On 04 October, the JOIN Volunteering & Youth working group met in the British capital for a face-to-face meeting. Representatives from Austria, Denmark, Germany, Hungary, the Netherlands, the JOIN Board and the JOIN Office were hosted by St John Ambulance England and The Islands. 

The day began with an open discussion on the values that every JOIN member is sharing. Supported by more than 100,000 volunteers, our member organisations serve humanity with social and medical services that are open to everyone. This was followed by a presentation of each participant on the methods of recruitment of volunteers at national level.

Furthermore, the JOIN Office prepared a detailed presentation on the Volunteer Swap program, including statistics on past and current opportunities, number of participants and possible improvements.

Finally, the working group agreed to intensify exchanges by regularly meeting online. It was also decided to discuss the topic ‘Youth’ during the next online call together with Youth officers, with the final aim to develop a sense of belonging to the JOIN family within all volunteers and young people.

On Saturday 05 October, all representatives of the working group participated in the National Volunteer Leadership Forum organised by St John Ambulance.