A few days ago the deadline for submission of application of those willing to volunteer at UEFA Euro-2012 passed. The program results were a pleasant surprise for the local Organizing Committee Euro-2012 Ukraine. The Committee began recruiting people in June and today they already have over 24,000 applications: 90 percent of those willing to help for free during the Championship are mostly citizens of Poland and Ukraine. There also were many applications from Russia, Germany, and Spain. In general, people from 142 countries declared their desire to become volunteers.
According to the press service of the Euro-2012 Ukraine Organizing Committee, nearly 5,500 volunteers will be assisting UEFA regular staff in Ukraine and Poland. However, the number of those willing to take part in the large scale sport event is much greater.
Initially the organizers of volunteers’ tournament had some concerns about the success of the project, because they needed to find a few thousands of people, who would be willing to put their time and energy in this difficult work absolutely for free. However, their doubts were dissipated and instead they got an incredible result that exceeded all possible expectations.
“Ukraine and Poland set an absolute record of the tournament with recruitment: average competition in Ukraine amounted to four people for one position, while in Kyiv this figure was 6.5 people per position,” said Markian LUBKIVSKY, director of Euro-2012 in Ukraine.
Interviews with applicants for the position of volunteers began in the cities that will host championship in the beginning of fall. More than 20 areas of work were suggested for the choice of volunteers: accreditation, transportation during the tournament, safety and security, logistics, etc. Nearly 270 candidates have been already invited to work during the draw finals of the tournament to be held on December 2, 2011 in Kyiv.
The high number of Ukrainians among the volunteers indicates that for a certain part of the Ukrainian youth consumption philosophy is not dominant and in their actions they are guided by other values. Of course, the character of the event – the large-scale soccer championship, played an important role too. Thus, maybe it will become a catalyst for the development of volunteer movement in Ukraine and will make young people interested in this social movement. Society, where people are willing to help, support and protect one another not for money but because of their formed world views, is mature and healthy.
COMMENTARY
Yevhen POLADYCH, volunteer of UEFA Euro-2012:
“This is an important event for Ukraine because sports event of such level haven’t been held since the Olympic Games of 1980 in the USSR, when the preliminary soccer matches also took place in Kyiv. I am fluent in English as it is a part of my profession and, therefore, I decided that my experience and knowledge can be useful. Besides I am fond of soccer. Another motivation for participation is that it is an opportunity to meet many interesting people from different countries, who will also come to Ukraine as volunteers.
“It is not enough to only know English to become a volunteer. During the interview the applicants were asked about their participation in other volunteer activities, their profession, and how they might be useful as volunteers. There were also questions on whether candidate’s skills and experience are up to the requirement of volunteer position, whether he has free time for volunteering, because it will last not only for a day but for a few months. Obviously, there were many students among the candidates because they have more free time than people who have a regular job. I applied on-line. In the application form I had to indicate three areas of work I would like to do. I have chosen meeting and escorting guests and information technologies. During the interview the committee decided whether I actually suit for the areas of work I’ve chosen.
“In my opinion, the reason for the record number of applications submitted and the great agitation is that vo-lunteering is still a new concept for Ukrainian people and that is why it causes an increased interest. Besides, Ukrainians’ love for soccer played a significant role too.”
