V diplomski nalogi sem poskušala raziskati prostovoljno delo mladih ter odnos in razumevanje njihovega delovanja na tem področju. V teoretičnem delu sem ugotavljala urejenost prostovoljstva in izobraževanja v nacionalni zakonodaji in na področju Evropske unije in predstavila prednosti Zakona o spremembah in dopolnitvah Zakona o prostovoljstvu. V empiričnem delu pa sem na osnovi opravljenih intervjujev in analize odgovorov petih izbranih prostovoljcev ugotavljala njihove osebne motive, pričakovanja in opredelitve do prostovoljnega dela. Za pridobivanje podatkov sem uporabila strukturirani intervju z vnaprej pripravljenimi vprašanji. Intervjuji so bili opravljeni individualno s petimi prostovoljci. Dva izmed intervjuvanih prostovoljcev še naprej aktivno sodelujeta v Centru za uporabnike prepovedanih drog. Kasneje sem opravila intervju s prostovoljko, ki je z delom v prostovoljstvu začasno prenehala, in še z dvema naključnima prostovoljcema. Prostovoljno delo predstavlja mladim novo obliko pomoči, pridobivanja izkušenj na različnih področjih delovanja, potrjevanja osebnih vrednot in posledično tudi izboljšanje možnosti za kasnejšo zaposlitev. Kljub prizadevanju Evropske komisije za razvoj prostovoljnega dela na državnih, regionalnih in lokalnih ravneh za pomoč mladim pri uveljavljanju pridobljenega formalnega znanja in lažjega iskanja prve zaposlitve pa ostaja ta problem še naprej nerešen.

In the thesis I tried to explore the voluntary activities of young people, their attitude and understanding of their work in the field. In the theoretical part of the thesis I analyzed how volunteering and education are regulated by legislation in Slovenia and in other EU countries and presented the advantages of the Law amending the Law on volunteering. In the empirical part, based on interviews and analysis of the responses of five selected volunteers I tried to identify their personal motives and opinion about voluntary work. To retrieve the data I used a structured interview, with questions prepared in advance. Interviews were conducted individually with five volunteers. Two interviewed volunteers continue to participate actively in the Centre for users of illicit drugs. Later, I conducted an interview with a volunteer, who has temporarily stopped working in voluntary activities, and two randomly selected volunteers. For young people, volunteering represents a new way of gaining experience in different areas, validation of personal values and consequently improvement of chances for future employment. Despite the efforts of European Commission for the development of voluntary work at the national, regional and local levels, to help young people put into practice the formally acquired knowledge and facilitate their search for the first job, this issue remains unresolved.