At the fourth European Volunteering Festival, IFFD put a rarely seen volunteer on stage: the volunteer parent.
Vicenza, Italy, 10 October 2026 — José Alejandro Vázquez, Director of International Relations of the International Federation for Family Development (IFFD), spoke at the Festival Europeo del Volontariato, organised by CSV Vicenza on the theme of community and new alliances for sustainable development. He joined the session “Vicenza in Europa” on European programmes and active citizenship, alongside CEV, ALDA, Eurodesk and many local organisations.
Vicenza is one of the historic signatories of the Venice Declaration, launched in 2017 by the Veneto Region and IFFD. Signatory cities and regions commit to family-friendly local policies and report on them every year, with their reports reaching the United Nations.
Parents as volunteers
In his talk, “Family-Friendly Cities: IFFD projects and the value of volunteering”, Vázquez described IFFD’s Family Enrichment courses, run for more than four decades in dozens of countries. They are led not by paid experts but by parents who give their evenings and weekends to support other families. “When parents meet regularly to reflect together, they do not only become better parents. They become better neighbours, more engaged citizens.”
A bridge between Vicenza and the UN
Vázquez explained how these volunteers connect local life and global policy in both directions. What they see in families — lack of time, housing costs, caring for children and older parents — informs IFFD’s work at the United Nations. In turn, they bring commitments such as the 2030 Agenda into homes, schools and neighbourhoods. “Without them, there is no real connection between New York and Vicenza.”
He closed with three proposals: recognise parents as volunteers and agents of change; build channels so local experience reaches decision-makers in Brussels and at the UN; and form alliances, including through European projects such as Erasmus+, so that global commitments become concrete change in our cities.
