V4V Good Practice Case Studies: Programa Agora Nós (Now We Are Programme)

Pillar 1 – Volunteer strategy and planning

Pillar 2 – Volunteer recruitment and deployment

Pillar 3 – Volunteer management and retention

Pillar 4 – Volunteer development and training

Focus of volunteer intervention: Promoting volunteering to young people

The mission of the Portuguese Institute for Sport and Youth is to implement an integrated and decentralised policy in the areas of sport and youth, in close collaboration with public and private entities, particularly with sports bodies, youth and student associations and local authorities. The IPDJ aims to stimulate support for associations, volunteer work and the promotion of citizenship as well as the occupation of free time. 

The Agora Nós Programme aimed to: 

1. Stimulate and support youth volunteering practices;
2. To develop training processes with the volunteers between 14 and 30 years old;
3. To disseminate youth volunteering carried out in national territory national territory;
4. To create a register of organisations who provide and promote youth volunteering activities;
5. To create a computer platform that includes a space for accessing and sharing information through the Internet.​

The programme and the resources it created were first used to advertise and recruit young people aged 18 to 30 years of age to volunteer at multiple Goalball events including the IBSA Goalball World Championships. Volunteers were recruited to roles such as Goal Judges, secretariat, team and delegate liaison, logistical and administrative support, and operational positions. Training was provided for volunteers at all events to support to transition of volunteers into their roles.

An ongoing challenge remains the recruitment of enough volunteers to meet the needs of the sector. Hopefully this programme will contribute to tackling this issue in the long-term.​

The programme has provided opportunities for young people to gain experience of working at national and international events helping to develop their skills and knowledge of event management. IPDJ also develops an annual General Training Plan and implements a Supplementary Training Plan which outlines and provides volunteer roles and development opportunities. The annual Training Plans are duly advertised by IPDJ in the computer platform and in the Youth Portal and can therefore be easily accessed helping to recruit volunteers and build their skills. 

The existence of the online portal has helped to recruit and deploy volunteers to events and fulfil the requirements of stakeholders, helping them to deliver successful sports events.​