Volunteer- Key to the Future ! is a Youth Democracy "Project, organised by Don Bosco Youth-Net ¡vzw as a celebration of volunteering. As such we see this project part of the European year of volunteering.Volunteer- Key to the Future ! applies the concept of representative democracy as a roadmap. All partner promoters start-off with a local meeting with their volunteers- On this meeting they will debate on the key themes of the project, and also select 2 volunteers to represent their organisation on the European youth congress. This congress is the main event of the project. Over 50 , representing 25 organisations from 12 EU member states (AT, BE, CZ, DE, ES, IT, MT, NL, PL, SI, SK, UK) will attend this congress. The main aim of the congress is to debate ori the challenges which volunteers face in their engagement. We will have some decision makers and experts in the field of volunteering attending, so the volunteers can meet them face-to-face in the debates. Next to this we will take a look to the opportunities volunteering has to offer. On the European youth congress the representatives for each promoter will debate on the same themes as on their local meeting. In this way they are bringing- the opinions of their local peers to the table as well. After the congress the representative, take part in a second local meeting where they* report back on the congress and start-up an initiative to support volunteering in their local organisation. At the end of the project we will produce a "sunshine report" to highlight the outcomes of the project.Volunteer - Key to the Future ! will last 9 months, starting in December 2010. The first local meeting are scheduled in February 2010. The congress takes place 10-13 May 2011 in Krakow, Poland. The second local meeting is scheduled April to June 2011. The last 2 months of the project are reserved for developing a "sunshine report".