After centrally organised training of trainers by CEV, online and offline cascaded training activities in Member States are being co-organised with CEV Members on “Involving people with disabilities as volunteers”. 

 

Organisations who do not make the shift away from thinking about people with disabilities as only recipients of volunteering, miss the opportunity to engage a new group of volunteers with unique skills and experiences as well as make a positive contribution to the inclusion of people with disabilities more fully in society. Many people with disabilities face specific challenges and barriers to volunteering, and more widely social inclusion. The risk of social exclusion among people with disabilities remains far too high in Europe, and well above the average for those without a registered disability (29% against 18%). Barriers to volunteering for this group can stem from many sources, including personal issues such as lack of self-confidence or communication skills, external factors such as social stigma, or problems arising from volunteer-involving organisations lacking the skills and knowledge to engage with volunteers with disabilities.
 

People with disabilities often lack adequate social networks, and find it difficult to develop and reach their full potential in situations where they might not feel included. The lack of visibility of people with disabilities in volunteering and/ or in employment in volunteering organisations who could act as role models worsens this issue. 
Engaging people with disabilities as volunteers has an incredibly positive impact on all the parties involved, the organisation, the volunteers themselves, and the local community. 

Under the CERV Operating Grant Framework Agreement “REVIVE”(Revealing European Values in Volunteering in Europe) and within the context of the 2024 Specific Agreement,  “Volunteering, Equality, Rights and Action” (VERA 2024), CEV has developed this training session to increase capacity in its member organisations and other stakeholders to engage volunteers with disabilities. 

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A total of 1024 participants (311 male, 712 female and 1 non-binary) in 15 countries, 40 training sessions took part:

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Belgium (BE) - 26 April 2024 with 32 participants 

Belgium (BE) - 4 November 2024 with 22 participants 

Belgium (BE) - 7 November 2024 with 25 participants 

Croatia (HR) - 18 March 2024 with 27 participants

Czechia (CZ) - 1 October 2024 with 18 participants

Denmark (DK) - 9 December 2024 with 4 participants

France (FR) - 14 November 2024 with 34 participants

France (FR) - 15 November 2024 with 27 participants

France (FR) - 23 November 2024 with 20 participants

Hungary (HU) - 8 October 2024 with 9 participants

Hungary (HU) - 6 June 2024 with 21 participants

Italy (IT) - 23 May 2024 with 21 participants 

Italy (IT) - 23 September 2024 with 31 participants 

Italy (IT) - 1 October 2024 with 73 participants 

Italy (IT) - 25 October 2024 with 29 participants 

Italy (IT) - 23 September 2024 with 31 participants 

Italy (IT) - 27 November 2024 with 13 participants 

Italy (IT) - 11 October 2024 with 12 participants 

Italy (IT) - 22 October 2024 with 26 participants 

Italy (IT) - 29 October 2024 with 37 participants 

Italy (IT) - 8 November 2024 with 20 participants 

Malta (MT) - 19 September 2024 with 64 participants

Portugal (PT) - 18 April 2024 with 38 participants 

Portugal (PT) - 13 November 2024 with 54 participants 

Portugal (PT) - 4 July 2024 with 10 participants 

Portugal (PT) - 28 June 2024 with 34 participants 

Romania (RO) - 22 November 2024 with 30 participants

Romania (RO) - 11 December 2024 with 13 participants

Romania (RO) - 3 December 2024 with 13 participants

Slovakia (SK) - 23 October 2024 with 14 participants

Slovakia (SK) - 21 March 2024 with 17 participants

Slovakia (SK) - 23 April 2024 with 12 participants

Slovenia (SI) - 11 September 2024 with 12 participants

Slovenia (SI) - 28 March 2024 with 19 participants

Spain (ES) - 13 June 2024 with 68 participants 

Spain (ES) - 29 November with 17 participants 

Spain (ES) - 24 November with 26 participants 

Spain (ES) - 8 October 2024 with 31 participants 

Finland (FI) - 31 March 2024 with 19 participants ​​​