"<< Background >>The VoW project ""Volunteering for a sustainable World! Increasing volunteering skills for global sustainability through experience in the Fair Trade sector"" focuses on how to prepare European citizens to deal actively, with more knowledge and skills, relevant aspects of the global environmental crisis the planet is facing. And for this reason, it addresses that vast sensitive area that is volunteering, improving its ability to be a co-protagonist of actions that contribute to spreading values, choices and behaviors that, now more than ever, must become the patrimony of all. At the heart of the commitment to global sustainability, and so also in fair trade (Fair Trade), there is a key factor: the person, the citizen, of any age and condition, who chooses to act responsibly, to be a protagonist, changing his lifestyle and becoming a promoter in his community of ethical values and practices, in solidarity. By far, volunteering in Europe has a strong collective impact in all areas in which it operates, on average involving millions of citizens, involving between 12% and over 30% of the population over 16 (Eurostat 2019). The Vow project focuses on them, on people who already engage time and energy as volunteers, or who could do so and meets specific needs: -Volunteers already active in fair trade, often senior, who are generally already very motivated, but little prepared for the global changes in progress, and skills to dialogue with the new generations; -Young people, driven by the desire to change the world as protagonists, who often do not know these forms of volunteering for sustainable economies, and the opportunities that it can offer, so closely linked to current global issues, but also to offer future professional spaces;-Adult and senior citizens motivated to volunteer, who have no information to be able to also consider this opportunity;-Voluntary organizations and their volunteers who work in other fields, and who - informed/trained - can act as a means - to become ""ambassadors"" - to disseminate behaviours and choices in support of policies and general practices of sustainability.VoW also responds to the needs of managers, trainers and managers of volunteers (often volunteers themselves): VoW wants to support them to strengthen their skills and skills in recruiting, welcome, manage and above all train volunteers to address the issues of the sustainable economy, and be able to be more competent for their organizations themselves.<< Objectives >>VoW, thanks to the decades of experience in the world of Fair Trade organisations, offers an integrated path to European challenges, well outlined by the Green Deal of the Commission, promoting knowledge, training and practical support practices towards ""sustainable economy"" (and circular) and responsible consumption, fundamental elements without which effective responses to the environmental crisis could not be given.Within this framework, the VoW project aims to:- To help citizens understand global change and implement virtuous behaviour by providing up-to-date and integrated knowledge of the fair trade system;-Improve the practical knowledge and content to be transmitted to operators, volunteers and citizens on the sustainable economy, networking the knowledge, experiences and practices of organisations operating in this field;-To enable more and more people to be protagonists, active for a sustainable future, strengthening the conditions for volunteering, in fair trade or other sensitive organisations;-Innovate the overall proposal for volunteers in fair trade, experimenting with new forms of volunteering, even involving more the new generations.<< Implementation >>In 32 months, with 8 partners from 6 European countries (4 fair trade organisations, 1 university, 1 national volunteer centre, 1 training research centre, 1 European communication and promotion network) will involve: - 32 experienced partners' operators;- 40 trainers and other volunteers;- 20 managers and managers of other voluntary organisations;- 180 volunteers, new or already active, even with fewer opportunities, taking part in experimental training and information courses;- 20 first generation immigrants or asylum seekers, who will be involved in training trials and placement in voluntary services;- 80 students or schools may also be included, which will be involved by linking VoW experiments to other local programmes;- 30 among operators of the associated partners and other stakeholders for research, accompaniment in promotional activities on the territories and for the practical evaluation of the results.It will be developed through 5 main Work Packages: 1) A new framework of competences of volunteering for the sustainable economy2) Recruitment and reception of volunteers for a sustainable economy3) Training the trainer of sustainable economies4) Testing and validation of courses for volunteers on sustainable economic activities5) From fair trade to civil society and citizenship: voluntary ambassadors of sustainability pathsSupported by 4 international trainings (three for trainers/staff, one for volunteer learners), 6 project meetings and 7 main results multiplier events.<< Results >>VoW plans to reach in 32 months 3 Innovative results (R), to foster the growth of skills of the world of volunteering on the issues of the sustainable economy, and increase the opportunities for active participation of European citizens in activism, especially in fair trade organisations, in a context of better ability to recruit, train and value volunteers:R1) CODE of skills and recruitment models for sustainable economy volunteers. It is the result of research, broad and innovative in this field, to define and organize the skills of the volunteer (which includes insights on knowledge about the sustainable economy), and to structure a subsequent model of recruitment and reception: the definition of the needs and expectations of the citizen who wants to commit himself, to the creation of information tools, selective and motivational.R2) GUIDELINES for the training of sustainable economy volunteers and their trainers: creation of a new overall training plan for volunteers in the main roles. And parallel Guidelines for the training of volunteer trainers.R3) The Sustainable Volunteer: TOOLKIT for organizations and volunteers on skills and paths of sustainable economy development. Offer to every volunteer sector the useful information to structure choices and ways of applying sustainability, in organizations, on how and where to learn about this topic and how to train their volunteers to become ""ambassadors"" of sustainability in their own community.Everyone will be able to access and use the tools produced, which will be available in English and in the languages of the countries involved, free online up to 24 months after the project deadline. At the end of VoW, the conservative estimate is that no less than 380 people, of the categories mentioned above, participated, but that the benefit, thanks to the national and European networks in which the partners are included, can reach at least another 200 fair trade practitioners and trainers, and some thousands of volunteers in organizations of different sectors, ready to launch information and training trials in other European countries.In the medium to long term, the results will offer:•For the fair trade new standards of skills and training processes;•e-learning modules, sustainable economy and its practices; made accessible and used by any organisation;•The strengthening of the main network of sustainable economy, recognized by the EU as ""Key action"" for the 12th SDGs ""Responsible Consumption and Production"", able to act simultaneously both as an economic/business model, that as an activator of social action and volunteering.•The increase of volunteers and active citizens on sustainable development issues; and trainers to support motivational growth and skills of volunteers already active in fair trade and beyond."