On this page

1. National Programme for Youth Volunteering

2. Funding

3. Characteristics of youth volunteering

4. Support to young volunteers

5. Quality Assurance (QA)

6. Target groups

National Programme for Youth Volunteering

Norway has no national programme for youth volunteering.

Funding

Not applicable as Norway has no national programme for youth volunteering.

Characteristics of youth volunteering ​

Youth organisations were the fastest growing subgroup of volunteer organizations up until 1980. This period of growth was followed by two major declines in youth organization memberships, the first from 1982 to 1986, and the second from 1990 to 1998. The decline of membership subsequently stabilized in the 2000s, with a slight increase from 2000 to 2009, and then stabilized again.

Ungdata, a cross national collection scheme designed to conduct youth surveys at the municipal level, and which is financed through the national budget, shows that most children and young people participate in various types of organized activities, including voluntary activities. 

Support to young volunteers

Norway does not have a national programme to support young volunteers and there are no youth volunteering initiatives at national level. However, as described in section 2.2 Administration and governance of youth volunteering the Government supports civil society organizations and youth organizations through several state grant schemes which are administered though the relevant ministry according to sector, or on behalf of the relevant ministry by underlying government agencies or civil society organizations. In this way young volunteers are indirectly supported.

Target groups

Not applicable, as there are no youth volunteering initiatives at national level. However, as described in section 2.2 Administration and governance of youth volunteering the Government supports civil society organizations and youth organizations through grant schemes. The Government seeks to facilitate breadth and diversity through these schemes. For example, some grants specifically emphasize that project funds must promote diversity, inclusion and participation.