Main News Volunteer movement is developing in Belarus

Volunteer movement is developing in Belarus

9 December 2024

Every year on December 5, the world celebrates International Volunteer Day. On this day, regional gatherings of silver age volunteers are held in Belarus to exchange best practices and new initiatives, and to honor the most active representatives of the movement. An innovation of 2024 was the participation in the events of young volunteers, pupils and students of educational institutions.

Today, more than 6 thousand young volunteers and 5 thousand silverи age volunteers are carrying out their activities in Belarus. The leaders in the number of silver volunteers are the Gomel and Vitebsk regions, in each of which more than 1,100 silver volunteers carry out their activities. More than 90% of the silver age volunteers in Belarus are women aged 70 years with secondary specialized education.

Participation in volunteer activities by senior citizens allows the older generation to realize their potential in public activities, strengthens intergenerational ties, and helps preserve Belarusian traditions.

Silver volunteer initiatives are closely intertwined with youth volunteer projects, which are actively implemented in social boarding houses and territorial centers. Main areas of volunteer initiatives:

care and support for lonely elderly citizens and persons with disabilities, including those living in boarding houses (“School of Care”, “Care”, “Volunteer Assistance Center”, “Hourly Assistant”, “Volunteer Liaison”, etc.);
teaching computer and digital literacy, financial and cyber security, foreign languages (“Safety School”, “Erudit”, “I am Online”, etc.) according to the principle of “equal teaching equal”, etc.).
participation in social activities (patriotic education, home visits, sponsorship assistance, social tourism, revival of Belarusian culture and preservation of historical values);
organization of of creative and sports clubs, amateur artistic activities (“Grandmother’s Theatre”, “World of Dance”, “The Healing Power of the Voice”, “Rhythms of the Heart”, etc.).

The development of the volunteer movement, including among senior citizens, helps to create conditions for social activity of the population, and also contributes to the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development by the Republic of Belarus.