Every community has a voice. We want it to be heard

In our community hubs and community centres, we meet people with the drive and energy to make a difference in their neighbourhoods. Through a new project, we will support their ideas and help their voices reach local authorities and the wider public.

People know everyday life in their own communities best. They know what is missing, what works and what they would like to change. Yet not everyone has the same opportunities to speak about their needs, find support for their ideas or take part in decision-making.

We want to expand these opportunities through Community Volunteering as a Tool for Democratic Participation, a project running from October 2026 to December 2027. We will support people from vulnerable groups: young people, people from marginalised Roma communities, people who have sought refuge in Slovakia from the war in Ukraine, and older people experiencing social isolation.

In Žilina, Prešov, Zvolen, Sveržov, Plavecký Štvrtok and Petrovany, we will create space for people to come together, discuss local needs and explore ways to address them. We will support community leaders and help local initiatives grow. We want people to gain experience and greater confidence in their ability to influence what happens in their neighbourhoods, and to have their voices heard beyond their own communities.

Bringing our experience together

To get community volunteering underway, we are working with the Volunteer Centre and the Centre for Community Organising. Both partners’ experience will help us plan our next steps together and tailor support to the needs of each location.

Together with the Volunteer Centre, we will first identify the areas in which local volunteer coordinators need to develop their skills. We will also look at existing initiatives and the barriers that make it harder for people to get involved. Based on our findings, we will prepare training tailored to the coordinators’ practical needs.

The Centre for Community Organising will help us develop the skills needed to facilitate group discussions and support local leaders. Together, we will focus on identifying active community members, guiding them as they develop their own ideas and helping them involve other residents.

From shared discussion to community-led action

Discussion clubs will form the foundation of our work in each location. From January to November 2027, we plan to hold at least ten meetings in each of the six locations. The topics will reflect what participants themselves consider important.

Through these conversations, participants will identify their communities’ needs and explore ways to address them. The discussions will be complemented by workshops, group activities and visits. Where needed, we will also invite specialists to help participants understand a particular topic or offer advice on addressing a situation.

We will support the creation of at least six local initiatives and the involvement of thirty volunteers. We will help six of these volunteers prepare to lead discussions and community activities independently. Over time, they will be able to take greater responsibility for the changes they want to bring about in their neighbourhoods.

Meetings with local authorities and public institutions will also be an important part of the project. Participants will have the opportunity to present their needs and proposals directly to people who can help identify solutions and put them into practice.

“We want the voices of the people we work with to be heard beyond the doors of our community hubs and community centres. We want them to reach local authorities and the wider public, and to create space for people to speak for themselves about what they need, what they want to change and the solutions they propose. We believe that bringing people together can help ensure their voices receive a response and their ideas have room to grow,” explains Tereza Gálová.

At joint meetings, people from the different participating locations will exchange experiences. They will share what they have achieved, the challenges they have faced and what might help other communities too.

Photographs can carry their voices too

Even a simple photograph can inspire change for the better. As part of our community volunteering work, we will use Photovoice, a method through which people share their experiences and perspectives on community life through their own photographs and discussions about them.

We will involve local Roma women in this activity. Through photographs, they will capture what helps them overcome barriers in their lives. This will allow them to show, in their own way, what matters to them and what they would like people outside their community to understand. Their images will serve as a starting point for shared conversations.

Change begins with listening

Ideas, initiatives and new forms of cooperation are already emerging in the communities where we work. Our colleagues who work with people every day are often the first to notice them. We now have an opportunity to expand this support and help local ideas develop further.

“I want to encourage all our colleagues to pay attention to people, their ideas and the small initiatives emerging in their communities. Let’s listen to what matters to them and what they want to take on themselves. We don’t need to come with ready-made solutions. Our role is to be their partners, help them develop their skills and put into practice what they care about. Even a modest idea can grow into something that brings change to an entire community,” concludes Tereza Gálová.

The project “Community Volunteering as a Tool for Democratic Participation” is supported by the EEA Civil Society Fund Slovakia programme, financed by the EEA Financial Mechanism 2021–2028. The programme is administered by the Ekopolis Foundation in partnership with the Open Society Foundation Bratislava and the Carpathian Foundation.