Volunteer Day in Novo Mesto
December 2023
For the celebration of the International Volunteer Day, the mayor of Novo Mesto invited volunteers to discover the municipality’s Pilot site!
On 4th December 2023, in honour of the International Volunteer Day, Mayor of Novo Mesto Gregor Macedoni, welcomed volunteers from 40 different local and regional NGOs to the Olympic Center in Češča vas, VARCITIES’ Pilot site. This event is part of VARCITIES’ socio-cultural events in Pilot Cities.
Grego Macedoni thanked volunteers who selflessly donate their time for the weakest and most vulnerable individuals or groups and invited them to extend their activities and programmes to the VARCITIES Pilot sitein Češča vas. “Only when the infrastructure acquires a human dimension, its purpose is fulfilled”, the mayor highlighted as part of the vision of VARCITIES.
“Volunteering is certainly one of the noblest forms of human activity. The fact that you are willing to do something for your fellow man without payment, sometimes even risking your life, is admirable. It is important that we continue to maintain this kind of attitude and thus create a better world for future generations,” the mayor emphasized in his address to the volunteers.
The head of the Novo mesto Olympic Centre Ana Seliškar presented the representatives of the volunteer organizations with the possibilities available for spending quality time in the Olympic centre, either in the form of sports activities, therapeutic activities, and recreation, or as relaxation in a natural environment.
“The Novo mesto Olympic Centre offers you indoor and outdoor areas throughout the year for various activities that you can carry out in the public space with innovative nature-based actions and thus help your users increase their health and well-being. VARCITIES project supports creativity, inclusivity, health, and happiness for all the citizens, and you are most welcome to try and use the diverse facilities of the Olympic Centre. They enable you to upgrade your basic activities with new programmes that were not possible for you before,” Mrs. Seliškar invited the representatives of the regional NGOs to take advantage of the opportunity to fully exploit visionary solutions at the centre from a digital, social and cultural perspective.
On behalf of the volunteers working in the Municipality of Novo mesto, Mrs. Natalija Petaković, president of the Association Life without Violence, thanked for all the support and excellent cooperation with the municipal authorities.
The cultural part of the programme was performed by the trio Ma3nas from the Lipičnik School of Music.
In the Municipality of Novo mesto, more than 1,700 volunteers are active in various associations and organizations. About 40 different non-governmental organizations operate in the field of humanitarian, social and health-preventive programs, which include both volunteers and professionals.
At the core of VARCITIES, the co-creation process together with local communities represents a key moment of participation and supports constant stakeholder interactions for greener, healthier cities!
