Nominations Open Until 2 July for Navarra’s 2025 Volunteer Recognition Award
The regional government has opened the call today, Thursday, the application period for submitting candidacies for the 2025 Navarra Volunteer of the Year distinction, a recognition approved through a foral order published yesterday in the Official Gazette of Navarra (BON). The deadline for submitting proposals will end on 2 July.
This is the second consecutive year in which the regional government grants this distinction, created as public recognition for individuals or organizations that have stood out for their dedication to volunteering, for their social example in volunteer activity, or because their volunteer actions have achieved special relevance. This recognition is one of the 59 actions included in the 2024–2027 Third Volunteering Plan, designed to raise awareness of this form of selfless community work and encourage more people to take part in these activities.
The Volunteer of the Year distinction is the highest recognition granted by the Government of Navarra in the field of volunteering, already contemplated in Foral Law 2/1998 of 27 March on Volunteering in Navarra, although not previously developed. María José Leoz Tellería, from Cascante, was the first recipient of this distinction last year, for the “groundbreaking and innovative” work she has carried out over the last 40 years in support of people with Down syndrome.
Candidacies may be submitted online via the form available in the procedures catalogue, or in person at the Government of Navarra’s Citizen Service Offices in Pamplona / Iruña (Avenida Roncesvalles, nº 11) or in Tudela (Plaza de los Fueros, nº 5 and nº 6), or at any other registration office of the regional administration, the General State Administration, autonomous communities or local administration entities.
A form must be submitted along with an explanatory report of up to 1,000 words detailing the merits supporting the nomination. In addition, optional letters of support for the candidacy may be included, as well as documentation that verifies the stated merits.
Selection Criteria
A technical committee will review the suitability of the proposals received and will select up to a maximum of ten, which will then be evaluated by an advisory commission composed of a chair, nine members and a secretary, drawn from the Technical Committee on Volunteering and representatives of entities such as the Navarra Federation of Municipalities and Councils (FNMC), the Navarra Public Business Corporation (CPEN), the Public University of Navarra (UPNA), the Institute of Constructive Journalism, and María José Leoz herself, as the previous year’s award recipient.
The three projects obtaining the highest scores will pass to the final evaluation by the Navarra Volunteer Council. The distinction will be awarded by the Government of Navarra, based on the proposal submitted by this body.
To grant the recognition, the evaluation will consider whether the nominee—individual or organization—has carried out particularly relevant actions demonstrating social commitment, their track record in different areas of volunteering, whether the nominee belongs to a group at risk of exclusion or social vulnerability, and whether they have carried out actions that promote volunteering. Initiatives, actions or innovative volunteering practices in different or atypical fields, or that facilitate access for people with disabilities to volunteer activities, will also be valued.
Among the selection criteria, the impact of the volunteer action on improving the living conditions of the beneficiaries will be especially important, with particular attention to its impact in Navarra. The international projection of the Comunidad Foral in the field of volunteering that the nominee may have achieved will also be considered.
Additionally, actions promoting gender equality, the empowerment of women and girls, the prevention of violence against women, initiatives encouraging egalitarian masculinities, non-discrimination, social inclusion, solidarity, and the promotion and strengthening of Human Rights and Fundamental Rights will be valued.
In the case of organizations, the involvement of groups and volunteers in the development of the volunteer activities promoted will be considered. Partnerships generated throughout the volunteer activity will also be part of the evaluation criteria.
Third Navarra Volunteering Plan and New Foral Law
The Volunteer of the Year distinction is one of the actions included in the 2024–2027 Third Navarra Volunteering Plan, approved in March of last year, which sets out 59 measures grouped into 16 action lines to raise awareness in society about the meaning, values and importance of volunteering; to foster the development and growth of volunteer organizations; to develop an effective and sustainable coordination system among all involved stakeholders; and to improve understanding of the reality of volunteering in Navarra.
Among its objectives is the consolidation of a matching service that facilitates contact between volunteers and organizations, strengthening resources such as the volunteer opportunity search engine of Navarra+Voluntaria, the volunteering platform of the regional government, managed by the public company NASERTIC.
Promoting and supporting volunteering in rural areas, implementing an accreditation card for volunteers, encouraging alliances with organizations and companies to carry out corporate volunteering, and preparing a regular offering of training courses and educational materials for volunteer organizations are some of the highlighted actions included in this Third Volunteering Plan.
Alongside the implementation of this plan, the regional government has begun the process to provide Navarra with a new Volunteering Law adapted to current times, which will include new forms of digital and corporate volunteering.
It should be recalled that the regional government promotes and coordinates volunteering actions in the territory through the Navarra + Voluntaria Platform, managed by the public company Nasertic, which aims to connect people interested in volunteering with organizations that need their support. According to its latest report, this platform closed 2024 with 190 volunteer organizations and a total of 3,615 registered individuals, representing a 20% increase compared with 2023 (3,036 registered individuals).
Source: navarra.es
