Transdisciplinary projects integrate both academic researchers from different unrelated disciplines and non-academic participants, such as land managers and the public, to research a common goal and create new knowledge and theory. Transdisciplinarity combines interdisciplinarity with a participatory approach. Join this seminar for a discussion on how a non-profit volunteering organisation contributes through research to a better understanding of our society and how scientists could collaborate with the civil society in addressing the societal challenges of today.
Speaker: Piotr Sadowski, Volunteering Matters, UK, and Volonteurope.
An activity organised by the NFH research group BRIDGE.
About Piotr:
Piotr is an ambitious and creative, yet laid-back, professional with an experience in a range of sectors, thriving on working with inspiring and dynamic people from diverse cultures and backgrounds.
He has worked both in the UK as well as extensively across Europe, as well as internationally, including most recently in South Korea, in his current capacity as the Head of European Affairs for Volunteering Matters (an NGO leading UK volunteering in policy and practice) and Secretary General for Volonteurope (an international civil-society network promoting volunteering, active citizenship and social action across the EU, the Council of Europe Member States and in Third Countries). He has gained significant exposure to EU level influencing and lobbying European Institutions on policy development , managing large-scale networks, working in collaboration with other major European and international networks, as well as organising and managing major European conferences. His experience also includes work in the banking sector, with corporates such as Citigroup, as well as a recent collaboration with pwc.
Piotr holds an MBA degree from the University of Liverpool and a BSc Economics degree from the London School of Economics.
He loves travelling (having recently done over 11,000 driving in Argentina and Chile; he also visited Tromso a while back and travelled through Troms and Finnmark, so he is particularly excited about coming back to the city!), reading and cooking - he appeared on one the UK series of Master Chef and is seriously into Indian cuisine. He and his husband split their time living between London and Ibiza.
About Volunteering Matters:
Volounteering Matters has a vision of a society where everyone can participate in their local community through volunteering and social action. The organisation develops and delivers high impact volunteer-led solutions across the UK in response to some of the most difficult challenges facing individuals and their communities today. It engages more than 30,000 volunteers and over 100,000 beneficiaries every year through 180 active programmes across the UK. Founded in 1962 (and known as Community Service Volunteers until 2015), Volunteering Matters has been leading UK volunteering in policy and practice for more than 50 years. The organisation knows, through years of successful work, that investing in people through the power of volunteering makes a tangible difference to the volunteer, the beneficiary and society as a whole. Its volunteer programmes help to improve health and wellbeing; build stronger, more inclusive communities; and achieve lasting results. It believes that everyone can play a role in their community and should have the chance to participate, and the organisation builds projects and programmes to reflect this. It focuses on the needs of four distinct communities; young people, disabled people, families and older people.
About Volonteurope:
Volonteurope is an international network promoting volunteering, active citizenship and social justice in Europe and beyond. The network operates at all levels, from the local (through its members) to the international, and across the public, private and third sectors. It facilitate s exchange, fosters collaboration and carries out research and advocacy. Volonteurope currently has over 60 members in more than 20 countries across Europe and the wider world. Established in the Netherlands in 1981, Volonteurope’s Secretariat is hosted by Volunteering Matters, the UK’s leading volunteering charity in policy and practice. Since 2016, it also has a legal presence as a Belgian non-profit association. Volonteurope's vision is of a world in which the principles of inclusiveness, collaboration, sustainability and fairness guide thinking, behaviour and practice in Europe, resulting in genuine social justice for all. Its mission is to work collaboratively with members and partners to champion the role of volunteering and active citizenship as pathways for social justice in Europe and beyond. Volonteurope is a member of Social Platform, Lifelong Learning Platform and Civil Society Europe, and a partner of SOLIDAR, European Civic Forum and IAVE.