Webinar: Working with Volunteers in the LGBTI Movement

For many activists, the journey begins with volunteering. On Thursday, 22 September, we invite LGBTI activists to join us for a webinar discussion to share their experiences of working with volunteers in LGBTI movement.

On Thursday, 22 September 2022 between 11.00 – 12.30 CEST, ILGA-Europe will organise an online event to discuss different approaches of LGBTI organisations in engaging with volunteers. The webinar will reflect on why engaging volunteers is important and often even necessary as part of a strategic community organising work.

We will be joined by four speakers who have experience in engaging with volunteers in their organisations:

  • Piotr Sadowski (he/him), Secretary General, Volonteurope
  • Alex ZorilΔƒ (she/they), Volunteer Coordinator, Community Outreach Officer and Bucharest Pride 2022 Coordinator, AsociaΘ›ia Accept (Romania)
  • Cem Γ–ztΓΌrk (they/them), Projects and Fundraising Coordinator, SPoD  (Turkey)
  • Ellen Sleeuwaert (she/they), Volunteer at Γ‡avaria and L-week (Belgium), Co-chair of the Board of Trustees of Γ‡avaria

Prior to the beginning of the webinar, attendees will be asked to share their experiences of volunteering or engaging with volunteers using an online interaction tool. The webinar will be recorded and the key takeaways will be reported on a new card on the ILGA-Europe Resource Sharing Hub.

Click here to register for the event. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the webinar.

About the Speakers

Piotr Sadowski (he/him), Secretary General, Volonteurope

Piotr Sadowski has been Secretary General of Volonteurope (an international civil society network advocating for social action and active citizenship as routes to achieving more social justice) since 2008; he has also been President of Social Platform since April 2019Piotr represents Volonteurope and wider European Civil Society interests in the EESC Liaison Group and, within the pillars of the Council of Europe, he is an elected member of the INGO Conference Standing Committee, with a particular remit on safeguarding social rights throughout Europe

Alex Zorilă (she/they), Volunteer Coordinator, Community Outreach Officer and Bucharest Pride 2022 Coordinator, Asociația Accept (Romania)

Alex Zorilă has been at Accept since 2015, which she first joined as a volunteer. Currently, she is a volunteer coordinator and works directly with young queer people that come to Accept for support. For Bucharest Pride 2022 she was the main coordinator, volunteer coordinator and event organizer.

Cem Γ–ztΓΌrk (they/them), Projects and Fundraising Coordinator, SPoD  (Turkey)

Cem Γ–ztΓΌrk is a graduate of the University of Nottingham (UK) and has been involved in LGBTI activism since 2012. Having had participated in numerous trainings on human rights and related fields, Cem also volunteered for various LGBTI+ organisations. Since 2020, they have been working professionally at SPoD coordinating the work of the volunteers and also sharing their expertise on  CSO management, project management,  fundraising and other areas of work.

Ellen Sleeuwaert (she/they), Volunteer at Γ‡avaria and L-week (Belgium), Co-chair of the Board of Trustees of Γ‡avaria

Ellen Sleeuwaert has been volunteering within the Rainbow Community since 2010. During that time she co-founded a grassroots initiative for women, was chairperson of a regional Rainbowhouse and co-founded the LGBT network within the biggest Belgian trade union. At the moment she is mainly occupied with co-chairing at the Board of trustees of Γ‡avaria and organising L-week – a festival for lesbian, bi, trans, queer and non-binary people in Antwerp.

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