Organisations that involve online volunteers in the EU
| This table lists more than 60 NGO or charity initiatives in
Europe that are known to be involving online volunteers at the
time of this paper's writing, or organisations outside of Europe
that are known to involve online volunteers from the EU. This
table is not, however, a comprehensive list of every charity, NGO
or other initiative in Europe involving online volunteers, as that
data is not available (see
challenges re: this research ). Rather, this table is meant
to highlight the prevalence of Internet-mediated volunteering in
Europe (also see this list of Online
Volunteering-related recruitment or matching web sites with at
least some European involvement). |
Esta tabla tiene mas de 60 iniciativas de caridad & ONGs en
Europa que involucran voluntarios en línea / voluntarios digitales
/ voluntarios en red (en el momento de escritura de este
artículo), u organizaciones de fuera de Europa que involucran
voluntarios digitales de la UE. Esto no es, sin embargo, una lista
completa de todos los caridad, ONGs u otra iniciativas en Europa
con voluntarios digitales, ya que los datos no están disponibles
(ver desafíos re: esta investigación). Más bien, esta lista tiene
la intención de demostrar la prevalencia de voluntarios digitales
en Europa (véase también la
lista de reclutamiento en línea relacionada con el voluntariado
o sitios web que coincidan con al menos una participación
europea). |
For more information, contact: jrc-ipts-is-NEWS@ec.europa.eu
| Initiative
name & URL |
Country
of base operations |
Notes |
| 2aid.org www.2aid.org |
Germany |
"Das
Team über ganz Deutschland verteilt ist, ist der Arbeitsort
dort, wo es dir am besten gefällt. Wir erledigen alle
organisatorischen Themen über das Internet. Auch Meetings werden
in der Regel per Skype oder anderen Kommunikationsmitteln
abgehalten. Zweimal im Jahr gibt es ein Team-Meeting, wo wir uns
persönlich treffen, Neue kennenlernen und uns austauschen.” (the
team is distributed all over Germany, the workplace is where it
suits you. We take care of all the organizational issues over
the Internet. Also, meetings are held usually via Skype or other
means of communication. Twice a year there is a team meeting
where we meet in person, get to know new and exchange ideas.) |
| A.S.I.F
- Entidad sin ánimo de lucro www.asif-entitatsenseanimdelucre.org/ |
Spain |
Listed
at least one online volunteering (voluntariado virtual)
opportunity on hacesfalta.org in June 2013 |
| ASMSS,
Amigos de Subhadra Mahatab Seva sadan www.amigossmss.org |
Spain |
Listed
at least one online volunteering (voluntariado virtual)
opportunity on hacesfalta.org in June 2013 |
| Action
on Depression http://www.actionondepression.org/ |
U.K. |
Based
in Scotland, online lifeskills coaches/mentor volunteers
complete an course: http://www.actionondepression.org/news/news/volunteer-opportunities-delivering-our-online-cbt-based-skills-course |
| Amnistia
Internacional www.es.amnesty.org |
Spain |
Listed
at least one online volunteering (voluntariado virtual)
opportunity on hacesfalta.org in June 2013 |
| Anam
Cara http://www.anamcara.ie |
Ireland |
Listed
at least one volunteering opportunity on the Volunteer Ireland
web site in June it categorizes as "homebased/virtual
volunteering" |
| Asociación
Cultural Skadix skadix.org |
Spain |
Listed
at least one online volunteering (voluntariado virtual)
opportunity on hacesfalta.org in June 2013 |
| Asociación
de Mujeres Eleanor Roosevelt www.eleanorroosevelt.es |
Spain |
Listed
at least one online volunteering (voluntariado virtual)
opportunity on hacesfalta.org in June 2013 |
| Beat
Bullying – Mentors www.beatbullying.org/teachers-and-professionals/training-for-students/ |
U.K. |
Formerly
http://cybermentors.org.uk,
this initiative recruits volunteer mentors for both onsite and
online activities. |
| Betobe http://www.betobe.org |
France |
network
of online volunteering in English, French and Spanish. The site
implies that online volunteers help with the site itself. |
| BodyWhys www.bodywhys.ie |
Ireland |
Ireland
national voluntary organisation supporting people affected by
eating disorders. Online volunteers respond from their home to
emails sent to the web site. Volunteers commit to 1-2 hours per
week on a particular day, attend online group supervision once
every three months, and commit to one year after training. |
| Casal
dels Infants, acció social als barris www.casaldelraval.org |
Spain |
Listed
at least one online volunteering (voluntariado virtual)
opportunity on hacesfalta.org in June 2013 |
| Cherie
Blair Foundation www.cherieblairfoundation.org |
U.K. |
online
mentors are in the U.K., and mentor online women entrepreneurs
in developing countries: http://www.cherieblairfoundation.org/mentoring/ |
| cibervoluntarios.org |
Spain |
More than a
dozen projects related to computer and digital technologies and
volunteering. though there are some aspects of Internet-mediated
volunteering, projects are not focused primarily on online
volunteering. |
| CrisisMappers http://crisismappers.net |
Not determined |
Crisis Mappers
leverage mobile & web-based applications, participatory maps
& crowdsourced event data, aerial & satellite imagery,
geospatial platforms, advanced visualization, live simulation,
and computational & statistical models to power effective
early warning for rapid response to complex humanitarian
emergencies. Stats: 5,502 = Members of the etwork 3,000+ = Member Organizations/Affiliations including 400+ Universities, 50 UN Agencies/Programs, dozens of tech companies, several Volunteer & Technical Community Networks & Disaster Response NGOs. 162 = Countries where Members are 1,906 = Members of Crisis Mappers Google Group |
| Crowdcrafting.org |
Switzerland |
open source
software platform for developing and sharing projects that rely
on the help of thousands of online volunteers. The Crowdcrafting
platform is hosted by University of Geneva, and is a joint
initiative between the Open Knowledge Foundation and the Citizen
Cyberscience Centre, a Geneva-based partnership co-founded by
University of Geneva. The Sloan Foundation has recently award |
| Doe
Network www.doenetwork.org |
U.S.A. |
Devoted to to
assisting official law enforcement agencies in solving cold
cases concerning unexplained disappearances and unidentified
Victims from North America, Australia and Europe. Online
volunteers also help translate documents into various languages.
The Doe Network has been recognised as part of the Responsible
Volunteer Community by the U.S.A. Department Of Justice. |
| e-wolontariat
http://e-wolontariat.pl |
Poland |
The name
translates to “E-volunteering.” In addition to serving as a
matching service for online volunteers and organisations in
Poland, e-wolontariat also involves online volunteers in its
activities. |
| Edinburgh
University Settlement http://www.adults-mentoring.eu/?pid=15 or http://esolscotland.com/documents/mentoring.doc |
U.K. |
Its Welcome
Package for Migrant Workers is a free online resource for adults
coming to live in Scotland. “Mentors need to be good listeners
who are happy to regularly communicate with their mentee via
emails, messenger, Skype or a mixture of all three. Experience
of having moved to Scotland would be useful, but not essential.” |
| EngineerAid www.engineeraid.com |
U.K. |
an
online based charity in the UK working to "provide remote
engineering advice on problems experienced in the less
economically developed countries and to satisfy the inherent
desire of many engineers to collaborate and solve problems."
Needs online volunteers who have an engineering or Science
degree, or are studying towards such, to contribute time to
projects such as housing reconstruction, designing water pumps,
improving water sanitation systems, choosing and installing
solar powered generators, and so forth. Current projects can be
viewed at http://www.engineeraid.com/ask_the_expert/
Potential volunteers fill out this form http://www.engineeraid.com/ask_the_expert/volunteer.php
|
| FLOSS
Manuals www.flossmanuals.org/ |
Netherlands |
Online
and onsite volunteers produce free manuals about Free and Open
Source Software (FOSS) in their own language. "Today we have
more than 120 books in more than 30 languages and more than
3,000 contributors over 5 independent language communities
(French, English, Farsi, Dutch, Finnish)." |
| Forvo http://www.forvo.com |
Spain |
The
largest pronunciation guide in the world with audio
pronunciations in more than 200 languages, all provided by
online volunteers. Volunteers rate and discuss other people's
pronunciations. |
| Frankfurt
Gestalten http://frankfurt-gestalten.de/ |
Germany |
A
mapping project (crowdsourcing) for citizens of Frankfurt am
Main. The project is also supported by online volunteers, such
as help with programming the web site. |
| FROPIS-u
Forum Rabczańskich Organizacji Pozarządowych i Społecznych
(Forum of NGOs and Society) http://www.fordza.cba.pl/ |
Poland |
One
of the most frequent users of the e-wolontariat platform to
recruit online volunteers for various assignments. |
| Fundació
Lucía per a la SIDA Pediàtrica http://www.fundacionlucia.org/ |
Spain (Catalunya) |
Lists
multiple online volunteering assignments on http://voluntariat.org
as of June 2013 |
| Galaxy
Zoo www.galaxyzoo.org |
U.S.A. |
image
classification |
| Give
As You Live/ Ganet's Adventure School www.idealist.org/view/volop/ZfPwGXMXg3cp/ |
U.K. |
Listed at
least one volunteering opportunity on the Idealist web site in
July it categorizes as "virtual" or "online" |
| GlobalGiving www.globalgiving.co.uk/globalgivingtime/ |
U.K. |
GlobalGivingTIME
program allows organisations to recruit online volunteers to
help with research, search-engine optimization (SEO), social
media (Twitter, Facebook, blogging, etc.), fundraising, data
entry, or other expert advice. |
| GreenPeace
Germany |
Germany |
|
| HelpFromHome www.helpfromhome.org |
U.K. |
In addition to
being an online matching service for online volunteers with
organisations that need such, this charity also involves online
volunteers itself. |
| Human Grid
Athens http://humangrid.gr |
Greece |
a TEDxAthens
project that “aims to promote the various groups of volunteers
and NGOs in Athens (Greece), as well as connecting them with
other volunteers that want to participate in their initiatives.”
Online volunteers contribute to the creation of this grid. |
| Human Writes www.humanwrites.org |
U.K. |
encourages UK
volunteers to befriend and support those facing execution in the
US by writing letters directly to inmates. |
| Humanity Road
Digital Disaster Volunteers www.humanityroad.org/Volunteer |
U.K. |
Online
volunteers from all over the world, including the EU, research,
collect, maintain and tweet information and resources about
first aid, hospitals, shelters and other critical needs before,
during and after a disaster. |
| Humanium http://www.humanium.org |
Switzerland,
with offices in Germany and France |
As of June
listed online volunteering opportunities related to translation
on the UN's Online Volunteering service. |
| Implicadas/os
no desenvolvemento, Asociación www.implicadas.com |
Spain |
Listed
at least one online volunteering (voluntariado virtual)
opportunity on hacesfalta.org in June 2013 |
| Ireland
Reaching Out www.irelandxo.com |
Ireland |
Listed
at least one volunteering opportunity on the Volunteer Ireland
web site in June it categorizes as "homebased/virtual
volunteering" |
| Lasa www.lasa.org.uk and www.ictknowledgebase.org.uk/forums/index.php |
U.K. |
Lasa's
“knowledgebase ict café” is an online discussion forum where
anyone can ask for and offer "ideas and advice for voluntary and
community groups on using technology." |
| LibroVox
http://librivox.org |
U.S.A. |
Involves
volunteers internationally, including from the EU |
| Mozilla
Foundation http://www.mozilla.org/ |
U.S.A. |
Develops
free, open source software (FOSS) such as Foxfire and
Thunderbird. Involves online volunteers globally, including German speakers: http://www.mozilla.org/de/contribute/ Spanish speakers: http://www.mozilla.org/es-AR/contribute/ French speakers: http://www.mozilla.org/fr/contribute/ |
| Move
Your Money UK www.moveyourmoney.org.uk |
U.K. |
Listed at
least one volunteering opportunity on the Idealist web site in
July it categorizes as "virtual" or "online" |
| Nueva
Vida adopciones www.nuevavida-adopciones.org/ |
Spain |
Listed
at least one online volunteering (voluntariado virtual)
opportunity on hacesfalta.org in June 2013 |
| Old
Weather www.oldweather.com Part of the citizensciencealliance.org initiative |
Initiative
includes institutions in both the U.K. and U.S.A. |
Online
volunteers help scientists recover worldwide weather
observations made by various ships in the 19th Century by
transcribing these old weather records. These transcriptions
will contribute to climate model projections and improve a
database of weather extremes. The data will also be used by
geographers, historians and the public around the world (anyone
will be able to access it and use it). |
| OpenMRS openmrs.org/about/ |
International
(unable to determine base of operations) |
a worldwide
network of volunteers from many different backgrounds including
technology, health care, and international development.
Together, they are working to build the world's largest and most
flexible technology platform to support delivery of health care
in some of the most challenging environments on the planet. "No
matter what your background or interest, we'd love to have you
help us save lives with Health IT." |
| OpenStreetMap www.openstreetmap.org OpenStreetMap Foundation www.osmfoundation.org/wiki/Main_Page |
UK |
Collaborative
online project to create a free editable online map of the
world. Created by Steve Coast in the UK in 2004. Supported by
the OpenStreetMap Foundation, a non-profit organisation
registered in England. |
| Positive
Nett-Works e.V. http://www.youth-leader.org/ |
Germany |
As
of June listed online volunteering opportunities related to
article writing and translation on the UN's Online Volunteering
service. |
| Professionals
in Humanitarian Assistance and Protection http://phap.org/news/2013/online-volunteers-help-humanitarian-workers-find-resources-they-need |
Belgium-based |
sector-wide
professional association of individuals engaged in humanitarian
assistance and protection worldwide, PHAP’s mission is to
enhance the capacity of the global humanitarian community to
respond effectively and professionally to current and future
crises.. Online volunteers help humanitarian workers with
database, transcription and translation projects. |
| Project
Gutenberg / Distributed Proofreaders www.pgdp.net/c |
U.S.A. |
Has involved
online volunteers from all over the world since the 1970s. |
| Red
Deporte y Cooperación www.redeporte.org |
Spain |
Listed
at least one online volunteering (voluntariado virtual)
opportunity on hacesfalta.org in June 2013 |
| Save
the Children U.K./Spain www.savethechildren.es |
U.K. |
Listed at
least one online volunteering (voluntariado virtual) opportunity
on hacesfalta.org in June 2013 |
| Selfpedia.de http://selfpedia.de/ Hosted by SOZIALHELDEN e.V. |
Germany |
Online
community for people with disabilities, caregivers and anyone
interested in issues around disabilities. Members ask questions
of each other re: mobility and accessibility issues, insurance
issues, social inclusion and other issues. |
| Sosdesaparecidos www.sosdesaparecidos.es |
Spain |
Listed at
least one online volunteering (voluntariado virtual) opportunity
on hacesfalta.org in June 2013 |
| Standby Task
Force (SBTF) http://standbytaskforce.wordpress.com |
U.S.A. |
Recruits and
mobilizes “digital volunteers” from anywhere in the world to
provide crowdsourcing, mapping, data scrambling and technology
testing support to organizations engaged in activities related
to humanitarian, human rights, election monitoring and media
efforts, particularly local organizations in developing
countries. The web site says it comprises more than “1,000
skilled volunteers with dedicated experience in online crisis
mapping.” |
| Tag Del tagdel.dk |
Denmark |
Danish site
providing opportunities for online volunteers to get involved in
NGO and community-based activities. |
| TalkingDrugs http://www.talkingdrugs.org/ |
U.K. |
Involves
volunteers “from all over the world”, most working from their
own homes, in tasks related to journalism, social media,
communications and policy. |
| TechSoup
Community Forum http://forums.techsoup.org/cs/community/f/ or http://forums.techsoup.org/cs/community/p/activity.aspx Info on all volunteering opportunities: http://www.techsoup.org/joining-techsoup/become-a-volunteer |
U.S.A. |
Involves
online volunteers in the moderation and facilitation of its
online community forum, as well as subject matter experts on the
forum and in its Second Life community; volunteers from the EU
have been involved at various times (including currently). Has a
ranking system for its community forum moderators: http://forums.techsoup.org/cs/p/star.aspx |
| Turn2me turn2me.org |
Ireland |
“an
interactive support community for people with personal problems
to share, discuss and offload those problems. Our aim is to use
technology to connect people and promote mental wellbeing.” The
charity also listed at least one volunteering opportunity on the
Volunteer Ireland web site in June it categorizes as
"homebased/virtual volunteering." |
| VoIDIX - Voluntarios Digitales o Voluntario DIXITAL http://voluntariadodixital.xunta.es/es/voluntariosDigitales EU press release in English about the initiative http://ec.europa.eu/social/main.jsp?langId=en&catId=89&newsId=1905&furtherNews=yes |
Spain |
"Volunteers
can be physically present (i.e. in classrooms of Centres of
Technological Modernisation and Inclusion... public libraries,
etc.) or provide support online..." |
| Um sem um tam www.umsemumtam.cz/ |
Czech Republic |
An online
matching service for NGOs and professionals that want to donate
their expertise online. |
| UK Youth
Climate Coalition http://ukycc.org |
U.K. |
Listed at
least one volunteering opportunity on the Idealist web site in
July it categorizes as "virtual" or "online" |
| United Nations
Online Volunteering Service www.onlinevolunteering.org |
Germany |
This service
is managed by UNV, a division of UNDP. In addition to matching
online volunteers with organisations that need such, the
initiative also involves online volunteers in its work
periodically. |
| Wheelmap http://wheelmap.org/ Hosted by SOZIALHELDEN e.V. |
Germany |
Crowdmapping/crowdsourcing
effort to map barrier free locations (accessible sites) in
Germany, Europe and globally. |
| Wikipedia
sites in European languages http://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/List_of_Wikipedias |
Bulgaria
/ Bulgarian Català (Catalan / Catalunya) Česky (Czech Republic) Dansk (Danish / Denmark) Deutsch (German - Deutschland / Germany and Austria) Eesti (Estonia) Español (España / Spain) Euskara (Basque Country) Français (French / France) Hrvatski (Croatian / Croaia) Italiano (Italian / Italy) Lietuvių (Lithuania) Magyar (Hungary / Hungarian) Nederlands (Dutch, The Netherlands) Norsk (bokmål)(Norway / Norwegian) Polski (Polish/Poland) Português (Portuguese / Portugal) Română (Romania) Russia / Russian Slovenčina (Slovakia) Slovenščina (Slovenia) Srpski (Serbia) Suomi (Finland) Svenska (Sweden) Türkçe (Turkey) Ukraine |
Online
volunteers contributing to these free online encyclopedias are
rarely called volunteers. For instance, A Czech Republic online
volunteer is a Wikipedista or Wikipedistka German language volunteers are called Wikipedianer Spanish language volunteers are called Wikipedistas) French contributors are called Wikipédistes Norsk (bokmål)(Norway. An online volunteer is a Wikipedant) Polski(Polist. An online volunteer is a wikipedysta or wikipedystka) Português(Portuguese. An online volunteer is a Wikipedian, Wikipediano, or Wikipediana) Русский (Russia. An online volunteer is a википедист or википедистка) |
| Xaley www.fundacionxaley.org |
Spain |
Listed
at least one online volunteering (voluntariado virtual)
opportunity on hacesfalta.org in June 2013 |
| YouthNet http://www.youthnet.org/work-for-youthnet/volunteer/ Do-It bloggers http://www.do-it.org.uk/magazine/features/virtual/youthnetvirtual |
U.K. |
Online
volunteers donate their time to write for the Do-It blogs and
moderate TheSite.org discussion boards and live chats. There is
also volunteer relationship advisors who must take part in an
onsite six month coaching programme before beginning their
online service. |
| Youvo http://www.youvo.org |
Germany |
In addition
to providing an online matching service for online volunteers
and nonprofits, this organization also involves online
volunteers. It is not clear from the web site if this is an NGO,
a private business, or an entirely independent, indiviually-run
initiative. |
