For almost a year, National Centre for Culture (NCK), the Centre for the Thought of John Paul II in Warsaw and The Citi Handlowy Leopold Kronenberg Foundation, have worked to professionalize volunteering projects at cultural institutions. Their cooperation was sealed when they signed a letter of intent. Thus, the institutions confirmed their willingness to continue the "Volunteering in Culture" program in 2017, which entails e.g. training sessions for volunteering coordinators, an annual nationwide conference and a "Cultural Ticket of a Volunteer" initiative.
With the signing of the letter of intent we sealed our cooperation to date and undertook to be involved in a joint long-term project "Volunteering in Culture," emphasizes Eliza Dzwonkiewicz, Deputy Director of NCK for Local Cooperation.
In 2017, activities under the "Volunteering in Culture" program are going to focus on raising the competence of volunteering coordinators - both those with extensive experience and those only starting to work in that area. At the moment, there are few cultural institutions which have volunteering activities as part of their strategy. Moreover, there are hardly any examples of good practices and tools which could support individuals responsible for volunteering at these institutions. Therefore, the plan is to involve in the project not only coordinators themselves, but also directors and managers, as, without them, volunteering activities cannot succeed. It is of key importance for further development that employees at all levels of the organization understand the significance of volunteering in culture.
Assumptions of the 2017 "VOLUNTEERING IN CULTURE" PROJECT:
A CYCLE OF TRAINING SESSIONS AND A GRANT COMPETITION
A cycle of training sessions aims at raising the competence of volunteering coordinators at cultural institutions. They will be equipped with skills and knowledge which will allow them to be confident in the area they work in, will reinforce their position as volunteering leaders within local communities and will provide them with tools for effective project management. Furthermore, they will be able to take part in a grant competition. Their original volunteering projects will be evaluated by a jury, and the best of them will be granted a financing of PLN 1,000-2,000 for their implementation.
WORKSHOPS AND A STUDY VISIT FOR THE DIRECTORS OF CULTURAL INSTITUTIONS AND VOLUNTEERING COORDINATORS
Special workshops and a study visit are going to be organized for the directors of cultural institutions in recognition of the important role they play in the process of organizing volunteering activities. It is extremely important that volunteering coordinators are supported by their managers in their activities - for it to be possible they have to be aware of what volunteering in culture is.
2ND NATIONWIDE CONFERENCE "VOLUNTEERING IN CULTURE", 6-7 DECEMBER 2017
The second edition of the conference will start on 6 December, one day after the International Volunteer Day. It aims at summarizing the year-long activities under the "Volunteering in Culture" program. The results of individual activities will be presented during the event, and the discussion panels will concentrate around the role of executives in the process of creating volunteering at cultural institutions. On the second day of the event, the participants will take part in workshops.
In the first edition of the conference in 2016, there were 133 participants from 40 Polish cities and from 108 institutions. In three days, the participants listened to five discussion panels with experts and volunteers. There were also 10 workshops on different methods of working with volunteers.
CULTURAL TICKET OF A VOLUNTEER
The Volunteer's Ticket to Culture is a project dedicated to all Volunteers, both those cooperating with cultural institutions and those involved in other areas. It aims at changing the image of a volunteer by creating a platform of involved cultural institutions, at supporting the establishment and development of volunteering at institutions and encouraging them to join volunteering.
65 cultural institutions took part in the first edition of the conference in 2016. While recognizing and acknowledging the job done by volunteers, they prepared for them nearly 2.5 thousand free tickets to different cultural events. Those included invitations to concerts, theatre performances, exhibitions, and museums. Some institutions prepared extraordinary attractions, not available for a broader audience, e.g. backstage visits to institutions. This is the first such campaign in Poland, created especially for Volunteers.
The project coordinators in "Volunteering in Culture" are; Małgorzata Cieślińska, National Centre for Culture, Paulina Zalewska, The Citi Handlowy Leopold Kronenberg Foundation, Michał Senk, the Centre for the Thought of John Paul II .
