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When did you decide you would like to volunteer in Seefeld?

In 2017 on the 4th of March when the FIS Nordic World Ski Championships in Lahti had just ended, my friend Otto and I decided to reward ourselves with a dinner, because of two work-filled weeks as a volunteer on the course crew team were finished. „Iivo-Iivo-Iivo“ (Iivo Niskanen – famous Finnish cross-country skier) was still echoing in our heads. We happened to sit next to the next World Championships organisers from Seefeld. We started to talk to them and proposed to involve us as volunteers at FIS Nordic World Ski Championships 2019in Seefeld. They liked our idea and that is how the initial plan was made.

How long did the application period take?

In November 2017 I sent my application form and the positive answer arrived in August 2018. After that I was able to plan my travel and accommodation. I was… more

They’re suddenly eager to offer incentives for social responsibility, writes Jacqueline Poh.

When British housing association London & Quadrant needed a 100 million-pound ($132 million) loan last year, its bank offered something unusually generous: A discount on interest if L&Q met an annual target of helping 600 unemployed residents find work.

Eight months later, L&Q, which builds and rents out affordable housing in London, is already more than 75 percent of the way there, putting it on course to unlock savings from its lender, BNP Paribas SA.

While it’s hard to imagine the world’s profit-driven banks offering incentives for doing good, corporate lending tied to some measurable sustainability metric—like cutting emissions or reducing food waste—surged eight-fold in 2018 to $36.4 billion, according to Bloomberg NEF.

There always seems to be a catch in finance,… more

This blog post was written as part of the Erasmus+ Sport Project "Internationalization of the Sport Volunteers Movement SCULT.com", co-funded by the Erasmus+ programme of the European Union.

SCULT World Sport Volunteer 2018 – Jenni-Kaija Tiainen

For many years, Jenni-Kaija has been a tremendous help when it comes to organising sport events. She is active and does great work in her own gymnastics club as well as the Finnish Gymnastics Federation. She is the kind of volunteer organizers value highly and hope to have in the future! The ambassador of Finland in Estonia received the award in Jenni-Kaija's name.

Timo Kantola, the ambassador of Finland in Estonia, receiving the award in name of Jenni-Kaija

SCULT World Sport Organiser 2018 – Lithuanian Children Games 2018

This year the prize belongs to an event that made a huge contribution to increase people’s… more

World Sport Volunteers Movement SCULT joins forces with His Serene Highness Prince of Monaco Albert II to empower the legendary Tallsinki-Monaco Electric Car Marathon 2018 with volunteers. The cooperation agreement was signed between CEO of SCULT, Dr. Ott Pärna, and Monaco's Honorary Consul in Estonia and Olympic medalist, Mr. Jüri Tamm.

Electric Marathon is the revival of the important historic event – Rally Tallinn-Monte Carlo that was held between 1930 and 1939. The modern Electric Marathon is an intellectual rally. It is not about the speed, but the accuracy of the arrival time to the finish point. The so-called zero car is the first to go and it sets the etalon time. The winner is the participant whose time is closer to the etalon one.

Rally Tallinn-Monte Carlo, in front of Estonian National Opera (1937)

Electric Marathon aims at demonstrating the consistency of… more

As experienced by Ott Pärna, (42) economist, journalist and CEO of SCULT.

Wise men say – the young do sports for the results, after that, because it feels good to be active, and as they get older, for the feeling that comes after the work-out. This train of thought has its ring of truth to it. Although I would love to improve my past results from time to time, I'm much more motivated by the feeling that results from the training, the great company and the post-workout sauna that goes with cracking open a cold one. By the way, this is definitely one of the charms of practicing endurance sports – without having to worry too much about your weight, you can give in to the weakness with a lighter heart.

So, as an indigenous 'sports-soul', I came across Europe's longest and toughest amateur bike race in Mallorca, featuring 312km total distance, 5050m total climb and 8000… more

We have been introducing our great Volunteers in a series of blog posts. The volunteers have filled out questionnaires that ask important questions, such as “What has volunteering given to You?” We hope their answers and experiences inspire you to get involved with Sport Volunteering and SCULT Movement.

We are excited to introduce our friends and dedicated global Volunteers. By dedicating their time, energy, and expertise, they will help to make a positive impact on the lives of many people.

Today we introduce Stefano Raus, who is a passionate orienteer. He started volunteering at the age of 13 as an instructor for his speed-skating club. Here comes his inspiring story!

Why are you a sports volunteer, what motivates you?

Starting from childhood, I’ve practiced many sports in my life. Even today, I'm an active athlete in orienteering. I love cross-country skiing,… more

Estonian marketing communication agencies’ event of the year – Festival of Creativity Golden Egg 2018 award ceremony – took place on March 16, 2018 in Kultuurikatel. A jury consisting of ad agency owners and advertising experts picks the best Estonian ads in the last calendar year.

This advertising competition is the premier event for Estonian ad agencies. Categories include advertising, design, digital advertising, media, PR and event marketing.

Our Interreg Youth-Sport-Vol project "Give-Us-A-Hand" was nominated in two categories – Ambient Marketing & Social Campaign. The project received a Bronze Egg Award in the Ambient Marketing category. See the project video here!

Ott Pärna, the Founder and CEO of SCULT, with the Bronze Egg

Back in autumn, SCULT reached out to a blind girl, Mari-Liis Täht, to fulfil her dream of taking part in Tartu City Marathon.… more

We are exited to introduce our friends and dedicated global Volunteers. By dedicating their time, energy, and expertise, they will help make a positive impact on the lives of many people.

"I Volunteer Because..." is a series of blog posts that introduces our SCULT Awards “Volunteer of the Year” nominents. The nominents have filled out questionnaires that ask important questions, such as, “What has volunteering given to You?” We hope their answers and experiences inspire you to get involved with Sport Volunteering and SCULT Movement.

Today we introduce Olivia Margain, whose amount of passion for sports is outstanding. She started her volunteer journey at the IPC World Championships of Athletics in France, and has since helped organise various prominent sport events across the globe. She told us her experience at the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics was a life-changer. Keep reading and… more

We will be introducing our SCULT Awards “Volunteer of the Year 2017” nominents in a series of blog posts. Our nominents have filled in questionnaires that ask important questions, such as, “What has volunteering given to You?” We hope their answers and experiences inspire you to get involved with Sport Volunteering and SCULT Movement.

We are exited to introduce our friends and dedicated global Volunteers. By dedicating their time, energy, and expertise, they will help to make a positive impact on the lives of many people.

This time we feature Aino Lahtinen, who got her first volunteering experiences from student Sport Festival “Sweet Sweat” and whose dream is to work in the field of sports. Aino was nominated to SCULT Award 2017. Here comes her inspiring story.

Why are you a sports volunteer, what motivates you?

I started my sports volunteering career in my first year as a Sports and Leisure… more

We will be introducing our SCULT Awards “Volunteer of the Year” nominents in a series of blog posts. Our nominents have filled in questionnaires that ask important questions, such as, “What has volunteering given to You?” We hope their answers and experiences inspire you to get involved with Sport Volunteering and SCULT Movement.

We are excited to introduce our friends and dedicated global Volunteers. By dedicating their time, energy, and expertise, they will help to make a positive impact on the lives of many people.

We will start with Aled Davies, who currently is a Higher Education Young Ambassador, Youth Sport Trust Team Leader and a Cardiff Met Fresher's Rugby coach. Aled was nominated to SCULT Award 2017. Here comes his story.

Why are you a sports volunteer, what motivates you?

I volunteer in sport for a number of reasons, it all started because I loved sport and the idea of being able to get a job in sport… more

Where did the process begin, why did you decide to apply?

It began with the 2016 Rio Summer Olympics. I saw an interview on TV with an Estonian volunteer. I felt excited by it and decided to do some research about the next ones. PyeongChang 2018 was the one that stood out – it isn't that far time-wise and it seemed like a really interesting place to visit.

How about the process of application? Was it long?

First of all, I filled out an application form for being a volunteer. Then I had to pass a couple of English language tests – oral and written. After those we had a group video chat with 4-5 people via Skype. This marked the end of the toughest part – I got chosen as a first degree volunteer. Shortly I got presented with a chance to apply as a second degree volunteer – in order to do that, I had to fill in a short questionnaire. I succeeded. All in all, the whole process took me about one year.… more

We had a little chat with Eilika Trummar. She volunteered to be a part of the Winter Olympics torch relay in Greece, in late October 2017. Keep reading to find out about the experience, her impressions and how she got there in the first place.

How did you get there, what was the process like?

I turned in an application and fortunately, also turned out to be chosen. Everyone who was interested could apply to become an Olympic torch bearer through the Hellenic Olympic Committee. I had to to fill in a form that took into account prior experience in sports-, educational- and social fields. It was about a week before the start of the relay when the results were published. After that, everyone who got chosen had to arrange their trip to Greece as well as their on-site accommodation.

How could other people become torch bearers?

Courage, self-motivation, a high level of activity in the field of… more

SCULT WORLD SPORT VOLUNTEER OF THE YEAR - OLIVIA MARGAINOur world volunteer of the year is – as one might expect – extremely passionate about sports. She's been involved with sports since she was a kid, and is now working as a rhythmic gymnastics coach for young people. Besides working as head coach and department manager in her sports club, she is also there when help is needed for sport volunteering.

Olivia's volunteering experience is striking, here is a fraction of it for illustration:IPC World Championships of Athletics 2013Sochi Winter Olympics 2014European Games 2015Rio Paraolympics 2016

SCULT WORLD SPORT ORGANISER OF THE YEAR - SPECIAL OLYMPICS WINTER GAMES AUSTRIA 2017The 2017 Special Olympics World Winter Games were held in Austria this spring. 3000 volunteers from all over the world gathered to Graz, Schadming and Ramsau to make the winter games an unforgettable event for 2700… more

LinkedIn is the world`s biggest white-collars’ database - network of people who have usually attended schools a lot and are working at cool jobs. These are people who earn mountains but whose schedules are so packed, that there hardly is any spare time. Workaholics, if you wish. Even so, as many as 82% of them are keen to share their time and experience voluntarily (sic!). There has to have a reason behind it?!

The first argument can be found in the pyramid of Maslow`s Hierarchy of Needs - the person who`s full and has a roof above will start to search for possibilities of self-actualization. Their role in society and meaning of life in a wider sense. Therefore, one’s ego certainly plays a role. At the same time, there is an interesting fact: up to 41% of headhunters and recruiters in LinkedIn evaluate voluntary work experience as equipotent to their experience in payed work and as many as… more

The Olympic Games brings together not just athletes, coaches, and spectators, but also an enthusiastic group known as the Olympic Volunteers. These aptly named individuals volunteer their time and skills into making the Games as successful as they can be; according to Craig Reedie of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), volunteering has now become “part of the whole ethos, the quality, of the Games.”

Of course, the IOC would say that—while its members receive a $900 per diem during the Games, the unpaid volunteers will do much of the legwork required to pull off the Games.

The volunteers contribute in a number of ways. Most of the 70,000 Olympic Volunteers here in Rio, for example, will be working in one of the four “clusters” in the neighbourhoods of Barra, Deodoro, Maracanã and Copacabana. Their responsibilities will range from translating to setting up cameras, from guiding… more

The 70,000 Olympic volunteers who have given their time and energy have been the key to the Games' success.

They are the unsung - and unpaid - heroes and heroines who will take home priceless memories.

Contributing eight million hours of voluntary work behind the scenes, without them the Games would not have been possible.

With relentless enthusiasm and energy Thomas Smith, 23, from Southampton, is typical of the "Games Makers".

Having just finished his final exams in mechanical engineering at Bath University and with a job lined up, instead of taking a well-earned rest he was giving up his last summer holiday before his working life begins to be part of London 2012.

Standing in the sunshine outside the Olympic Stadium dealing with a steady stream of spectators looking for assistance, Mr Smith was just glad to be of help.

"To be honest I never really thought of it as giving up something," he… more

Millennials are getting pickier

“FIST BUMP, MAN.” That was how a young employee at Bank of America Merrill Lynch expressed his approval after a presentation to staff, recalls Diego De Giorgi, head of investment banking there. The boss obliged. After a recent “town hall” meeting he got an e-mail from a second-year analyst who wanted to discuss some ideas. Mr De Giorgi duly invited him and a few of his peers for a chat.

Today’s recruits to big banks have different priorities from the newcomers of a decade or two ago. These days a presentation to university students might be followed by half an hour of questions about the bank’s corporate social responsibility programme, as well as the more obvious ones about pay and promotion prospects.

“ Millennials are much more likely to come and go than to pursue a one-firm career ”

Those presentations attract significantly fewer people than they did at… more