WHAT IT MEANS FOR SLIGO

CHIEF Executive of Sligo County Council Ciarán Hayes and Director of the European Volunteer Centre ( CEV) Gabriella Civico signed a memo of understanding at a civic reception before the Gala concert.

Representatives from Team London, Lisbon and Denmark ( which holds the title in 2018) were present, as well as TDs Eamon Scanlon, Martin Kenny and MEP Marian Harkin.

But what does it mean to a city to hold such a title?

Speaking to The Sligo Champion afterwards, Alice Wilcock from Team London said the year was a tremendous opportunity to thank volunteers for their hard work.

“Firstly it was a tremendous opportunity to say thank you to all our volunteers for all the incredible hard work they put into making London a better place.

“We were thrilled when we won the title to be able to send the logo out and thank all our partners and enable them to use it on all their communications for the year.

“It also enabled us to shine a real spotlight on volunteering and bring it back to London’s notice.”

Team London created special events to highlight the power of volunteering such as their ‘ speed volunteering’ event.

Her advice for Sligo was to “first of all enjoy it. It’s a tremendous accolade for Sligo to win this award. Secondly, use the opportunity to reward and recognise existing volunteering and bring it up in terms of profile.”

Lisbon 2015 team member Florbela Fidalgo told this newspaper that the title had given volunteering “a new dimension” in Lisbon and they had seen the number of volunteers increase as a result.

Cathaoirleach of Sligo County Council Cllr Hubert Keaney said the significance of the gala night gave them the opportunity to “recognise the huge number of volunteers in Sligo.”

Manager of Sligo Volunteer Centre, Ciara Herity said: “We are looking forward to hosting a series of local, regional and national events, and invite people to engage with us throughout the year.”