From 1 to 4 October, the Transnational Volunteer Jamboree 2026, a four-day international volunteer gathering, took place in Szeged, organised by the Talentum Foundation. The event brought together more than 80 volunteers from seven countries: Albania, the Czech Republic, Georgia, Hungary, Poland, Serbia and Slovakia.

The aim of the event was to provide an opportunity for volunteers from different countries and civil society organisations to get to know each other, share their experiences, and gather new ideas and good practices for their own volunteering activities. During the four days, participants worked together through workshops and group discussions, and also took part in local volunteering activities in Szeged. The intercultural programmes gave them the opportunity to learn more about each other's countries and cultures.

One of the highlights of the event was the V4 Volunteer Award Gala, an international volunteer award ceremony. During the event, the work of 14 volunteers from the seven countries was recognised for their active involvement and commitment to their local communities. The award winners also became Volunteer Ambassadors, whose role is to promote volunteering through their own stories, experiences and communication campaigns, and to encourage others to get involved in their communities.

Na slávnostnom odovzdávaní cien získali ocenenie V4 Volunteer Award aj dve slovenské účastníčky, Iveta V. a Viktoriia K., ktoré sa tak stali dobrovoľníckymi ambasádorkami.
Srdečne im blahoželáme a sme na ne hrdí! 🎉

As part of the programme, an online community platform called the Volunteer Social Wall was also created using Padlet, bringing together the participating volunteers' introductions, stories and activities. Through this platform, volunteers could learn about each other's work and also take part in the public voting for the V4 Volunteer Award. After the Jamboree, the platform was made public, allowing anyone to explore the diverse volunteering activities of volunteers from the seven countries and draw inspiration from their stories.

The Transnational Volunteer Jamboree was not only about exchanging experiences and gaining new knowledge, but also about strengthening international connections and cooperation. The event demonstrated that volunteering can bring people together across countries, generations and communities, and inspire them to take action together.

Although the four-day gathering has come to an end, the connections and initiatives established during the event continue to live on, while the award-winning volunteers continue to promote volunteering through their activities as Volunteer Ambassadors.

Discover the participating volunteers and their stories on the public Volunteer Social Wall: https://padlet.com/4v_project/volunteer-activities-overall-ugz7gm6srepi558r

The project is co-financed by the Governments of Czechia, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia through Visegrad Grants from International Visegrad Fund. The mission of the fund is to advance ideas for sustainable regional cooperation in Central Europe.