On the eve of its Plenary Session on 27 and 28 January 2011, the Committee of the Regions has invited interested regional and local representatives as well as practitioners to share good practice and discuss on topics centred around the objectives set out for the European Year of Volunteering. The forum, which will take place in Brussels on 26 January, will debate over the great potential of volunteering for the social, economic and territorial cohesion of Europe.

By designating 2011 as the "European Year of Volunteering", the European Union aims to increase the recognition and popularity of volunteering across Europe and to encourage the exchange of best practice between its member states, regional and local authorities and civil society organisations. With this main purpose, experts will meet in Brussels on 26 January 2011 to debate over the possible contributions which can be made at regional and local level.

This forum will also be the occasion for the launch of a collection of best local practice in volunteering in order to feed into the European Commission's conference on volunteering to be held in Athens in October 2011.

Key questions on local and regional contribution to European Year of Volunteering

• How to create an enabling and facilitating environment for volunteering in the EU?
• How to empower volunteer organisations and improve the quality of volunteering?
• What could be done to recognise achievements gained in volunteering activities?
• What can RLA do to raise awareness of the value and importance of volunteering?

During the forum, experts will also have the opportunity to take part in two workshops with the following topics:

• Workshop 1: Voluntary organisations in the field of sports: How to improve sport volunteering at local and EU level?
• Workshop 2: Local social services and voluntary organisations: How to foster cooperation locally and at EU level?