The first meeting of a Sisak volunteer coordinators’ non-formal network meeting held in the Sisak Town Hall on the 8 December 2016, as a part of the Local Democracy Agency Sisak project “Sisak Volunteer’ Network” and in cooperation with the Town of Sisak Committee for Development of Volunteering.
The meeting objective is local networking, exchange of experiences and good practices of public institutions and associations that involve volunteers in their work.
It gathered the representatives of Town of Sisak, Gymnasium Sisak, Sisak Association of People with Intellectual Disabilities, Sisak Tourist Board, Sisak Town Museum, Centre for Social Welfare Sisak, Sisak Association of Physically Disabled Persons, Association for recreational and therapeutic riding “KAS”, Centre for social education “PRONI” and LDA Sisak. Many of participating institutions and associations were involved in recently finished training of volunteers’ coordinators, organised by the LDA Sisak, which contributed in strengthening capacity for volunteer management.
The meeting is initiated on behalf of expressed needs of local public institutions and associations, aiming to have it every few months. The LDA Sisak President, Mrs Paula Raužan, facilitated the meeting and presented the first year results of the Town of Sisak Committee for Development of Volunteering, which successfully encouraged development of volunteering in the community. Among other things, legal obligations of volunteer organisers, new proposals regarding future cooperation and implementation of volunteer activities were discussed as well.
Conclusion is that there is a need for volunteers and quality volunteer programs, but certainly, it is still necessary to work on building partnerships among associations and public institutions at the local level, as well as on the development and promotion of volunteering in the community.
Present representatives agreed to start with planning joint voluntary activities at the very beginning of the next year, by which contributing to high level of citizens’ participation in the community life.
The project “Sisak Volunteer’ Network” is funded by the Croatian Ministry for demography, family, youth and social policy and the Town of Sisak. The project “Volunteer Centre Sisak” is funded by the Town of Sisak and the Sisak-Moslavina County.
