International Volunteer Day

The International Volunteer Day ( English International Volunteer Day for Economic and Social Development , IVD ) is an annually on December 5th barred remembrance and action to recognize and promote volunteer engagement. It was adopted by the UN in 1985 with effect from 1986. In Germany, he replaced de facto the day of volunteering , which was previously committed on 2 December. On this day, the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany is awarded to particularly committed people.

State appreciation in Germany

In Germany, on the occasion of honorary office day, women and men from all federal states are awarded the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany by the Federal President for their “extraordinary civic engagement”. This is also done consciously as a public appreciation of all voluntary activities for the benefit of the community.

Broad range of merits

The federal states contributed to the proposals for the award of medals in order to achieve the broadest possible spectrum of merits to be recognized. According to official information, the award winners included three fellow citizens who volunteer to fight right-wing extremism and racism and for diversity in society. The women and men who have been awarded are involved, for example, in educational, youth and senior work, in social, church and cultural areas, or have earned merit in animal or nature conservation. The age of the awardees was between 30 and 80 years.

In 2018, Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier continued the tradition by honoring 14 men and women at a ceremony in Schloss Bellevue Berlin. He honored her with the Federal Cross of Merit for her “outstanding commitment to the culture of commemoration and remembrance in Germany”. Among the medalists from all federal states were a French woman and a man from the Czech Republic.

#free travel for volunteers

The day of action for #freifahrtfuervolwillige takes place every year on this day. Free or discounted tickets for public transport are required for graduates of voluntary services , which thousands of them use every day to get to their locations. Soldiers may z. B. have been traveling for free with Deutsche Bahn since January 2020. On this day, for example, volunteers share pictures with their bus and train tickets on social media and add up the costs incurred.

See also

• List of days of remembrance and action

Web links

• International Volunteer Day
• United Nations Volunteers (UNV) programs
• UN Resolution 40/212 of December 17, 1985 (PDF, English)
• Federal President praises volunteering as the "elixir of life". In: Feuerwehr.de. Archived from the original on February 14, 2008 ; accessed on December 5, 2019 . 

Individual evidence

1. ↑ www.bundespraesident.de: Search for "Medal award for the day of honorary office". Retrieved December 5, 2019 . 
2. ↑ http://www.bundespraesident.de/SharedDocs/Pressemitteilungen/DE/2018/11/181122-Ordensverleihung-Ehrenamt.html , speech at the ceremony on December 4, 2018
3. ↑ https://www.bmvg.de/de/aktuelles/ministerin-gibt-gruenes-licht-soldaten-fahren-bald-kostenlos-bahn-92958
4. ↑ https://freiwilligendienste-kultur-bildung.de/news/freifahrtfuerfreiwillige/