Brussels trip was ‘positive’
Stirling team happy with Euro title bid
Stirling’s team behind the 2020 European Volunteering Capital bid are positive about their prospects of success following their presentation to delegates in Brussels.
Stirling Council Leader Scott Farmer and community planning and regeneration convener Chris Kane travelled to the Belgian city last week to put Stirling’s case for being awarded the accolade.
They were joined by representatives from Volunteer Scotland and Stirlingshire Voluntary Enterprise.
The Stirling delegation and rivals from the Italian city of Padua made their pitch for the volunteering accolade.
It came in the form of a sevenminute presentation to delegates from across the continent and a five-minute video, viewed only by the judges.
The winner will be announced in December and if successful, Stirling would become the first Scottish city to achieve the honour. Previous winners include Barcelona, Lisbon and London.
Councillor Farmer said: “Our presentation was powerful and very well received by those in attendance, and it was heartening to hear such positive feedback from delegates.
“Volunteering is already at fantastic levels in Stirling, but we showed the judges that we are ambitious to do much more, ensuring the city is a place where it’s the norm to volunteer, providing a beacon of inspiration across the continent.
“2020 is already going to be a festival of volunteering in Stirling but this accolade really would be the icing on the cake, and we returned home feeling positive about our chances.
Councillor Kane said: “Both Padua and Stirling gave excellent presentations on the night and have given the judges a hard decision to make.
“Having the opportunity to present Stirling to a European audience not only as a champion of volunteering but as a welcoming city rich in heritage and culture should also provide a shot in the arm to both tourism across the area.”
More than 120 local and national organisations have already backed Stirling’s bid, including the Scottish Government.
Danish city Aarhus is the current title-holder and will be succeeded by the Slovakian city of Kosice in 2019.
The trip was, however, not without controversy after it emerged that the councillors’ two-day visit would cost Council Tax-payers £1500.
Leader of the council’s Conservative Group Neil Benny said: “We fully support the bid by our volunteering organisations but let us be clear that we feel that it was not appropriate for a couple of councillors to fly out at taxpayers’ expense to spend a few minutes speaking.
“They could have added their support to the bid by Skype for no cost at all. All the money spent on them going could have been spent actually encouraging volunteering.”