Three-day training on a topic of “Volunteers’ management in local community – setting up local volunteers’ centers” is successfully implemented from 6 to 8 March 2013. The training was held in Laktaši (Bosnia and Herzegovina) with 25 participants from Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina. It was organised by Local Democracy Agency Sisak – LDA Sisak (Croatia) and Youth Communicative Centre Banja Luka – OKC (Bosnia and Herzegovina), as a part of projects “Cross-border Volunteers’ Networking for Local Development” and “Volunteers Make Change”.

“There is a huge help needed by volunteers in smaller communities, especially in social sector. Non-existence of organised work with volunteers and absence of permanent promotion of volunteering is great problem. Therefore we trained representatives of non-governmental organisations and public institutions from 8 local communities where setting up of local volunteers’ centers are planed. The aim was to transfer our knowledge in order to built their capacities for successfully linking volunteers with those seeking for volunteers and for developing useful and sustainable volunteer’ programs” – said Mrs Irena Đumić Jurić-Marijanović from OKC, who alongside with Mrs Paula Raužan from LDA Sisak, conducted the training.

Project “Cross-border Volunteers’ Networking for Local Development” are implementing LDA Sisak and OKC Banja Luka, financed by the European Union through IPA Cross-border Program Croatia – Bosnia and Herzegovina. One of the project’ objective is opening of local volunteers’ centers in towns Ozalj and Vrginmost (Croatia) and in towns Gradiška and Laktašti (Bosnia and Herzegovina).

Through the project “Volunteers Make Change“, implemented by OKC Banja Luka, financed by the International Centre Olof Palme, is foreseen opening of four more local volunteers’ centers in Bosnia and Herzegovina, in towns Zvornik, Jablanica, Gračanica and Srbac.