On this page

1. National Programme for Youth Volunteering

2. Funding

3. Characteristics of youth volunteering

4. Support to young volunteers

5. Target groups

National Programme for Youth Volunteering

In Cyprus, there is no general, nation-wide programme, organised, monitored and funded by the government. 

The Pancyprian Volunteerism Coordinative Council (PVCC) implements the programme “Youth & Volunteerism” at  all levels of educational institutions, with the support of the ministry of Education, Sport and Youth. Moreover, the PVCC runs the Volunteering Portal which is also funded from public courses.  The Portal allows the registration of new volunteers and volunteer groups, as well as the registration of needs from organised groups. 

Funding

Not applicable.

Characteristics of youth volunteering

There is very limited research on youth volunteering in Cyprus. The most recent available source on youth volunteering is the Youth Barometer research, conducted by the Youth Board of Cyprus (YBC) since 2020.

The “Youth Barometer” survey is a source which provides us with general information about youth volunteering. The first one was carried out in January-February 2020, the second one in November-December 2020,the third one in September 2021, the fourth one in December 2022 and the last one in December 2023 (all of them with a sample of 1 000 people between the ages of 14-35). Although this research does not focus on volunteering, in the chapter "Participation" there is a section for the participation of young people in volunteering or voluntary organisations. Specifically, in the first Youth Barometer, it appeared that 26% of respondents were involved in volunteering, in the second one this percentage increased to 29%, in the third one reached to 37%, in the fourth one this percentage decreased to 27% and the fifth and most recent one increased to 34%. Despite the fact that the rate is relatively low, the participation of young people in volunteering activities/organisations is the highest among all the other forms of participation.

Support to young volunteers

The Declaration of Rights and Responsibilities of the Volunteers (Διακήρυξη των Δικαιωμάτων και Ευθυνών των Εθελοντών) outlines what kind of support should be given to volunteers. Specifically, each volunteer is entitled to reimbursement of expenses incurred during the implementation of the voluntary activity (only costs related to the activity). It should be noted, though, that the decision to provide such reimbursement for their volunteers or not is up to the organisation. In addition, the voluntary organizations should provide insurance which covers social protection, medical care and civil liability.

The operation of the "Home of Volunteer" (Σπίτι των Εθελοντών και Εθελοντριών-NGO HUB) is another measure for the support of volunteers. It aims to meet the basic housing and office needs of Voluntary and Non-Governmental Organisations, such as the free provision of housing and basic office equipment (offices, computers, telephones etc.). The spaces are provided for use by a number of organisations and they are configured to be suitable for organising events and meetings. The first "Home of Volunteer" inaugurated in 2014 in Larnaca and the second one in 2016 in Nicosia. 

Target groups

Given the fact that there is not a national Programme for Youth Volunteering, there are not any target groups specified.