As we close out 2025, we look back on a transformative year. This was a defining year for the Association for Sport and Volunteering (ASV), marked by rapid growth, international networking, and the successful completion of our most ambitious project to date. 2025 was the year we turned our vision into concrete action, expanded our visibility in the sport and volunteering ecosystem, and laid concrete foundations for long-term policy and community impact.
This year, we deepened our engagement with the European volunteering community by becoming a Full Member of the Centre for European Volunteering (CEV), a recognition that strengthens partnerships and amplifies the regional voice for volunteering and inclusion. Our President represented ASV in Brussels at the CEV Autumn Volunteering Congress, alongside 140+ participants from volunteer centres, municipalities, national agencies, sports events and clubs across Europe. The discussions reaffirmed what guides our work every day: volunteering reduces isolation, builds civic participation, and creates resilient communities—especially when it is designed to be inclusive and connected to youth and education.
Our main milestone of 2025 was the Regional Conference “Bridges of Experience: Boosting Senior Volunteering for Sustainable Development across the Balkans”. The conference was held on 24–25 November 2025 at the Members of Parliament Club in Skopje. The conference brought together regional and European actors with a shared ambition: to position senior volunteering as a driver of social cohesion, intergenerational solidarity, and sustainable development. It was organized jointly with CESES, CEV, IDUEP, and the Ministry of Labour and Economy, and featured keynote addresses from the EU Ambassador H.E. Michalis Rokas, Minister Besar Durmishi, and CEV Director Gabriella Civico.
The conference was not only a platform for inspiration but a working space for change. A dedicated Workshop on amendments to North Macedonia’s Volunteering Law facilitated constructive dialogue between institutions and civil society, an initial step toward more supportive and inclusive legislation through the adoption of a new Law on volunteering.
The conference was also organized in the context of IVY 2026 and the need to move from “episodic volunteering” toward the establishment of a robust, comprehensive, and ultimately sustainable national volunteering system. By connecting the conference directly to the IVY 2026 initiative, we aimed to elevate the national conversation and leverage international momentum to advance systemic, enduring reforms in the country’s approach to civic engagement and social development.
Alongside high-level advocacy and convening, ASV continued to support sport as a practical entry point into volunteering. A visible example was the engagement of our volunteers around the Atlas Winter Cup 2025, an inclusive swimming event in Skopje that hosted 500+ swimmers and guests, demonstrating how well-organized sports events can mobilize people, foster belonging, and promote a culture of volunteering.
This year, we deepened our engagement with the European volunteering community by becoming a Full Member of the Centre for European Volunteering (CEV), a recognition that strengthens partnerships and amplifies the regional voice for volunteering and inclusion. Our President represented ASV in Brussels at the CEV Autumn Volunteering Congress, alongside 140+ participants from volunteer centres, municipalities, national agencies, sports events and clubs across Europe. The discussions reaffirmed what guides our work every day: volunteering reduces isolation, builds civic participation, and creates resilient communities—especially when it is designed to be inclusive and connected to youth and education.
Our main milestone of 2025 was the Regional Conference “Bridges of Experience: Boosting Senior Volunteering for Sustainable Development across the Balkans”. The conference was held on 24–25 November 2025 at the Members of Parliament Club in Skopje. The conference brought together regional and European actors with a shared ambition: to position senior volunteering as a driver of social cohesion, intergenerational solidarity, and sustainable development. It was organized jointly with CESES, CEV, IDUEP, and the Ministry of Labour and Economy, and featured keynote addresses from the EU Ambassador H.E. Michalis Rokas, Minister Besar Durmishi, and CEV Director Gabriella Civico.
The conference was not only a platform for inspiration but a working space for change. A dedicated Workshop on amendments to North Macedonia’s Volunteering Law facilitated constructive dialogue between institutions and civil society, an initial step toward more supportive and inclusive legislation through the adoption of a new Law on volunteering.
The conference was also organized in the context of IVY 2026 and the need to move from “episodic volunteering” toward the establishment of a robust, comprehensive, and ultimately sustainable national volunteering system. By connecting the conference directly to the IVY 2026 initiative, we aimed to elevate the national conversation and leverage international momentum to advance systemic, enduring reforms in the country’s approach to civic engagement and social development.
Alongside high-level advocacy and convening, ASV continued to support sport as a practical entry point into volunteering. A visible example was the engagement of our volunteers around the Atlas Winter Cup 2025, an inclusive swimming event in Skopje that hosted 500+ swimmers and guests, demonstrating how well-organized sports events can mobilize people, foster belonging, and promote a culture of volunteering.
