At the EU Info Centre premises in Belgrade, a panel discussion entitled Champions of volunteering and Human Rights was organised by the Red Cross of Serbia in partnership with the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights team in Serbia, on Wednesday 5 December. The topic of the panel discussion was “Older persons and volunteerism” and through this event the red Cross of Serbia marked both the International Volunteer Day and the Human Rights Week.

The panel discussion participants included the Red Cross of Serbia volunteers, older persons volunteering in different partner civil society organisations of HumanaS network and university students.

Natasa Todorovic of the Red Cross of Serbia spoke about volunteering and its relationship to the concept of human rights as well as dignity because the notion of dignity is the foundation for the entire discourse of human rights. She also pointed out that at global level, 70 years after adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and with numerous signed international treaties focused on prevention of discrimination of different groups in the society, there is still no dedicated international instrument that bans discrimination based on age and focuses on protecting the human rights of older people. She also pointed out that older people are a very heterogeneous population group comprised of people growing up in different times and different circumstances, so their needs, potential and interests are different. Treating older people as a homogeneous group leads to less efficient public policy and ultimately jeopardises their human rights and dignity.

Miroslava Matic, older volunteer of the Red Cross of Serbia spoke about advocating for human rights of older people, from local to global level and her participation in advocacy for adoption of the New UN Declaration on Human Rights of Older People.

Danica Smic, older volunteer of the Red Cross of Serbia spoke about volunteering in the community and her rich experience in volunteering for the Red Cross of Serbia over several decades. Active in the ninth decade of her life Ms. Smic helps older people in her community through many hardships in their lives, but she also participates in advocacy activities.

Nadezda Sataric of the Association Amity spoke about volunteering and citizens activism.

The representatives of the Network of Social Researchers – ISP Network Evergreen, prof. dr Mile Milosavljevic and prof. dr Dejan Sumrak spoke about volunteering enhancing the visibility of older people’s human rights and how volunteering in the older age is one way to exercise the right to lifelong learning. Young ISP Network Evergreen volunteer Teodora Hrnjakovic spoke about volunteering and social cohesion.

Milos Todorovic, Anthropology student spoke about volunteering from the life course perspective, underlining that volunteering enables him to meet volunteers of various professions, generations and social contexts which provides him with perspectives that he otherwise would not have. This helps him grow as a person and prepares him for future professional career.