The Nuremberg Volunteer Trade Show is taking place for the fifth time since 2013. The previous four events were in the Historic Town Hall and the Main Market Square at the Nuremberg City Open Day. Due to Covid-19, this year the Nuremberg Volunteer Trade Show will switch to a digital format. From Tuesday 18th to Thursday 20th May 2021, each day from 3 until 6.30pm, the City of Nuremberg and the Zentrum Aktiver Bürger (ZAB) welcome all interested parties via Zoom.
Fifty-four organisations, more than ever before, will introduce themselves to potential volunteers. The spectrum ranges from disaster control and rescue to inclusion, environmental protection and nature conservation, children, youths and young adults, migrants, senior citizens, health and self-help, culture, voluntary service and sport. The organisations are available in a total of 186 time-slots (spread over three days for a total of 16,740 minutes or around 280 hours of “airtime”).
In short videos on the platform of the Digital Volunteer Fair Nuremberg 2021 at ww.freiwilligenmesse.nuernberg.de the exhibitors introduce themselves and offer a brief insight into their institutions and volunteer work. There is also an overview of when the exhibitors will be present. The overview and further information are also available in the MesseNews, available by subscription via the contact form on the website or by sending a short email to freiwilligenmesse@stadt.nuernberg.de (keyword: MesseNews). The email addresses will be deleted after the trade show and only used to send the MesseNews.
The trade show is hosted on Zoom. A link can be found on the platform where a virtual trade show hall is created by a Zoom meeting, to which the virtual stands are connected. All exhibitors have their own virtual exhibition stand. Personal contact is possible via a chat function in the Zoom video conference. The exhibitors are available personally during at least two 90-minute time slots on each of the three days.
Each day between 3 and 5pm the ZAB volunteer placement team, who are in contact with many other organisations and volunteer positions, will be available. The team will open its living room throughout the volunteer trade show for chats over coffee during the breaks and information about the trade show. Another volunteer team will also be available to answer visitors’ questions about technology.
Elisabeth Ries, Nuremberg’s Youth, Family and Social Affairs Officer, says: “The Digital Volunteer Trade Show is an experiment. I am very pleased with how many organisations are involved in this experiment. Of course, “experiment” also means that we don’t know how well it will go and how much interest we can generate during these three afternoons. But regardless of the success in detail: I believe that the digital volunteer fair sends a strong signal concerning commitment which is also very present in the general public.”
Elisabeth Ries emphasises the particular importance of volunteering in Corona times. “Many forms of engagement are not feasible because of coronavirus. On the other hand, many people have declared themselves willing to be active. The extent of neighbourhood help is enormous; on the volunteer shopping-help hotline 700 people have registered. Our joint effort is to win over as many more Nurembergers as possible to volunteer.”
In total, there are more than 100,000 Nurembergers active in voluntary work for others. In clubs and associations, kindergartens and schools, churches and chambers, social projects, welfare associations or the rescue service, city council, youth associations, migrant organisations, work with senior citizens or sports and civic associations. According to a representative survey, another 160,000 citizens are willing to get involved in civic work. Being active for others is an essential value for society and many needy people in the city. For the volunteers themselves, civic engagement creates meaning and has a positive effect on self-esteem and health.
