Volunteering is at the heart of the work of the Ljubljana Pride Association. Since 2015, we have been a youth-friendly volunteer organisation. We believe in the power of volunteering: it strengthens the visibility of the LGBTIQ+ community, encourages wider social engagement, and creates space where LGBTIQ+ (young) people can get involved, grow, and co-create change.
Through our LGBTIQ+ volunteering programme, we build an inclusive, safe, and quality environment for volunteering.
Goals
To promote and raise awareness of LGBTIQ+ volunteering
To strengthen and develop the concept of inclusive volunteering
To improve the overall quality of volunteering
Who can be our volunteer?
Everyone interested in the LGBTIQ+ topics can be our volunteer!
We are specifically inviting those of you who would like to connect better with the LGBTIQ+ community: meet other LGBTIQ+ people, learn more about the specific areas (as for instance is Sqvot, our social security programme) or just want to help with different tasks, events and activities.
Find a volunteering opportunity for yourself
Become a volunteer of the Ljubljana Pride Festival and/or Pride day
We usually put the new call for volunteers out in the first half of the year.
Become a volunteer in the different programmes of the organisation
For example: organisation of youth events in Youth programme, collecting donations in Sqvot programme etc.
You can apply anytime by sending us an email to volunteering@ljubljanapride.org with subject line “Volunteering”. Shortly present yourself, and let us know how you see yourself engaging.
Become tour guide of the LGBTIQ+ tours of Ljubljana
Apply to lead LGBTIQ+ tours of Ljubljana. We publish a call for tour guides in the beginning of each year, but the applications are open the whole year, you can apply anytime.
Become an international volunteer (in the European Solidarity Corps programme)
Ljubljana Pride Association has been active in the European Solidarity Corps programme since 2016 (then European volunteering service – EVS). With that programme, volunteers can take part in individual and team volunteering activities. You can also volunteer in the country you reside or abroad.
An individual volunteering activity can last from two weeks to twelve months and it offers volunteers the opportunity to join our team in a supporting role in a specific area (e.g. assisting with the implementation of one of our programmes). Through this, volunteers gain experience of working in a team and get first-hand insight into what it is like to work in a non-governmental organisation.
We also organise a team volunteering activity each year during the Ljubljana Pride Festival. A group of volunteers supports the annual Ljubljana Pride festival. Applications for the current year usually open in February and can be found on the European Youth Portal.
These volunteering activities cover the costs of accommodation, food, and pocket money, travel to and from Ljubljana, and any expenses related to volunteering tasks. They also include mentorship and a Youthpass certificate. The working language is English.
Apart from hosting ESC volunteers in Ljubljana, we can support young people to participate in ESC activity abroad. If you would be interested in ESC volunteering, contact us at volunteering@ljubljanapride.org.
More about inclusive volunteering
We often hear that “volunteering is for everyone.” In principle, this is a good starting point, but in practice it is often insufficient.
This approach often boils down to: whoever shows up is welcome. It says that everyone is welcome, but it does not address the specific barriers and challenges faced by marginalised groups (including LGBTIQ+ people). If we remain neutral and passive, we are actually perpetuating existing power dynamics in society. These power dynamics are often unfavorable to marginalized groups. Discrimination, rejection, and a sense of danger are part of daily life for many.
That is why it is not enough to say that volunteering is “for everyone.” It is important that we actively create an environment where people from marginalized groups are truly safe, accepted, and respected.
From our practice and local research (which you can view in the Resources tab), we know that many LGBTIQ+ people have had experiences with organizations that present themselves as open but:
– do not respect their identities,
– do not respond to homo-, bi-, or transphobia,
– do not create a sense of safety.
As a result, such spaces can quickly become places of (repeated) negative experiences rather than support.
Inclusive volunteering is an approach that helps us change this. It means that:
- we regularly ask ourselves who our volunteers are and, more importantly, who they are not and why,
- we actively implement inclusive practices within the organization, particularly in the coordination and support of volunteers,
- we listen to volunteers’ needs and take them into account: both in recruitment (finding them) and in their continued participation (motivation and long-term engagement),
- We create an environment where people feel safe, respected, and accepted.
Projects
Volunteering project ESC 2025-2027
The project includes a variety of volunteer activities that allow volunteers to get involved in our work.
Funded by the European Union.
Project LGBTIQ+ tours
The LGBTIQ+ tours of Ljubljana project includes a series of training sessions and support mechanisms for (future) tour guides. The LGBTIQ+ tours focus on presenting key points from the rich history of the LGBTIQ+ movement in Ljubljana, current events in the community, and the personal insights and experiences of young tour guides.
Gradiva
Ljubljana Pride Mentoring Scheme
Language: Slovenian
The Ljubljana Pride Mentoring Scheme provides volunteers with support for personal development and learning. It is based on regular meetings, trust, progress monitoring, and creating a safe and inclusive environment, with a particular focus on supporting LGBTIQ+ and other marginalised people.
Recommendations on inclusive volunteering
Language: English
Between March 2021 and September 2022, five organizations (Youth Initiative for Human Rights Croatia, INAR Ireland, Loesje Berlin, Ljubljana Pride, and Youth Initiative for Human Rights Serbia) collected recommendations on inclusive volunteering, both via an online survey and during physical events. The majority respondents are young people coming from marginalised backgrounds and identities themselves. We collected 2540 responses and 915 recommendations for decision makers. A lot of recommendations were similar so we compiled them in a way to express their core idea.
Including and Supporting LGBTIQ+ Young People in European Solidarity Corps (ESC) Projects (Volunteering)
Language: Slovenian
These guidelines provide simple, practical advice on involving LGBTIQ+ young people in European Solidarity Corps (ESC) volunteering projects and supporting them throughout their participation. They can easily be adapted for ESC employment and traineeship projects and are also useful for supporting other LGBTIQ+ young people in your organisation (participants, colleagues, local volunteers, etc.).
Programme made possible by:
Co-funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Education and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA). Neither the European Union nor EACEA can be held responsible for them.