2009 SU Update: Universiade Legacy – Volunteers

 There are only 42 days left until the 25thSummer Universiade kicks off. Company Universiade Belgrade 2009 team: PR sector director Tamara Kostro, volunteer sector director Damir Stajner, deputy CEO for volunteers Natasa Jankovic and Easy Travel Card coordinator Danijela Sunjarevic announced at today’s press conference that final preparations are underway for this year’s biggest sports event.

The volunteers’ song – “I love to volunteer”- has become very popular in Serbia in a very short time.

‘The average age of volunteers is 22. 66% of them are girls. The majority of them wanted to be volunteers in order to meet new people and experience something new. Volunteers see themselves as responsible and communicative persons, engaged in a project of importance for the community. The Universiade volunteers speak in total more than 80 foreign languages and come from more than 50 countries worldwide. On July 1st, they will be here, kind and obliging, with a smile on their faces to meet the guests’, deputy CEO for volunteers, Natasa Jankovic said.

Research shows that 48% of the young people learned about the Universiade from their friends, while 35% of them learned about the Universiade through promotional activities that have been carried out during the past year on a daily basis.

The most popular sectors are: sports venues, competitions, Universiade Village and logistics. Any day soon, 300 volunteers from Banja Luka (The Republic of Srpska), 150 from Russia and many others from other parts of the world are expected in Belgrade.

By July 1st, volunteers will finish general and specialized training.

‘We keep reminding our volunteers of good manners. The point is that athletes and guests will come from different countries and different cultures. Our volunteers must know that certain gestures could be misconstrued by our guests. Depending on their wishes and our needs, volunteers will be appointed to a specific sector, where they will work until the end of the Universiade. We wish to thank the College for Tourism and Faculty for Mechanical Engineering, who helped us organize specialized trainings in their buildings. Our work will now continue in the Universiade Village, where company Universiade Belgrade 2009 team is situated’, Natasa Jankovic explained.

Volunteer sector director Damir Stajner focused on the importance of the Universiade project.

‘When we started with this project, we did not have any doubts about its success. We believed that other young people will recognize the importance of it as well. Applications can be sent to us until the beginning of June. June will be devoted to the selection of candidates and their training. The best way to apply for the position of a volunteer is via our site: www.ub2009.org, or by approaching one of our many promoters during promotion campaigns that are carried out daily throughout Serbia. Our volunteer teams are in Knez Mihajlova Street every day between noon and 6 pm and at every sports event in Belgrade and elsewhere in Serbia’, Damir Stajner explained.

Company Universiade Belgrade 2009 database counts more than 16,000 volunteers.

‘The volunteers’ training began on March 1st. It is important to point out that only those who have completed the general training will be able to work at the Universiade. We have learned that only trained volunteers can work well. The final stage of training will be in the sports venues. Because of the large number of volunteers, all communication with them is via e-mail. We would like to thank the Ministry of Youth and Sports for their assistance with local youth offices. At first, they were meant to be info stands. In the meantime they have grown into veritable recruitment offices. Such offices in Uzice, Kragujevac, and Palilula (Belgrade) deserve special praise. A large number of very good volunteers have been recruited thanks to the assistance of the Ministry of Youth and Sports.’

Easy Travel Card coordinator Danijela Sunjarevic stressed that more than 3,000 volunteers have received their domestic student’s card.

‘The card has five levels. All volunteers will get basic level cards. Their work will earn them higher level cards’, Danijela Sunjarevic explained.