For a long time associated in Romania with
\nso-called volunteer work imposed by the communist regime, volunteering has
\nbecome more popular in this country fairly recently. A younger generation, less
\nmarked by the scars of communism and perhaps also influenced by the European
\nUnion programmes to encourage social involvement among youths, is becoming more
\nand more involved in volunteer work in areas such as ecology, culture and
\nsocial care. <\/p>\n
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A key role in the revival of volunteering may
\nalso have been played by a dedicated law passed in 2014. According to this law,
\neven if volunteering work experience is not added up to seniority, volunteering
\nactivities are however recognised as professional experience. Young volunteers
\ncan therefore cite their volunteering work experience before prospective
\nemployers. <\/p>\n
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Moreover, volunteering has proven lately to be
\na means to bring together communities who want to help themselves, instead of
\nrelying on the state. One example is the recent event organised by the ArtTour
\nRomania organisation alongside the Predeal National Centre for Tourist
\nInformation, Promotion and Mountain Rescue. The event brought together 150
\nvolunteers who took part in the restoration of 19 mountain trails in four
\nmassifs: Baiului, Piatra Mare, Postavaru and Bucegi. This was an event born out
\nof a passion for mountaineering, and as a means of encouraging others to try
\nthis kind of tourism. The principal organiser, the vice-president of ArtTour
\ntourist advertising association Octavian Bodron explains: <\/p>\n
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I am passionate about mountaineering, I love
\ntrekking in my free time, and promoting various areas of the country. Our
\nintention is help disseminate information about mountain trails in order to
\nreduce risks for tourists, making the experience better for tourists who want
\nto breathe fresh air on safe trails. They want to be better informed before
\nsetting off on mountain trails and be prepared for potential dangers on their
\ntravels.<\/p>\n
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Octavian Bodron’s enthusiasm has been
\ntransmitted to a few other young people who love spending time outdoors instead
\nof in the city. Ionela is such a young person, and she told us about her hobby:
\n<\/p>\n
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I work with ArtTour as a collaborator, I am the
\nfriend of a volunteer. I like the association, I like their projects, and I
\nwant to help them. When I go up the mountain, I want to know where I’m going,
\nbecause I’m a beginner. It’s essential to know where you are when you walk in
\nthe mountains, where you can easily get lost and maybe stumble upon bears. I’m
\nalso concerned with cleaning up the mountains. When I see trash on the trails,
\nfirst I get really angry, then I think I should help clean it up. It isn’t such
\na great effort. I’d like to find a way to educate people to stop littering.<\/p>\n
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Cleaning up the mountains and putting fresh
\nmarkings on trails are not the only kinds of action that Ionela gets involved
\nin: <\/p>\n
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I have a job, and it has nothing to do with
\nvolunteering. In my free time I get involved in lots of things, and
\nvolunteering is just one of them. I manufacture hand-made products and I help
\nan association that helps children in placement centres. Having a choice is
\nessential for me. If I do something, I do it because I can do it and I want to.
\nIn short, volunteering helps, because it’s something I choose to do. I noticed
\nthat more and more people have started getting involved in volunteering in
\nvarious ways, depending on their passions and concerns. It’s important for
\nvolunteers to get their friends involved as well, in order to help others and
\nultimately ourselves.<\/p>\n
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For people who love mountaineering, refreshing
\ntrail markings and encouraging trekking is important, because mountaineering
\nseems to have somewhat lost in popularity in certain areas. Volunteers can help
\nin this regard, especially when they work together in associations. Florin is
\n21 years old, is from Predeal, and is a member of the Education Group for Youth
\nSupport (GEST). Their mission is to put fresh markings on trails and to clean
\nup litter. Let’s listen to what he told us: <\/p>\n
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My father used to take me mountain climbing
\nwhen I was three or four years old. We would go up Piatra Mare to look at
\nrhododendrons. When I grew older, I still continued to do trips in the
\nmountains. I began with the trails that start off in Predeal, then, when I got
\nolder, I started doing the trails in Bucegi. Then I registered with GEST
\nassociation, and they helped me get to know the mountains better. Few countries
\ncan boast mountains like we have in Romania, with landscapes and trails like
\nthese. I would like to spread the word, to tell people that they should come to
\nthe mountains. Not just to clean up litter and refresh markings, but to take a
\nwalk and see how awesome it is to just wander for 10 hours or so through the
\nwoods, in the mountains, to pitch a tent, build a fire, and get away from the
\neveryday grind.<\/p>\n
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\n
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VF Octavian Bodron and the ArtTour association
\nassure us that restoring the trails around Predeal will be followed by similar initiatives
\nin other areas of the country, grouped under the ReMarking Romania project, and
\nthey are eager to take in more volunteers. <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Volunteering has become more and more popular in Romania in recent years, attracting many young people.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":136,"featured_media":142423,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[42997],"tags":[43643,43644,43485],"coauthors":[],"class_list":["post-142422","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-society-today","tag-arttour-association","tag-ramarking-romania","tag-volunteering"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n