Sessions

Locations and main topics of the first three sessions of the EUV, organized by AVE, were:

“Walking together towards the third millennium – voluntary service as a cultural challenge”. Message of greetings were given by Manuel Fraga Iribarne, President of the Government of Galicia; Manuel Primentel, Minister of Labour and Social Affairs, Spain; Dario Villanueva Prieto, Dean of the University of Santiago de Compostela and Maria Sofia Barbasetti de Prun, President of A.V.E. The inaugural speech dealt with “Voluntary Service, a special and cultural challenge for the third millennium”, given by Bernard Emont, Commission of Culture, European Parliament. The lecture given by Segismundo Pinto, Rector of the UEV, was titled “Impulsing, steering, strengthening and developing civic initiatives” within the thesis that the volunteer movement is like a “Cultural Revolution” in the 3rd millennium as an allusion to the Industrial Revolution at the beginning 19th century. The conclusions of the III session were given by Sebastián Masó: “It is precisely this universal spirit which strengthens the uniting links between the volunteers who here have gathered. [...] It is the analysis of living realities that has created this forum for reflection, to contribute to the best development of volunteerism in Europe as a factor of balance, civility and solidarity. [...] The EUV has put forward the question: What will response to the forthcoming changes in the next century be? In general terms, the response has been unanimous: Volunteering defends a social order based on peace, justice and mutual respect, making it possible for citizens to co-operate widely in their communities to carry out a great variety of common projects and to promote new, more adequate ways of solidarity.”

Conference Programme, English version

“Volunteering and Voluntary Service in the struggle against long-term unemployment”.

Presentation of the EUV: Goals, Methods and fields (social, civic and cultural).

Conference Programme, English version