Soon the streets of St. Petersburg will welcome fans from all over the world. Volkswagen Mobility Makers — EURO 2020 city volunteers will assist guests at the 2020 UEFA European Football Championship.
The main mission of the city volunteer group, Volkswagen Mobility Makers, is to provide help and advice to the championship's participants, fans, and organizers on the subject of mobility. Volunteers will consult fans on transportation routes and city landmarks as well as help football fans and guests find their way around St. Petersburg.
According to Dmitry Antonov, deputy head of the UEFA EURO 2020 City Volunteer Training Center, the pandemic has not significantly affected the training of volunteers: "The pandemic has not impacted us. In 2020, we were ready to start training, but the championship was postponed, so we simply suspended the program for a year."
Antonov added that there were no problems with those who wanted to take part in the volunteer movement: many people came from the city volunteer program from the 2018 FIFA World Cup. During the first wave of recruitment in 2019-2020, the center received almost 11,000 applications.
Of this number, 1,500 were selected to become part of Volkswagen Mobility Makers friendly team: 1,200 in the first squad and 300 in reserve.
According to the statistics, 89 percent of volunteers are women and 11 percent are men; 84 percent are employed, 13 percent are students and 3 percent are senior aged 55 and older. Anastasia is the most popular female name among the volunteers and Daniil the most common male name.
Work areas
Every city volunteer is assigned to a functional area.
Volunteers at the Last Kilometer walking route will create an atmosphere of hospitality for fans around Saint Petersburg Stadium and the adjacent grounds. They will also help with fan parking and coordinate those arriving or departing in shuttles.
Volunteers at the Tourist Information Service will advise visitors how to get to major St. Petersburg landmarks, what type of transportation to use, and inform them about match day transit schedules.
Cultural program volunteers will create the feel of a real celebration: they will work in special tents where everyone will be able to take part in a flash mob or get a bright themed face painting.
Media volunteers will meet journalists at the city press center, answer their questions, help them solve technical problems, and provide assistance at news conferences and briefings.
Transport volunteers will meet fans from other countries and across Russia at railway stations, Pulkovo Airport and at the sea port.
Medical volunteers will provide language assistance to health workers in the fan zones, at Saint Petersburg Stadium and at healthcare institutions around the city.
The task of the volunteers in the UEFA Fan Zone is to organize people in the fan zones, provide assistance at the information desk and help organize events.
The work of the volunteers will be coordinated by the main office, which will open at the city volunteer center once the training begins. During an event, there will always be an administrative group onsite to help volunteers in their work and provide recreation.
Each volunteer will wear a special outfit with an official UEFA EURO 2020 logo to make them more visible.
The volunteers will speak foreign languages, mostly English, but also German, French, Spanish, or Swedish.
Training
Volunteer training was organized in several stages. The first training session included an overview of the history of the European Football Championship, the host cities and the official Skillzy mascot.
Since the main goal of the training was to create a united team ready for hard work, the organizers focused on training team leaders. During the sessions, they learned about the functional areas as well as their responsibilities, the rules for submitting daily reports and how to solve conflicts. They were also trained in teambuilding, motivation, emotional burnout and how to cope with stress.
At the same time, volunteers in the functional areas studied the tasks they will perform at infrastructure facilities and how to interact with fans and emergency services. Special attention was given to communication skills with people with disabilities or limited mobility.
Contacts
UEFA EURO 2020 City Volunteer Training Center of the host city of St. Petersburg
22V 13th line of Vasilyevsky Ostrov, St. Petersburg, Russia
Phone: 8 (812) 245 3220
Email: [email protected]
VKontakte:
Website: volspb.ru/euro
