Out of 100 million people working in the voluntary sector worldwide, nearly 30,000 were Maltese but Family Minister Chris Said thinks this does not reflect the true picture.

“I believe there are more people working in the voluntary sector across the islands, considering the number of sport, religious, environmental, civic and musical organisations that depend on voluntary work,” Dr Said argued.

He was speaking during the final conference of a project supported by the European Commission and spearheaded by the National Council of Women, in collaboration with the National Youth Council, the Domestic Violence Commission and Nature Trust Malta.

One of the issues tackled during the conference was the need to simplify the voluntary organisations’ registration process.

NCW vice president Grace Attard said such a need was felt across Europe, including Malta. In fact, the voluntary sector legislation was being revised to make it easier for organisations in Malta to register as voluntary associations.

The NCW project proposal secured EU funds after it was chosen from among 35 others submitted by different member states.

It focused on setting up a supportive structure through the exchange of experience and practices, encouraged people to take up voluntary work and increased the visibility of the existing local voluntary work.

This included promoting corporate volunteering, which, unlike corporate social responsibility, was based on the employee’s own initiative rather than on his employer’s.

This project included meetings, workshops, a toolkit for teenagers and the elderly about their role in society and a research study about volunteering in Malta.