Registrations for the Rio 2016 Volunteer Programme opened on 28 August and passed the 60,000 mark within one week, but inside the organising committee there is already a small team of volunteers playing its part. Since June this year, 27 ‘pioneer volunteers’ have been helping to organise the biggest sporting event on the planet, bringing a range of skills to various different areas of the organisation.

“Being a pioneer volunteer is my first work experience and is surpassing all my expectations,” said 18-year-old university student Maria Eduarda Junqueira. “I have been able to learn a lot and, even after such a short time, I feel entirely part of the Rio 2016 Games.”

As with Junqueira, who studies law but works in the Rio 2016 event services department, the area of the committee to which a volunteer contributes is not always the exactly same as their area of professional or academic expertise.

“If you are prepared to volunteer, you can discover talents you never knew you had,” said Daiane dos Santos, a former gymnastics world champion and supporter of the Rio 2016 Volunteer Programme. “In the competitions, we met a lot of volunteers who have been ready to work in areas completely different from their normal occupations and have ended up discovering a new professional talent. Many of them discover what they want to do in life through working as volunteers.”

The new team members take part in online and in-person training courses, during which they are instructed on their specific jobs and learn more about Olympic and Paralympic values.

The pioneer volunteers joined in the two years unil the Olympic Games celebrations at Sambódromo (Photo: Rio 2016)

“We all work together, people of all ages,” said Francisca Lúcia da Silva, a 57-year-old psychology student who works alongside Junqueira in event services. “It’s thrilling to see so many different kinds of people working together to make sure that the Games run smoothly.”

Having volunteered at the 2011 Military World Games in Rio and the 2014 South American Games in Santiago, Phelipe Oliveira set up a blog about volunteering. “My 18th birthday was on the day that Rio was announced as the host of the 2016 Olympic Games. I thought at the time that I could be part of this historic occasion,” said 22-year-old, who works in the Rio 2016 Education Department.

Helena Barbosa, a 57-year-old lawyer who works in the National Olympic and Paralympic Committee Services team, outlined how volunteering contributes to the greater good. “Being a volunteer means you pay a little more attention to others,” she said. “You put yourself in the other person’s position and give them the help and encouragement you yourself would like to receive in their position. We all have a contribution to make, and we can change the world.”

Get inspired by this video and then sign up for the Rio 2016 Volunteers Programme here.