Fundació Privada Catalunya Voluntària 1999–2024
In 1999, the youth association Barcelona Voluntària was established. In 2009, it became Fundació Catalunya Voluntària. This transformation was motivated by the responsibility of managing the Global Youth Volunteer Office on behalf of IAVE (International Association for Volunteer Effort), which considered a foundation to be a stronger and more stable structure for managing a global office of such importance.
We have always sought to promote, support and recognise volunteering as a tool for the education and personal development of young people, particularly when volunteering takes place within projects that have a positive social impact. Such projects encourage the development of professional, management and teamwork skills, as well as initiative, while providing opportunities to discover new social environments and realities, develop new interests and gain valuable experiences, especially when they involve travelling to another country.
We have established three main programmes that bring together our activities:
Catalans Around the World (Catalans/es al Món): To promote Catalonia’s social third sector internationally and encourage the international mobility of non-profit organisation representatives, education professionals and young people through participation in training courses, seminars, exchanges, study visits, forums and other activities.
Active Volunteering (Voluntariat Actiu): To help make Catalonia and the wider world societies of active volunteers by supporting initiatives developed by young people themselves and promoting inclusive, participatory, educational and results-oriented volunteering, enabling volunteers to become agents of social change.
Call for Peace (Clam per la Pau): We defend the right to live in peace and believe that peace is the only way forward. We promote a culture of peace and peace education, providing training for young people, activists and organisational leaders in conflict resolution and countering hate speech.
In 2011, we received an award from the United Nations Online Volunteering Programme in recognition of the development of the project Peace Bag for EuroMed Youth.
In 2022, our Project Director, Lluc Martí, was selected as a member of the international jury responsible for determining the World Volunteer Awards in Moscow.
Some of FCV’s Activities
Through our relationships with the United Nations and UNESCO
We successfully advocated for Catalan to be included as a working language in the United Nations Online Volunteering network.
2022: We were invited to deliver a presentation entitled The Catalonian Secession Crisis at the United Nations Association of the United States Model UN Conference in New York.
2012–2015: We participated in the international advocacy committee of UNOY (United Network of Young Peacebuilders), which contributed to the development of United Nations Security Council Resolution 2250 (2015) on Youth, Peace and Security.
2013: We participated in the United Nations Alliance of Civilizations Summer School in Tarrytown, USA.
2012: We participated in the 43rd session of the United Nations Commission on Population and Development in New York.
2011: We participated in UNESCO’s High Panel on Peace and Dialogue among Cultures in New York.
2010–2011: International meetings of the United Nations Alliance of Civilizations in Rio de Janeiro.
2010: We participated in meetings of the international alliance preparing the tenth anniversary of the International Year of Volunteers, organised by United Nations Volunteers in Bonn.
2009: We participated in the 6th Model United Nations in Catalonia, organised by the Spanish United Nations Association.
2008: We participated in the United Nations Youth Conference in New York.
2007–2012: We participated in sessions of the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women in New York.
2005: We were invited by the Latvian UNESCO Association to participate in an international UNESCO conference dedicated to Intangible Cultural Heritage in Riga.
Through our relationship with IAVE (International Association for Volunteer Effort)
We managed the Global Youth Volunteer Office based in Catalonia (IAVE Youth Office in Catalonia – IYOC) from 2008 to 2011.
2008 and 2011: We co-organised the 20th and 21st IAVE World Volunteer Conferences in Panama and Singapore, with the participation of 250 delegates representing volunteering organisations from all regions of the world.
We organised the Youth Forums of IAVE Regional Volunteer Conferences in three regions:
2009: Asia-Pacific (Taiwan).
2010: Latin America (Colombia).
2011: Arab countries (Lebanon).
We also participated in:
2018: 26th IAVE World Volunteer Conference in Augsburg.
2016: 24th IAVE World Volunteer Conference in Mexico City.
2017: IAVE Global Corporate Volunteer Council World Conference in Madrid.
2010: 5th IAVE Latin American Regional Volunteer Conference in Bogotá.
2009: IAVE European Regional Volunteer Conference in Prague.
2007: 10th IAVE Asia-Pacific Regional Conference in Nagoya, Japan.
2006: 19th IAVE World Volunteer Conference and IAVE World Youth Volunteer Conference in New Delhi.
2006–2011: Six meetings of the IAVE Global Board of Directors in Edinburgh (Scotland), Panama, Busan (South Korea), Paris (France), Washington (USA) and Singapore.
2005–2008: IAVE European Regional Conferences in Reading (England), Prague (Czech Republic) and Wolverhampton (England).
We maintain a significant international presence in Arab countries
2019: We organised the first International Forum Volunteering in the Arab World – Challenges and Opportunities in Vilanova i la Geltrú, Barcelona.
We were invited to participate as the only European representative in the following events:
2024: Fifth International Arab Forum for Social Development (Casablanca, Morocco).
2024: Mobility in Action project development meeting (Cairo, Egypt).
2019: Second International Arab Volunteering Conference (Hammamet, Tunisia).
2019: Fifth International Arab Forum for Social Development (Casablanca, Morocco).
2019: Second International Conference on Excellence in Social Work (Manama, Bahrain).
2012: Anna Lindh Foundation meetings and conferences in Egypt.
We were also invited by organisations in the Americas to participate in:
2017: Fifth National Volunteering Conference in Peru (Lima, Peru), organised by CENAVOL.
2008: Human Rights Week (Monterrey, Mexico), organised by the Government of the State of Nuevo León.
2008: First University Social Responsibility Forum (Bogotá, Colombia), organised by Fundación Banco del Tiempo and Universidad del Rosario.
We have collaborated with organisations in Asia
2018: We hosted the Hakka Youth International Affairs Mission from Taiwan in Vilanova i la Geltrú and Barcelona, supported by the Government of Taiwan (Hakka Affairs Council).
2015: International meeting 2015 Global Forum on Youth Peace and Security (Amman, Jordan).
2011: Networking conference Asia Europe Youth Volunteers Exchange (Yogyakarta, Indonesia), organised by the Coordinating Committee for International Voluntary Service (CCIVS) and the Asia-Europe Foundation (ASEF).
2009: We hosted four young volunteers as part of the Taiwanese Government’s Volunteering Overseas programme.
Some of our most notable activities across Europe
2024: MedCat Days (Barcelona).
2023: MedCat Days (Barcelona).
2022: Conference on The National and European Commitment of Spanish Youth (Madrid, Spain).
2019: MedCat Days (Barcelona).
2017: European Solidarity Corps Stakeholder Forum, held at the European Commission Representation (Brussels, Belgium).
2017: Closing Event: From Erasmus to Erasmus+ (Brussels, Belgium).
2017: 19th Spanish National Volunteering Congress (Seville, Spain).
2014–2016: Three international forums organised by UNOY.
2015: Preventing and Countering Violent Extremism conference, organised by the Club de Madrid (Madrid, Spain).
2013: Reloaded Seminar, coordinated by the European Youth Foundation (EYF) of the Council of Europe (Strasbourg, France).
2013: Disarmament, Demobilisation and Reintegration training course, organised by Barcelona City Council and the Swedish Folke Bernadotte Academy (Castelldefels, Barcelona).
2012: European Volunteering Congress (Barcelona).
2011: Meeting organised by the Club de Madrid (Madrid, Spain).
2010: International Volunteering Congress (Barcelona), organised by COCAT and CCIVS.
2010: First Volunteering Summer School (Évora, Portugal), organised by Fundação Eugénio de Almeida.
2009: Volunteers, Sharing Knowledge, Changing Future conference (Donetsk, Ukraine), organised by Donetsk National Business University.
2009: Second International Volunteering Congress (Madrid), organised by the Government of the Community of Madrid.
2007: First Russian Youth Forum (Aleksander Pushkin Tourist Base, Russia), organised by Interkulturelles Zentrum.
2003: SALTO TC Inclusion training course (Lučenec, Slovakia).
Some of the most significant activities we have organised, including in the field of vocational education and training
2024: Partnership-building activity What a YOUTH Job Culture Would Look Like?
2024: Practical training experience Europe 4 All.
2024: Practical training experience Nature and Computer Science in Harmony.
2024: Study visit Jobshadowing in VET.
2023: Practical training experience Green Skills in Agriculture – Studying the Experience of Catalonia.
2023: Practical training experience European Partnerships for Better Vocational Training.
2023: Contact-making seminar Queer Up!
2023: Training course ECOrasmus.
2022: International workshop Fine Arts for FINE Learning.
2022: Practical training experience Career Opportunities in Agriculture.
2022: Practical training experience Natural and Bio-friendly Techniques and Products in Hairdressing.
2022: Practical training experience Ecological Wine Production – Studying the Experience of Catalonia.
2022: Practical training experience European Career for Professions with Future.
2022: Training course Mainstreaming Media Literacy and Thinking Competences in Youth Work.
2021–2024: Fine Arts for FINE Learning.
2021: Seminar Youth Leadership for Advocacy.
2020: Practical training experience Youth Leadership for Change.
2020: Study visit The Barcelona Model in Establishing a Supportive Environment for Working with Students with Special Educational Needs.
2020–2023: Mainstreaming Media Literacy and Thinking Competences in Youth Work.
2019: Seminar Volunteering for Peace.
2019: Study visit Tools and Mechanisms for Youth Participation.
2019: Seminar Equal Volunteering Opportunities for All.
2019: Study visit Empower for Change.
2018: Study visit MOOC.
2017–2018: Minorities as Opportunity and Occasion for Chrysalis, in collaboration with Informa Giovanni.
2017: Seminar Volunteering for Change.
2015: Training course Volunteering for Peace.
2015: Training course Learn Through Volunteering – What and How?
2015–2016: Youth Impact: Strengthening the Organisational Capabilities to Build Peace in Europe, in collaboration with the United Network of Young Peacebuilders.
2015–2018: Three training courses for multipliers, Understanding and Working with Conflict.
2014: 25 Stories for Peace, marking the 25th anniversary of the UNOY Peacebuilders network, in collaboration with UNOY.
2014: Networking seminar Peace Bag for EuroMed Youth.
2013: Seed of Change, in collaboration with CEIPES.
2013–2014: Mainstreaming Peace Education in Adult Education.
2013–2015: Let’s Play, Sing and Dance Together: Effective Non-Formal Education for Adults.
2012: Training course Deconstructing the Other: Innovative Social Inclusion Approaches.
2012: Training course 360° Peace in Media.
And many more.
Our collaboration with CEV (Centre for European Volunteering)
2022: We were project partners and hosted an activity within the European Solidarity Corps project Single Use Plastic Awareness – Stop All Plastic Straws.
2017: CEV Conference Volunteering in Europe: More Than a Challenge (Vienna, Austria).
2011: CEV seminar dedicated to promoting youth volunteering policies (Skopje, North Macedonia).
2010–2011: We collaborated with CEV to support the European Commission’s designation of the European Year of Volunteering and the creation of the European Volunteering Capital.
2006–2017: Eleven CEV congresses and general assemblies held in Cluj-Napoca (Romania), Prague (Czech Republic), Paris (France), Ljubljana (Slovenia), Wolverhampton (England), Luxembourg, Tallinn (Estonia), Barcelona, Valencia, Budapest (Hungary) and Malmö (Sweden).
2006: CEV Conference Effective and Innovative Networking and Mobilization (Barcelona), jointly organised with FCVS, a CEV member.
2005: We organised CEV’s first contact-making seminar, CEV Youth, in Freiburg (Germany), in collaboration with Caritas Freiburg, and the first international training course, Volunteering Without Borders, in Dublin (Ireland), together with Volunteering Ireland and CEV members.
2004: We hosted the CEV Director for their first practical training experience in Barcelona and Vilanova i la Geltrú, as well as the first project carried out by CEV with the support of European Community youth action programmes.