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1. Existence of a National Strategy

2. Scope and contents

3. Responsible authority

4. Revisions/ Updates

Existence of a National Strategy

Currently, there is no independent strategy specifically for youth volunteering in Hungary. The previous relevant strategy, the National Volunteer Strategy 2012–2020 (Nemzeti Önkéntes Stratégia 2012–2020) was adopted by the Government Decree no. 1068/2012 (III. 20.) [1068/2012. (III. 20.) Korm. határozat]. It did not define explicit goals with young people, although they were mentioned several times among the target groups. It was expired in 2020 and the new volunteering strategy is in phase of adoption. The draft of the new volunteering strategy has already undergone professional and social consultation, but as of February 2026, its formal adoption is still in progress.

Scope and contents

Youth volunteering was not mentioned separately in the National Volunteer Strategy 2012–2020 (Nemzeti Önkéntes Stratégia 2012–2020) but they were identified as specific target group. The strategy focused on the socialisation of youth and the development of active citizenship.

Responsible authority

As the National Volunteer Strategy 2012–2020 (Nemzeti Önkéntes Stratégia 2012–2020) did not focus specifically on youth volunteering; no specific youth-related tasks were assigned to any authorities. However, in general, the Deputy State Secretariat for Young People manages the tasks related to youth policy.

According to the Ministry's information in 2025, the focus areas related to youth volunteering are increasing regular participation in volunteer activities; the quality improvement in coordination and the quality improvement in specific fields (such as social, healthcare) and effectively involving youth.

The Strategy included regular monitoring to be repeated every five years. The first phase was conducted in 2013. Its report did not explicitly address youth volunteering; it only analysed the role of age. The next wave of monitoring was conducted in 2018. Although the research did not only focus on young people, it also paid attention to the answers of 18–29-year-olds.

Revisions/ Updates

The revision of the National Volunteer Strategy 2012–2020 (Nemzeti Önkéntes Stratégia 2012–2020) did not undergo any official mid-term revisions or updates during its active period. Instead, the government focused on a comprehensive evaluation process starting in the Summer of 2019 to prepare for the following strategic cycle. According to the Ministry's information from 2021, the evaluation report was finished in 2021. The government and civil society provided feedback by early January 2022. After coordinating and synthesising the feedback, political revision of the draft began. However, due to the government reshuffle following the Spring 2022 general elections, a policy review was required to ensure that the strategy accounted for sectoral changes and concerns.

The new national volunteer strategy was planned to be published in 2025 but is still under adoption. According to Ministry's information it will focus on improving the quality and operational conditions of volunteering programmes and promoting volunteering. The new strategy aims to build a society based on inclusion, active community participation and personal responsibility through volunteering. According to Ministry information, the policy review of the plan was completed in 2023 and is currently being coordinated with the strategy of the Minister for Culture and Innovation and the exploration of synergies and potential synergies across the various areas of expertise.