In the framework of the 2011 EU-China Year of Youth, the European Year of Volunteering and the 10th anniversary of the International Year of Volunteers (IYV+10), the European Youth Forum, in close cooperation with the All China Youth Federation, the European Commission, including the European External Action Service, and with the support of the Policy Dialogue Support Facility, promoted an EU-China Policy Dialogue on youth volunteering, between the 4 and 11September, in Brussels, in the frame of the II Youth Convention on Volunteering.

"EU-China Volunteer Bridge" was September's flagship event of the EU-China Year of Youth and gathered 100 Chinese and 200 European young volunteers in a week long series of events and activities aimed to provide an experience of volunteering and showcase the contribution of participatory youth organisations to the volunteering sector and society.

Among the events that featured the EU-China Policy Dialogue on Volunteering were: the III China-Europe Symposium on Youth Work Development, the World Music Village and the Graffiti Workshop. Around 25 volunteers supported the implementation of these activities.

China-Europe Symposium on Youth Work Development: The Role of Volunteering in Youth Organisations

III China-Europe Symposium on Youth Work Development was held in Brussels on 9-10 September 2011. The Symposium gathered 30 young leaders from Europe and China to discuss the value of young volunteers in leading sustainable youth Organisations with an impact in their communities.
The event consisted of two days meeting where participants had the opportunity to discuss the key issues of the youth work in China and Europe. The programme combined plenary sessions and debate sessions, using non-formal education methodologies aimed at an active participation of the youth representatives.

World Music Village Workshop

The World Music Village Workshop was run by the Jeunesses Musicales International on the 6-10 September and gathered 30 Chinese and European young traditional music performers to co-produce an original piece of artistic work in form of a concert, performed in front of the European Parliament on the 9th September. This workshop provided a platform for dialogue and exchange among peers and the opportunity for these young musicians to broaden their knowledge of both European and Chinese traditional music forms. The projected musical contents of this concert consisted in bridging the rich musical heritage that is deeply embedded in European folk/traditional music with its Asian counterpart.

Graffiti Workshop

Young artists led the graffiti art workshop held on the 9th and 10th of September. The workshop was attended by 18 Chinese and European participants and aimed to offer them the opportunity to experience intercultural dialogue on an artistic level, through graffiti art, finalising all efforts in the creation of mural artwork in the Volunteering Village, whose main theme was "An artistic encounter between Europe and China". The project was based on Chinese writing and the idea was to create a slogan, proverb or quote on the theme and play with the multiple meanings of the ideograms.