Volunteers: the key that opens the doors for the Open Days
2013: the year that CERN opens its doors to the public. 2013 is also the approximate number of volunteers needed to ensure that these Open Days (JPO) go ahead smoothly. Whatever your personnel status and function, you, the volunteers, are the key without which the Laboratory’s doors could not really open. Sign up now!
1,500 of you volunteered for the LHC2008 open days to mark the inauguration of the LHC. This year, with roughly 20% more visitors expected across the CERN sites over the two days, the organisers envisage closer to 2,000 volunteers. “We will be holding a wide variety of activities across the Laboratory’s various sites,” explains Virginie Blondeau, the member of the Open Days organising team in charge of recruiting and training volunteers. “As well as guides for the experiments, we will also need volunteers to welcome and direct visitors, to help with logistics and to man the sales points, etc.”
The volunteers will receive training tailored to their role and, as with all Open Days, as well as having the satisfaction of being able to say “I was there!", they will be given exclusive JPO2013-branded clothing. Of course, they will also be provided with packed lunches and drinks. “We will look after our volunteers so that they can really enjoy taking part in the Open Days,” Virginie assured us. “However, they won't receive any additional leave or time off in lieu as this remains a voluntary activity.”
These unique few days will see the doors opened wider than ever before and you, the volunteers, are the key to all these events. The online sign-up is now ready and the organisers are hoping that a large number of people will volunteer straight away so that they have plenty of time to organise the troops and assign roles according to preferences and needs (descriptions of the roles can be found on the website). So what are you waiting for? Click here!
