A few weeks ago I flew to Budapest with my colleague Peter Richard Gilbert to participate in the second European Pro Bono Summit. This year’s event was hosted by Volunteering Hungary in cooperation with General Electrics, KPMG, BMW Foundation, French Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Taproot Foundation and Pro Bono Lab.

The European Pro Bono Summit is a regional event that takes place every year in autumn. European members of the Global Pro Bono Network as well as public institutions and company representatives come together to work on the development of qualified volunteer programmes to promote the common good.

On 18 and 19 October, participants shared good practices, were trained in new methods and were inspired by successful pro bono activities in Europe. Organisations from Hungary, Germany, Belgium, Spain, Russia, Bulgaria, Norway, Georgia and other European countries attended the summit.

Various plenary sessions as well as group workshops were organised during these two days. We heard many inspiring discussions about the future of pro bono in Europe and beyond. Could participate in sessions on lobbying and pro bono programs for students, etc.

A Fuckup Night was held on Thursday evening. A format which consists of getting people to talk about their failures and lessons learned rather than just their successes.

On the second day Peter and I held a workshop on the topic of “Multi-National Pro Bono Programs”.  Pro Bono service providers as well as representatives from the public and governmental sector participated in the workshop. Most participants told us that the content of the workshop was new, innovative and therefore very useful for them.

Overall it was a great event for AMAIDI: On this occasion we meet our Pro Bono partners, share our expertise and learn new things!