CIS experts finalized the documents on the development of youth volunteering across the CIS

The meeting of the Expert Group on Drafting the CIS Concept of Cooperation Development in the Field of Supporting Youth Volunteering and the Action Plan on its implementation for 2018–2020 took place at the CIS Executive Committee in Minsk.

The meeting of the Expert Group brought together the representatives of the Azerbaijan Republic, the Republic of Armenia, the Republic of Belarus, the Kyrgyz Republic, the Russian Federation, the Republic of Tajikistan and the CIS Executive Committee.

The experts considered all the proposals and amendments received and finalized the draft documents, as well as the draft Decision of the Council of the CIS Foreign Ministers on the matter. The drafts were prepared by the CIS Advisory Board on Youth Affairs.

It was decided to forward the documents to the CIS countries for the approval at the domestic level and then submit them for the consideration of the Council of the CIS Foreign Ministers.

The countries of the CIS have been witnessing the increase of youth volunteering, especially in the fields of education, culture, public health, social protection, sports and ecology.

The development of volunteering is accompanied by the improvement of legal framework in this field, development of new state support measures for volunteer initiatives. The IPA CIS has also contributed to this process by adopting of the Model Law on Volunteering.

The adoption of the CIS Concept of Cooperation Development in the Field of Supporting Youth Volunteering and the Action Plan on its implementation for 2018–2020 will facilitate the intergovernmental and inter-agency cooperation aimed at improvement and extension of engagement in the sphere of socially valued youth volunteering across the Commonwealth, friendship and cultural relations among the CIS youth.