DELEGATES from across Europe are to tune in to a live webcast today as part of an East Yorkshire workshop on how volunteers can play their part in fighting unemployment and boosting the local economy.

Hull and East Riding Citizens Advice Bureau estimates its volunteering network is worth almost £1 million a year, and the economic value of all volunteers in the region runs into several million pounds.

East Riding of Yorkshire Council is one of eight local authorities and four research institutions across Europe chosen to take part in the VERSO (Volunteers for European Development) project.

The scheme looks at how rising unemployment can be tackled across the European Union by changing people’s perceptions of volunteering.

The workshop will be held today and tomorrow, with the live webcast being broadcast across Europe from 1.30pm tomorrow with an opportunity for real-time questions to be asked through Twitter.

Claire Watts, the council’s external funding and policy manager, said: “In East Yorkshire alone, we have an army of volunteers who make a huge contribution to our community, and what many people don’t realise is the important role volunteering can play in helping people get back into work.”