New campaign to promote volunteer work

(CS) A new advertising campaign to promote volunteer work among Luxembourg's young citizens has been launched by the Service National de la Jeunesse (SNJ).

The new adverts and brochures aim to show ways in which young people can get involved in charitable work. The campaign is launched as 2011, the European year of voluntary work, reaches an end.

While a study by the University of Luxembourg says that around 42.8% of Luxembourg residents aged 12-25 are engaged in some kind of voluntary work, the director of the SNJ Georges Metz said at the campaign presentation that many were part of several organisations for shorter periods of time. Part of the goal was to engage the young in long-term projects.

The study seems to highlight this problem, as figures drop significantly with increasing age. While 50% of 12 to 14-year-olds volunteer, this number is at only 34.6% for 22-25 age group.

Half of all young volunteers are Luxembourgish and over 20% are of Portuguese origin. Language barriers could be seen as a deciding factor, as many local organisations operate in Luxembourgish.

The campaign “Fräi, well ech well” a word play on the term “fräiwellech” meaning “voluntary” features the profiles of six young volunteers on posters and in a brochure, as well as postcards, badges, stickers and a website.

At the campaign launch, the new “Service volontaire civique” was also introduced. Volunteers aged 18 to 30 can qualify for a stipend, training and an official certificate in return for their services. The first candidate of the project is currently volunteering with Amnesty International in Luxembourg.