Euro 2012 organizers want volunteers to help tourists.
If Ukraine wants to impress when it co-hosts the Euro 2012 soccer championship with Poland next year, it’ll take a form of civic engagement that has not yet caught on – volunteering.
With hundreds of thousands of fans expected to flood Ukraine, organizers will rely on nearly 12,000 volunteers to help the tournament run smoothly by guiding visitors, assisting journalists and supporting emergency workers.
Organizers say these helpers will decide whether the tournament is a success, even more so than expensive stadium and road-building projects.
“You can have great roads and stadiums, but Europeans are used to this,” said Mykola Vorobiov, coordinator of the volunteers2012.org.ua information portal.
“If we don’t have professional human resources, such as volunteers, there’s no value in this entire modern infrastructure.”
Unlike in the West, volunteering is not a common practice in Ukraine.
The Ukrainian Philanthropists Forum said that one in five European Union citizens volunteer, whereas in Ukraine organized volunteering is at an immeasurably low level.
But organizers hope Euro 2012 will help to change that.
Ukraine’s heavyweight boxing title holder Vitali Klitschko
shows a projection of a logo during a recruitment for
volunteers to help with the UEFA Euro 2012 in Kyiv
May 12. (Alex Furman)
“The tournament is a chance to change the mindset of people and give them an understanding of volunteering as an integral part of society,” said Mariya Chubata, senior manager of the Lviv Euro 2012 Agency.
The desire to represent Ukraine as a volunteer appears high. In its first month of accepting applications, Kyiv, one of the eight host cities in Poland and Ukraine, more than 3,000 applicants registered.
Two-thirds of them are women, while 85 percent were students.
Kyiv is looking to recruit 6,000 volunteers. Lviv, another host city, is looking for nearly 1,000 on its own.
The Union of European Football Federations wants to recruit some 2,500 volunteers for each country, in addition to host city volunteers for help with corporate hospitality, logistics and media.
It expects to receive up to five or six applications for every job, according to Andriy Bantser, UEFA’s volunteer manager in Ukraine.
Chubata cited the more than 2,000 non-profit organizations active in the city as well as the high number of educational institutes from where she expects volunteers.
“We have a young and vibrant city,” said Chubata.
With such a large influx of people expected – 1.4 million visitors – hospitality and interpersonal skills will be paramount.
“Volunteers are most likely one of the first people Euro 2012 visitors will meet after passing through passport and customs control,” Vorobiov said.
Volunteers will be strategically stationed at airports and train stations to help visitors find their way.
They’ll be located near stadiums, fan zones and fan embassies.
Others will support police and medical personnel.
Being the face of Ukraine is a demanding task. But according to Vorobiov’s information portal, 90 percent of the 2,000 registered users on the site stated they have no prior experience.
“As you could see, young people without prior experience are interested,” he said. “They want to see the championship from the inside and we must give young people from across Ukraine this chance.”
Vorobiov hopes Euro 2012 will serve as just the beginning of widespread volunteering in Ukraine.
“We don’t want to stop with Euro 2012. Volunteering is a social part of life and the championship is only the catalyst for volunteers in all of Ukraine,” he said.
Kyiv is already accepting online applications at: http://www.city-kyiv.com.ua/uefaeuro2012/volunteers/registration.
UEFA will start accepting applications in June at http://www.uefa.com/uefaeuro2012/volunteers/index.html.
Kyiv Post staff writer Mark Rachkevych can be reached at [email protected].
