PLANET participated in the “Voluntary Action” event that took place on the 16^th and 17^th of July at the Technopolis of the Municipality of Athens. The event was organized by Skywalker.gr, a leading career portal in Greece.

The Voluntary Action event aimed at enabling further cohesion of the Volunteering ecosystem in Greece amid the ongoing crisis. The initiative gave the opportunity to Non Governmental Organisations (NGOs), existing as well as potential volunteers, firms that implement Corporate Social Responsibility programmes, grassroots / informal social groups, local government and other social economy actors to meet and interact via a number of parallel events: workshops, seminars, networking sessions, exhibition etc.

PLANET contributed to the event by participating in the networking session’s panel entitled “Funding Strategies for NGOs” that took place on the first day of the event. An overview of EU structural and investment funds’ opportunities for NGOs (channeled through the Partnership Agreement between Greece and the EU for the period 2014-2020) was provided, followed by a presentation of two European competitive programmes and available funding opportunities for NGOs: EU Framework Programme for Research and Innovation (Horizon 2020) and the EU Programme for Employment and Social Innovation (EASI),

The presentation was followed by a discussion during which a number of NGOs highlighted the barriers/difficulties in successfully obtaining funding from the aforementioned programmes, thus demonstrating the need for dedicated support. PLANET reinstated its interest and ability to provide guidance to NGOs so as to secure financial sustainability that is a pre-requisite for the continued provision of services for social groups in need and society as a whole.