Volunteering And Lifelong learning in Universities in Europe (VALUE)

Aims and Objectives
The overall aim of the VALUE Network is to facilitate & stimulate the development of cooperation between universities & the volunteering sector in the delivery of University Lifelong Learning (ULLL) to volunteers/volunteering organization staff. In the context of VALUE, ULLL means the provision of learning opportunities which:
• Recognize the complex, and often sophisticated, learning that volunteering brings
• Respond to the diverse range of individualised goals and needs of volunteer learners.
VALUE’s secondary aims are to:
1. Facilitate learning within the Network. VALUE partners work together as an entire network, in small groups & on a one-to-one basis – in virtual & real modes.
2. Import experience & expertise from outside the Network both to further its own learning & to contribute to the development of its resource base.
3. Make an impact beyond its membership. VALUE is using the both the web and its individual partners (as national relay points) to disseminate its outputs as widely as possible. The final conference, a key dissemination activity, will be open to external participants.
VALUE’s operational objectives are to:
I. Organise 4 Network meetings  -  providing a forum for the exchange of knowledge & experience & the presentation of external expertise.
ii. Organise the work of  4 sub-groups each investigating 4 themes key to lifelong learning in Europe: Older Learners, Citizenship, Intercultural Dialogue & Employability.
iii. Produce 12 reports each providing an overview of ULLL- volunteering interaction in countries represented in the partnership
iv. Develop a web based resources to be used as a support tool (within & outside the network) for development of activity of this kind.
v. Disseminate its work & grow the network.
On 8-9 June 2011 the VALUE final conference, open to all interested parties, took place in Ankara, Turkey.