Glasgow Mela 2026 volunteering programme

Glasgow Life colleagues worked in partnership with EveryStage to deliver a new volunteering pilot programme at the 2026 Glasgow Mela earlier this month.

EveryStage support young people to enter the events industry by providing hands-on experiences and accredited training.

The volunteering programme aimed to support the delivery of the Mela, while helping local young people develop employability skills, confidence and industry experience in events, marketing and customer engagement.

This pilot programme was delivered collaboratively by Glasgow Life's Volunteering Team, Events Team and Marketing Team, alongside EveryStage staff, who supported participant recruitment, preparation and attendance.

Nine volunteers were recruited from EveryStage's Introduction to Social Media and Event Marketing programme. On the day, they carried out meet and greet and wayfinding roles, welcoming visitors, providing information, helping people navigate the festival site and supporting social media content capture.

All achieved 100% attendance and contributed 36 volunteer hours during the Mela.

Feedback from the volunteers was very positive, with all rating their experience as Good or Excellent and indicating they would consider volunteering with Glasgow Life again. They highlighted the support provided by staff, clear communication, welcoming environment, and opportunities to contribute to a major cultural event. A small number of volunteers suggested providing more detailed information on event locations and activities and these recommendations will be considered when planning future events.

One volunteer said:

"Volunteering has helped me see what I can be doing if I was to go do this as a career. It's also helped me be a bit more confident approaching people and doing things I normally wouldn't do."

 Find out more about the variety of volunteering opportunities we offer on our website at: https://www.glasgowlife.org.uk/volunteer-with-us