.6 recognise the impact of voluntary service on local development
and encourage the introduction of official policies agreed between
local authorities and voluntary organisations;
5.7 develop systems for official recognition of informal learning
and skills developed through experiences with voluntary service;
5.8 set up a social protection system for long-term volunteers
and those who work more than a specified number of hours and credit
voluntary action for the acquisition of pension rights;
5.9 encourage the development of voluntary activities for
all age groups by strengthening inter-generational solidarity and
removing the possible legal and administrative obstacles to the
active involvement of older people;
5.10 promote “food banks” ensuring voluntary collection of
foodstuffs from private individuals or companies and distributing
them free of charge to needy families and individuals;
5.11 create a legal framework for voluntary work tailored to
the multi-ethnic realities of a number of Council of Europe member
states and develop targeted programmes for enhancing diversity in
voluntary associations through the recruitment of migrant volunteers;
5.12 recognise that voluntary work is one of the few areas
where there exists a balanced participation of women and men in
terms of responsibilities and decision making and that ways should
be found to build bridges between this experience in voluntary service
and other sectors, including the political sector.
