Mechelen European Volunteering Capital 2025

2025 is the year of the volunteer in Mechelen. We are the first city in Belgium to be awarded the title of European Volunteering Capital. A great honour, but above all a fantastic reward for the endless commitment of the thousands of volunteers in Mechelen. 1 in 5 Mechelen residents is a volunteer. For a year long, we will be honouring our volunteers and celebrating the great Mechelen commitment. Because volunteers are an indispensable link in our city.

As the European Volunteering Capital, we will be working hard in 2025 as well. We will welcome different partners, organisations and European cities to exchange experiences, share knowledge and learn from each other.

So we will lay a greater focus on how to make volunteering accessible to everyone. Because all Mechelen’s talents deserve a place in our inclusive and supportive city.

How did we become the European Volunteering Capital?

Every year, a European Volunteering Capital competition is organised. The competition is open to all European cities and municipalities. The aim is to recognize and reward local governments that support volunteers and volunteering work. In addition, the competition is designed to inspire and motivate other local governments to make even greater efforts to promote and value volunteering.An international jury of stakeholders involved in volunteering within civil society, the private sector and EU institutions selects the winning city or municipality from a list of candidates. As a candidate, local authorities submit a comprehensive dossier and a video and give a presentation during a Centre for Volunteering (CEV) conference day in which they present their current and future volunteering policy.

Why Mechelen?

Our city impressed the international CEV jury by:

the way in which the city of Mechelen, organisations and volunteers support each other;
the way in which volunteering is used for a better society where everyone is welcome and allowed to be themselves;
the various advisory councils we work with, such as the elderly council, the youth council and Buitengewoon Meedoen (Extraordinary People Taking Part);
the actions of the Volunteering Hub to bring people and organizations into contact with each other;
the attention and appreciation we give to volunteering through all kinds of channels

Who organizes the competition?

The Centre for European Volunteering (CEV) is a European network and support centre for more than 60 organisations that are committed to the promotion and support of volunteers and volunteering work in Europe at the European, national or regional level.

CEV wants to be the leading voice in the debate on volunteering in Europe. The support structure is there to determine and share current and future trends and challenges on this topic. The centre develops policy advice and expertise and shares it with European policymakers. In this way, CEV succeeds in supporting the many thousands of volunteers and volunteering organisations in Europe so that they can continue to promote European values and strengthen the ties between them.

Our plans for 2025

To increase the visibility and the appreciation of volunteering by sharing the stories of various volunteers extensively via all kinds of channels throughout the year.
To make volunteering accessible to everyone. For example, a recent elderly needs survey showed that 1 in 4 older people want to do voluntary work, but don't know where to begin.
To share knowledge, create opportunities, connect people and inspire each other at the local, Flemish, Belgian and European level.

Working very closely with the European and Flemish Volunteering Support Centre and the Flemish Department of Culture, Youth & Media.

Volunteering in Belgium

Volunteering is very popular in Belgium. We are therefore proud to have won the title of European Volunteering Capital for our country.

While the Volunteering Hub in Mechelen is there for Mechelen citizens and organisations, there is also a Flemish organisation that promotes and supports volunteering in Flanders: Vlaams Steunpunt Vrijwilligerswerk (VSVW, Flemish support centre for volunteering). How do they do that? Here is a brief summary.

Volunteering vacancy database: www.vrijwilligerswerk.be
Free volunteering insurance for organizations
Training and education for organizations
Information and useful tools at www.vlaanderenvrijwilligt.be
Customized advice
Promotion of volunteering in Flanders (Volunteers' Week, International Volunteer Day, Wéldoeners ...)
Policy advice and awareness-raising

Volunteering is also valued in the French-speaking part of the country, and La Plateforme francophone du Volontariat (PFV, the French-speaking platform for volunteering) is one of the main voices. This platform informs, supports and provides tools to improve the quality of volunteering in Wallonia. They do this in various ways.

Training and education for organizations
Strengthening and maintaining the network of volunteering organizations
Supporting local governments in developing their policies
Regional campaigns to promote volunteering in Wallonia
Connecting organizations online with a members' forum
Volunteering ads page
A quality label for local governments and organizations working with volunteers

In addition, all the main cities – such as Brussels, Antwerp, Ghent, Leuven – have their own support centre for citizens who have questions about volunteering and for voluntary organizations. Volunteering is also growing in smaller municipalities. Increasingly, they also have specific contact persons or volunteering coordinators who support citizens, services and associations in volunteering. What if I don't live in Mechelen? Then be sure to visit your own municipal or city service.

Volunteering in Europe

If you are aged 18 to 30 and you want to go abroad to volunteer, there are plenty of opportunities. As a European Volunteer, we want to give an extra boost to the exchange of young volunteers in Europe.

European Solidarity Corps

Via the European Solidarity Corps, you can work as a volunteer in an organization abroad. Your range of tasks is as diverse as the organizations themselves. Choose a project that creates more solidarity in Europe: a social, cultural, ecological project, a project about media ... For more information, please contact JINT vzw, the national agency for the European Solidarity Corps in Flanders. You can also find more information on the European Solidarity Corps website.

Go Strange

Go Strange is a free service that helps you familiarize yourself with the range of possibilities for Flemish young people who want to have an intercultural experience as a volunteer abroad. It doesn't matter if you want to go for a few weeks or for a longer period of time. Whether you want to stay in Europe or go farther away. You can go alone or in a group. You can stay with a host family or in a residence, or you can sort out your own accommodation. The range of opportunities is large and diverse; together with Go Strange you can seek out your own path.

In Mechelen

Young Europeans can also do volunteering work in Mechelen. Six organizations in Mechelen welcome European volunteers with open arms: Circolito vzw, ROJM, Tumult, Youth for Understanding Flanders, Kazerne Dossin and AFS.

Volunteering Hub Mechelen

Organizations, volunteers and candidate volunteers can contact the Volunteering Hub (Vrijwilligerspunt) for information, advice and support about volunteering in Mechelen. In addition, the Volunteering Hub would like to showcase the volunteers in Mechelen. Volunteers and the organizations working with volunteers contribute to a warm and liveable city and deserve recognition and appreciation.

What do we do?

Visibility and appreciation
Volunteers are invaluable to many organizations and associations. The help you get from these volunteers is not always obvious. Thanking and appreciating volunteers should part of an organization’s DNA. And it’s also part of the DNA of our city. We tell the stories of our Mechelen volunteers through our city magazine and social media. And we encourage organizations to show that they work with volunteers. We do this, among other things, with stickers that organizations can display in their windows. This way, we can all show that there are volunteers active in many places throughout Mechelen.
Distribution of information
Have you got a question about volunteering? For answers, you can go to the Volunteering Hub. On their website you will find a lot of information about volunteering in Mechelen. If you can't find what you're looking for, send us your question and we will contact you. The Volunteering Hub also organizes training and information sessions for volunteers as well as organizations. If you have a specific training requirement, the Volunteering Hub will help you with your search.
Vacancy database
Organizations and local authorities looking for volunteers can add volunteering vacancies to the vacancy database of vrijwilligerswerk.be. This vacancy database is an initiative of Vlaams Steunpunt Vrijwilligerswerk vzw. It is a completely free and excellent tool for structuring vacancies in a clear and user-friendly way.
Talent Sessions
We strongly believe in human talent and are convinced that you too can contribute something to our exciting and thriving community life. Are you good at organizing? Are you a good listener? Is caring something you excel at? Are you great at finding solutions? Are you buzzing with ideas? Do you find it easy to motivate others? Do you get a buzz from making other people happy? These are questions you might not have a ready answer to. In a talent session, we will help you find your way so that you can specifically search for a volunteer assignment that suits you.
Newsletter
Do you want to receive information about everything to do with volunteering in Mechelen and beyond? Subscribe to the Volunteering Centre newsletter via mechelen.be/vrijwilligerspunt/nieuwsbrief. The newsletter is published 4 times a year. It contains announcements about our events, updates on practical matters and shared stories from Mechelen volunteers.

Our activities

Volunteers’ Week – first week of March
Volunteers’ Week is a Flemish initiative. During this week, we introduce Mechelen residents to volunteering. We are convinced that there is a place for everyone who wants to do volunteering work. During Volunteers’ Week, we encourage you to explore and try out volunteering.
Volunteering fair – beginning of May
At the volunteering fair, we bring together organizations and potential volunteers. More than 50 organizations show what they do and how you can help as a volunteer. As a visitor, you can get to know a lot of organizations in a short time. You will discover which jobs you can do and what these organizations expect from a volunteer.
Volunteers’ Day – 5 December
Volunteers' Day is about showing gratitude for our volunteers. Appreciation and recognition gives volunteers the energy they need to continue. The help you get from these volunteers is not always obvious. Thanking and appreciating your volunteers should therefore be in your organization's DNA on a daily basis. On Volunteers' Day, we motivate all organizations to do something extra.
The Volunteering Hub is coming to you
The Volunteering Hub has no physical presence in Mechelen. Instead it works by appointment. Nevertheless, we also like to mingle with people. So we regularly go out and about with our info stand. Have you seen our tent at the Saturday market or another time? If so, be sure to come along for a chat.

Volunteers are everywhere

1 in 5 Mechelen residents is already doing volunteer work. That’s higher than the Flemish average. And we can be very proud of that. You can find these Mechelen volunteers everywhere, spread over more than 500 different organizations. And they come in all guises. Young and old. M, v or x. Thinkers and doers. One person does it once a week, the other almost every day. Even with a few hours a month, some people make all the difference. They all have one thing in common: they are committed to doing their very best for others. And in fact for themselves too. Because volunteering enriches your life.

Are you ready to become a volunteer?
It won’t be hard to find an organization in Mechelen that suits you perfectly. Think about what you like to do, what you find important and what your talent is. Then you can help build a warm-hearted Mechelen. The vacancy database is a good place to start looking. Can’t find what you're looking for or do you still have questions? Please contact the Volunteering Hub.
Are you already volunteering? Share your story
Our year as European Volunteering Capital 2025 is one big celebration of our volunteers. In Mechelen, we make a difference together as volunteers, so we want to get everyone involved. Do you have an inspiring story about a Mechelen volunteer or an organization that works with volunteers and thus creates opportunities for others? Share it with us at mechelen.be/vrijwilligerspunt/deel-je-verhaal. We would like to share your story with the people of Mechelen via our city magazine, our social media channels or on our website.