Over the past 30 years, EU-funded youth volunteering has created significant opportunities for learning, participation, and social impact. As volunteering continues to evolve, there is a need to better recognize the value of volunteers’ contributions and the skills and competences they gain through their experiences.
The Symposium brings together practitioners, policy makers, researchers, and experts from across Europe. Through discussions, exchange of practices, and collaborative reflection, the event aims to strengthen a shared understanding of recognition and validation, identify key challenges and opportunities, and contribute to practical recommendations for the future of youth volunteering.
The programme will also explore the links between recognition, inclusion, quality volunteering, and pathways into education, employment, and civic engagement.
Discussion papers
How can youth volunteering, and the learning it brings, become more visible and better valued? Every year, young people across Europe give their time, energy and ideas to organisations and communities, and develop valuable skills along the way. Yet this contribution is not always sufficiently recognised.
Two discussion papers look at the question from complementary angles: one on the recognition of youth volunteering and its wider value for society, the other on the validation of the learning that young people acquire while volunteering. Prepared for the Symposium, they offer a common starting point for reflection and discussion rather than predetermined answers.
Download and read them here.
For more information have a look at the agenda
Day 1 | 3 November 2026
Morning
- Participants arrival
17:00
- Registration & Welcome by Emma Grainger & Christine Weil
- Dinner
Day 2 | 4 November 2026
09:00
- Official Opening
- Keynote by Prof. Anne Looney
- Diving into the topic of Recognition
- 1st round of workshops on:
- Recognition of different forms of volunteering
- Young people’s recognition of volunteering
- Legal status and the role of the state
- Societal recognition
- Lunch
Afternoon
- 2nd round of workshops on:
- Recognition of different forms of volunteering
- Young people ́s recognition of volunteering
- Legal status and the role of the state
- Societal recognition
- Evening Programme
- Dinner
Day 3 | 5 November 2026
Morning
- Keynote by Brandon Fay
- Diving into the topic of Validation
- Validation:
- Cross sector collaboration
- Support, intergenerational engagement & mentoring
- Making validation visible
- Ensuring quality validation
- Conclusions & closing by Dr. Lorraine Tansey
- Lunch & Departures
We will look at questions such as
How can volunteering be better recognised in society, by policy makers, employers, and communities?
What support is needed for volunteers to recognise their own learning and value?
How can skills gained through volunteering be made visible and useful for education and employment pathways?
What works well in different countries, and what can we learn from each other?
How can existing tools and frameworks be used more effectively?
On the first day we will dive deeper into four concrete topics
1) Recognition of the different forms of youth volunteering
This workshop looks at what models of youth volunteering are well recognised today and what remains overlooked. We will also explore what is needed to better recognise youth volunteering.
2) Young people’s recognition of youth volunteering
This workshop explores how young people see themselves as volunteers, and how that self-perception affects who may start, continue or step away from volunteering, especially among young people with fewer opportunities. We will also look at how organisations and young people’s environment can strengthen this recognition.
3) Legal status and the role of the State in the recognition of youth volunteering
This workshop looks at what governments can do beyond and including legislation to strengthen recognition of youth volunteering, from tackling legal barriers to targeted public investment. We will also explore how the State can work more closely with the education system, employers and civil society.
4) Societal recognition of youth volunteering
This workshop explores how society currently sees youth volunteering and what narratives help or hinder its recognition. We will also consider the role of media, employers and the education system in making contributions – that often go unnoticed, more visible.
. 
The Symposium is part of the strategic cooperation on volunteering between 18 National Agencies for Erasmus+ and the European Solidarity Corps and SALTOs (SNAC Vol). Through this partnership, we work together to strengthen youth volunteering across Europe and support its ongoing development.
This symposium is organised by
with the support of
Stay tuned for updates!
Skip to content