Volunteering has become more and more popular in Romania in recent years, attracting many young people.
For a long time associated in Romania with so-called "volunteer" work imposed by the communist regime, volunteering has become more popular in this country fairly recently. A younger generation, less marked by the scars of communism and perhaps also influenced by the European Union programmes to encourage social involvement among youths, is becoming more and more involved in volunteer work in areas such as ecology, culture and social care.
A key role in the revival of volunteering may also have been played by a dedicated law passed in 2014. According to this law, even if volunteering work experience is not added up to seniority, volunteering activities are however recognised as professional experience. Young volunteers can therefore cite their volunteering work experience before prospective employers.
Moreover, volunteering has proven lately to be a means to bring together communities who want to help themselves, instead of relying on the state. One example is the recent event organised by the ArtTour Romania organisation alongside the Predeal National Centre for Tourist Information, Promotion and Mountain Rescue. The event brought together 150 volunteers who took part in the restoration of 19 mountain trails in four massifs: Baiului, Piatra Mare, Postavaru and Bucegi. This was an event born out of a passion for mountaineering, and as a means of encouraging others to try this kind of tourism. The principal organiser, the vice-president of ArtTour tourist advertising association Octavian Bodron explains:
"I am passionate about mountaineering, I love trekking in my free time, and promoting various areas of the country. Our intention is help disseminate information about mountain trails in order to reduce risks for tourists, making the experience better for tourists who want to breathe fresh air on safe trails. They want to be better informed before setting off on mountain trails and be prepared for potential dangers on their travels."
Octavian Bodron's enthusiasm has been transmitted to a few other young people who love spending time outdoors instead of in the city. Ionela is such a young person, and she told us about her hobby:
"I work with ArtTour as a collaborator, I am the friend of a volunteer. I like the association, I like their projects, and I want to help them. When I go up the mountain, I want to know where I'm going, because I'm a beginner. It's essential to know where you are when you walk in the mountains, where you can easily get lost and maybe stumble upon bears. I'm also concerned with cleaning up the mountains. When I see trash on the trails, first I get really angry, then I think I should help clean it up. It isn't such a great effort. I'd like to find a way to educate people to stop littering."
Cleaning up the mountains and putting fresh markings on trails are not the only kinds of action that Ionela gets involved in:
"I have a job, and it has nothing to do with volunteering. In my free time I get involved in lots of things, and volunteering is just one of them. I manufacture hand-made products and I help an association that helps children in placement centres. Having a choice is essential for me. If I do something, I do it because I can do it and I want to. In short, volunteering helps, because it's something I choose to do. I noticed that more and more people have started getting involved in volunteering in various ways, depending on their passions and concerns. It's important for volunteers to get their friends involved as well, in order to help others and ultimately ourselves."
For people who love mountaineering, refreshing trail markings and encouraging trekking is important, because mountaineering seems to have somewhat lost in popularity in certain areas. Volunteers can help in this regard, especially when they work together in associations. Florin is 21 years old, is from Predeal, and is a member of the Education Group for Youth Support (GEST). Their mission is to put fresh markings on trails and to clean up litter. Let's listen to what he told us:
"My father used to take me mountain climbing when I was three or four years old. We would go up Piatra Mare to look at rhododendrons. When I grew older, I still continued to do trips in the mountains. I began with the trails that start off in Predeal, then, when I got older, I started doing the trails in Bucegi. Then I registered with GEST association, and they helped me get to know the mountains better. Few countries can boast mountains like we have in Romania, with landscapes and trails like these. I would like to spread the word, to tell people that they should come to the mountains. Not just to clean up litter and refresh markings, but to take a walk and see how awesome it is to just wander for 10 hours or so through the woods, in the mountains, to pitch a tent, build a fire, and get away from the everyday grind."
VF Octavian Bodron and the ArtTour association assure us that restoring the trails around Predeal will be followed by similar initiatives in other areas of the country, grouped under the ReMarking Romania project, and they are eager to take in more volunteers.
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