The year 2024 was full of achievements, new opportunities and unforgettable moments for Zavod Voluntariat. To close the year, Voluntariat members and friends gathered on December 18th at the Environmental Centre on Trubarjeva street to celebrate everything we have accomplished. Our event, which brought together all those who collaborated with us throughout the year, was a wonderful opportunity to connect and reminisce.
Over snacks and hot drinks, we traditionally exchanged handmade gifts (Secret Santa), wrote personal achievements on the Voluntariat’s Christmas tree and played some board games together.
A look at achievements in 2024
In 2024, with your help, we have achieved:
- Youth volunteering and mobility:
- We hosted 8 European Solidarity Corps (ESC) volunteers, four of whom were at our office.
- From Slovenia we sent 5 ESC volunteers abroad (Romania, Netherlands, Italy, Poland, Spain).
- 9 young people travelled to countries such as Nepal, Estonia, Germany, Czech Republic, Italy, Portugal, Bali and Denmark through SCI international camps.
- In Slovenia, we co-organized two international camps: one for paraplegics and an English camp by Lake Bohinj.
- As a sending organization, we enabled 16 young people to participate in six different youth exchanges and trainings with our partners (Poland, Spain, Lithuania, Belgium, Aruba).
- We hosted one training for trainers and six youth exchanges – five in Slovenia and one in Ghana. In 2024, we gave this opportunity to around 200 young people.
- Development and partnerships:
- We continue to actively participate in four long-term partnership projects through Erasmus+ K2 (E-TICK, DEFY, MOSAIC, IMPROVE).
- We launched several smaller projects and received approval for a two-year project with the Ministry of Public Administration.
- Digitisation and promotion:
- We acquired new promotional material for Voluntariat (SCI) and the MOST network.
- With the MOST network, we published a new guide for youth exchanges and launched a new website.
- We updated our website to make it more tailored to the target groups (now also available in English).
- We also introduced a new communication channel – TikTok.
- Expanding our community:
- We gained over 600 new followers and 150 new members of the Voluntariat community.
- Our team has also grown by one new employee.
Personal Stories and Reflections
Our volunteer Sophia described her experience as follows:
»Every time I try to put these few months of 2024, that I spent here in Slovenia with Zavod Voluntariat, into words, I fail horribly. I filled pages and pages of my journal, and I still haven’t said it all. So, to make it short, this ESC was already an amazing experience for me. I grew a lot as a person and extended my comfort zone various times, met inspiring people that I am lucky enough to now call my friends. I’m really grateful for the opportunity, the trust, and the warmth that this team at Voluntariat has shown me. I’m super excited for 2025. It’s gonna be a wild ride «
Together into 2025
A heartfelt thank you goes to everyone who made our activities possible and were a part of our story. We are excited for the next chapter that 2025 will bring!
May the coming year be filled with adventures, travels, new knowledge, experiences and new friendships.
With gratitude,
The team at Zavod Voluntariat
