Portugal’s President of the Republic, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, marked International Volunteer Day today (December 5) with a tribute to everyone who dedicates their time to volunteer work.
In a message published on the Presidency’s official website, Marcelo – who left the hospital just two days ago after undergoing life-saving hernia surgery – highlighted the essential role volunteers play worldwide: “Without volunteering, there would not be many thousands of institutions across the world fighting for peace, justice, human rights, sustainable development, and against poverty and inequality.”
Turning to the national picture, he stressed that volunteers are vital to Portugal’s social support network: “Without volunteering, there would not be thousands of charities, misericórdias, informal carers and many others ensuring the resilience of our social fabric, especially in moments of crisis or pandemic, as seen in recent years and decades.”
The President said he wanted to thank and recognise all those efforts on a day dedicated to volunteers in Portugal and across the globe.
International Volunteer Day was established by the UN General Assembly in 1985 and is celebrated every year on December 5.
Marcelo has frequently used this occasion to underline the importance of civic engagement, as Lusa news agency points out. Last year, he called volunteering a social responsibility and a path to personal development. In 2018, he even suggested that volunteer work should become a mandatory part of school education, and that political and business leaders should also give some of their time to social causes.
Back in 2019, he warned that Portugal was one of the lowest-ranking countries in Europe for organised volunteering – and described strengthening volunteer structures as a “major challenge” for the years ahead.
