Our activities in this context started in 2016, when the closure of the so-called Balkan route forced the unofficial Camp Idomeni to be set up on the border to North Macedonia, where up to 16,000 people seeking protection were stranded. At that time, people from all over Europe, including some of our team members, travelled to Idomeni to show solidarity with these people, to help in ways that they could and to build up structures for basic care. In this context, we became aware of the importance of volunteering, but also of the many challenges and dangers of lack of organisation and preparation that come with it.

In the following years, our team members were on the ground at different times, working mainly with the grassroots organisation InterEuropean Human Aid Association (IHA) in the Thessaloniki area, but also in other small organisations, including in Serbia and Bosnia and Herzegovina. During that period of time, we have seen that although the structures of volunteer work in Greece are changing, they remain essential in providing basic services and support to the people, which of course creates a certain responsibility. Since there has been little action on the part of political actors in recent years to relieve or defuse the situation, the voluntary aid organisations assume an important civil responsibility, but must also reflect on their actions accordingly.

Together with many friends within the volunteer community, we see a great need to accompany and support volunteers in this context - for the benefit and protection of volunteers, but also and mainly for the protection of the people they work with. This for the benefit and protection of you as volunteers, but also and mainly for the protection of the people you work with.

Since 2018, we have been supporting volunteers who work in humanitarian aid with refugees and asylum seekers in Greece. Some of us have also been involved in volunteer recruitment and volunteer coordination on site for a few months to years. In 2018 and 2019, we offered weekend seminars for volunteers regarding their preparation as well as follow-up and return seminars. These are the contents which we have edited and summarised here to now make them publicly available.

Of course we do not claim that this information is exhaustive, as we refer to our limited range of experience. Nevertheless, we have gained the impression that these contents are equally important and applicable in some other comparable contexts. However, we would be happy to hear from you if you have any suggestions for improvement or additions that you bring with you from your experience as a volunteer!
All in all, we sincerely hope that you can benefit from our experiences and that this Online Seminar can provide you with exciting and important impulses, suggestions and tips.