"The feeling of happiness, satisfaction, and joy from giving and doing good for someone are the main benefits of volunteering," was the general conclusion of the Workshop on Volunteering and Developing a Volunteering Program, held online on 6-7 May 2025, via the ZOOM platform.
The workshop began with discussions on understanding the values of volunteering, during which participants emphasised the importance of volunteering—not only for others but also for oneself—because it fosters a sense of community and contribution.
Over the two days, participants enhanced their knowledge of effective volunteer management cycles within civil society organisations (CSOs), the legal framework for developing volunteering, regulations on maintaining volunteer work records, volunteer booklets, procedures and necessary documents for engaging foreign volunteers, volunteering programs, and volunteer position descriptions. They also reviewed the strategic goals of the National Strategy for the Promotion and Development of Volunteering 2021–2025. Additionally, participants, divided into virtual groups, worked practically on drafting volunteering programs and volunteer position descriptions.
The participants expressed satisfaction with the knowledge gained during the workshop and the practical exercises conducted.
"The training on volunteering and developing a volunteering program was particularly significant for our organisation. We acquired new knowledge crucial to our work. The exercises conducted will be beneficial in recruiting and managing new volunteers. We are grateful for the opportunity to be part of this training and to implement the acquired knowledge in practice," said Bojana Mladenovska from the Association for Creating a Functional System KOREKTOR – Skopje.
In addition to the knowledge gained during the workshop, some participants found the subsequent mentoring sessions, planned after the workshop, to be very useful.
"The workshop provided excellent information and guidance for us as an association, through an in-depth understanding of volunteering and clarification of its strategic role in our operations. The clear distinction of volunteering from other forms of engagement and the presentation of the volunteer management cycle gave us a foundation for further enhancing our knowledge to develop a sustainable and effective volunteering program. The discussion enabled the connection of theoretical concepts with the specific needs and challenges in the association's work. We look forward to the mentorship and our continued collaboration," said Natasha Pavicevic-Stojmenovska, President of the Association of Social Workers of Macedonia, Skopje.
"The workshop contributed to CSOs to improve volunteer management within their organisations and strengthening their capacity to support volunteers. The development of a volunteering program and detailed descriptions of volunteer positions are the basis for establishing effective volunteer management at the organisational level," said Zlatko Talevski, Regional Civil Society Expert for the Pelagonia region and trainer of this workshop.
Interest in strengthening capacities in this area was expressed by CSOs through a public call. Before the workshop, they were tasked with watching an online video posted on the CRC Academy: Training on Volunteering | Civic Resource Center After the workshop, mentoring activities on this topic will be conducted with all interested CSOs.
The workshop was organised under the project "EU Support to the Civil Society Resource Centre – Phase 2," funded by the European Union and implemented by the National Civil Society Development Foundation Civic Resource Centre, the Macedonian Centre for International Cooperation (MCIC), Media Plus, Štip, and the Association for Democratic Initiatives – ADI, Gostivar.
