Volunteering Worldwide Issue No. 1

One of the aims of the International Year of Volunteers (IYV) in 2001 was to highlight the contribution volunteering makes to the fabric of societies. As part of this effort the International Association for Volunteer Effort (IAVE) and partner organization in the Netherlands produced a book called “Volunteering Worldwide”. The goal of the work was to make volunteers and their organizations more visible to the world of governments, business, media, education, and research. The diversity of volunteering, its cultural embedding, and the way in which volunteers make a difference was shown in the profiles of volunteering in 21 countries around the world.

The publication was designed to be a first step to increase the visibility of volunteering worldwide and start a process that would continue beyond IYV. As the tenth anniversary of IYV (IYV+10) fast approaches it is high time to continue this initiative.

This Spring 2008 edition of “Volunteering Worldwide” will be the first of a regular series of updates presenting the rich tapestry of volunteering across different cultures and societies, giving an insightful picture of the various ways people contribute to making the world a better place, and offering an inspiring picture of global volunteering.

Three regions of the world are visited in this publication, which has profiles from the Czech Republic in Europe, Hong Kong in the Asia Pacific and Venezuela in Latin America. The authors were asked to highlight the current status of volunteering in their countries or territories, looking at the problems, challenges and opportunities for volunteer involving organizations. Each of the three chapters contains background information on the political, economic, social and cultural contexts of volunteering; as well as a brief history of civil society and current trends and developments in the volunteer sector.

Depending on the availability of resources and the contextual relevance of the issues, the authors describe definitions of volunteer work and the status of volunteer organizations, mechanisms for volunteering, the social and economic value of volunteering, and government policy and legislation on volunteering. In addition there is closer examination of youth participation in volunteering, corporate volunteering, service volunteering, international volunteering, community or ‘obligatory’ volunteering, faith-based volunteering, and other issues. Statistics on voluntary work is available in some cases, but this publication is not intended to be a scientific study. It is hoped that the papers will offer new inspiration and open up further discussions.

Each chapter starts by giving an impression of the political, social and cultural climate in the form of broad geographic and demographic information, such as area, population, life expectancy at birth, gender distribution, per capita GDP, and religions and ethnic make-up. The data are based on the CIA world fact book.

Where appropriate authors have listed the main volunteer involving organizations, and overseas volunteering placement organizations; and recounted personal stories of individual volunteers.

UNIVERSAL VALUES AND LOCAL CONDITIONS

As stated in the Universal Declaration on Volunteering, adopted by the IAVE Board of Directors in 2001, “volunteering is a fundamental building block of civil society. It brings to life the noblest aspirations of humankind - the pursuit of peace, freedom, opportunity, safety, and justice for all people.” Volunteering is a force that unites people in an increasingly complex world with the common human values of community, care, and service. Volunteering has the power to connect us and shape our collective destinies.

IYV was an important acknowledgement of the universality of volunteering. As the first “Volunteering Worldwide” showed, global voluntary work does exist and there are more similarities than culturally determined differences between territories, countries and regions.

The three profiles in this collection similarly contain comparisons to draw as well as contrasts to examine.

Like anywhere else in the world, the Czech Republic, Hong Kong and Venezuela all have long traditions of reciprocal support and volunteering in the community. But as tight knit communities have developed into more open societies and volunteering has increasingly become the responsibility of purpose-made associations, the extent and level of the organizational structure differs from region to region.

Emerging from totalitarian rule which devalued volunteering, in the Czech Republic organized volunteering grew rapidly in the 1990s in the wake of social changes. In Hong Kong, voluntary service started to become more institutionalized in the 1970s as a reaction to social unrest and to meet demand for better welfare services. More recently in Hong Kong the SARS outbreak of 2003 provoked an overwhelming response from volunteers on a mass scale. Like the Czech Republic, in Venezuela the development of volunteering has been distorted by overbearing regimes, first in the form of colonization and later from oil wealth and interventionist government policies.

The global trends of an aging population, demand for service learning opportunities for young people, growing awareness of corporate social responsibility, and economic and social problems such as unemployment have all played a part in shaping the picture of volunteering today in each of the three regions. Typically in Venezuela the volunteer movement is developing strongly in the youth and corporate sectors.

The Czech Republic has recently experienced a large influx of international volunteers working in the country, while in Venezuela US companies have exerted an important influence on the development of volunteering. Cooperative programmes in Europe and China are creating new opportunities in the Czech Republic and Hong Kong respectively.

Hong Kong and the Czech Republic both have a central agency or national volunteer centre that promotes the development of volunteering, organizes training programmes, gives awards for good practice, and acts as a contact point for international exchange. In Venezuela that role is taken by a private institution working with networks of other organizations that together help consolidate civic participation.

Whether it is services for the unemployed or learning opportunities for young people in Venezuela, mentor programmes in the Czech Republic, or public health education in Hong Kong - volunteers help build healthy, sustainable communities that respect human dignity and improve people’s lives. Sometimes taken for granted, the contribution volunteers make to societies should not be underestimated. This collection of reports aims to recognize that contribution, and promote, strengthen and celebrate volunteering worldwide.