Articles

14th issue of Voluntary Action - Volume 5 Number 2

 

Reaching out for reconciliation and peace in Timor-Leste

His Excellency Xanana Gusmão, President of Timor-Leste

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East Timor’s twenty-five-year struggle for independence has created the need for a national reconciliation process ‘whereby justice is meted out to perpetrators but which eschews revenge, resentment and hatred’. As this article by East Timor’s president points out, this is a challenge not confined to his country: globalisation has spread intolerance and violence across the world, making peace building an urgent priority. Essential to this task is the involvement of civil society, which is less partisan than governments and less subject to political or economic pressure. The President describes the work of East Timor’s Commission for Truth and Reconciliation and concludes that ‘Volunteering is a nobler way of working as it demonstrates a sense of responsibility and does not ask for any benefits in return’.

Government and volunteering

Dr Justin Davis Smith, Director, Institute for Volunteering Research

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One of the most important lessons from International Year of Volunteers (IYV) 2001 was that government support is vital if volunteering is truly to fulfil its potential. Using the findings of the IYV evaluation, this article identifies six different ways in which governments can provide that support: providing funds; making policy that is friendly to volunteering; setting an example (for example, by encouraging civil servants to volunteer); forming partnerships with organisations that involve volunteers; generating publicity for volunteering; and providing recognition for people who volunteer. However, the research also showed that there are four potential problems with government support: firstly, if a government fails to provide enough support; secondly, if it attempts to erode the autonomy of volunteering; thirdly, if it fails to provide a central contact point for volunteering within the administration; and fourthly, if it is reluctant to accept that volunteers can be campaigners as well as service-providers.

National youth service as an instrument of peace and reconciliation

Donald J. Eberly, Honorary President, International Association for National Youth Service

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As a worldwide increase in demand for social welfare services coincides with a decline in government funding for such services, the time has never been more opportune for national youth service (NYS): ‘non-military programmes in which young people serve with varying degrees of voluntarism’. This article looks at how NYS programmes can build upon ‘the sense of mutual responsibility that should exist between a nation and its young people’. It analyses programmes in Germany and Nigeria, and gives a list of recommendations for how governments can make NYS a success. The article then looks at ‘service-learning’, where the practical experience gained in NYS is used as the basis of academic study, and makes recommendations for good practice. In conclusion, the problems that NYS programmes may encounter — including unrealistic expectations of what they can achieve – are examined.

Time changes lives – trust changes everything: volunteer work for conflict resolution and reconciliation in Northern Ireland

Professor Jimmy Kearney, Centre for Voluntary Action Studies, University of Ulster
Wendy Osborne, Director, Volunteer Development Agency

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Intercommunal violence in Northern Ireland has claimed the lives of more than 3,500 people in the past thirty years. This article describes the major contribution volunteers have made to resolving conflict in the troubled province. Volunteering has been effective in this task because it has been inclusive and diverse and because government has created an enabling environment. There are case studies of how volunteers have helped with intercommunal reconciliation. A particularly optimistic sign is the number of young people involved in this kind of work.

Service-learning through volunteering:
The Graduate Volunteer Programme, Thailand

Supparat Rattanamuk, Assistant Professor, Graduate

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Volunteer Centre, Thammasat University, Bangkok, Thailand
Although volunteering has long been a way of life in Thailand, fewer than a quarter of the adult population are currently involved in any kind of voluntary work. This article describes the one-year diploma course set up by Thammasat University to encourage young graduates to learn about rural society through volunteering. By taking part in development projects to benefit poor people, young people can acquire valuable practical experience. This is a service-learning programme unique in Thailand; it helps the students to see their service in the larger context of social justice and social policy rather than simply charity.

International megatrends in volunteerism

Mary V. Merrill, Merrill Associates, Columbus, Ohio, USA
R. Dale Safrit, Department of 4-H Youth Development, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, North Carolina, USA

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In this article, the authors suggest that eight consistent patterns – or ‘megatrends’ – have affected volunteering during the past decade. They are: (1) a growing concern for the impact of time on volunteering; (2) variations in the meaning of the word ‘volunteering’ from country to country; (3) demographic changes that have forced volunteer programmes to concentrate on the extremes of the age continuum; (4) a growing awareness of the need for truly pluralistic approaches to volunteer recruitment, engagement and management; (5) a recognition that volunteering promotes reciprocity, community, social solidarity and citizenship; (6) a demand for volunteer programme managers to demonstrate greater professionalism; (7) the growing role of ICT in facilitating the exchange of information about volunteering; and (8) differences of opinion about the appropriate role of government in the promotion and support of volunteerism.

A new approach to the international exchange of volunteers: a ‘closed’ policy

Chang-Ho Lee, Secretary General, KOrean Pioneers In Overseas NGOs Inc (KOPION), Seoul, Korea

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Intermediary bodies that recruit and place volunteers overseas usually adopt an ‘open’ approach: that is, they leave the initial selection of the volunteers, and their after-care once they arrive, to the recipient organisations. This article introduces KOPION Inc (KOrean Pioneers in Overseas NGOs Inc), a Seoul-based organisation that has pioneered the ‘closed’ approach, whereby only NGOs registered as members of an international network of organisations committed to certain standards are able to exchange their volunteers. The potential of the ‘closed’ approach for building an effective international volunteer network is explored.

The Korean government’s policy for promoting volunteering

Myung-sook Han, Minister for Gender Equality, Korea

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IYV 2001 was a dramatic year for volunteering in Korea: volunteers were heavily involved in the hosting of the football World Cup, and immediately afterwards were called on to help the victims of the disastrous floods that swept the country. This article describes the Korean government’s four-part plan to promote volunteering: (i) funding the training, support and recognition of volunteers, (ii) improving the infrastructure for volunteering, (iii) introducing a volunteering programme for women and young people and publicising it widely, and (iv) working more closely with NGOs.

Youth volunteering in Bosnia and Herzegovina

Vahida Huzejrovic, Co-ordinator of Voluntary Work, Osmijeh (the Association for Psychosocial Help and the Development of Voluntary Work), Gracanica, Bosnia

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The power of volunteering to bring about reconciliation is never more needed than in the aftermath of war. This article describes how thousands of young volunteers helped to rebuild Bosnia after years of conflict. The volunteers helped not only their fellow citizens but also themselves; thanks to their voluntary service, they lost their feelings of helplessness and apathy, and regained their belief in themselves.

The Peace Corps in the twenty-first century

Dr Kyo Paul Jhin, Director, Office of Planning, Policy and Analysis, Peace Corps, Washington DC, USA

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Since it was set up in 1961, the US Peace Corps has sent more than 165,000 volunteers to serve in 135 countries. This article gives a brief profile of the Corps, covering its origins in a proposal by John F Kennedy, its constitution and funding, its ambitious range of programmes (including education, business, the environment, agriculture, health and community development) and its promising future – the number of Peace Corps volunteers is to be doubled to fourteen thousand by 2007.

Promoting international youth voluntary services in Asia

Lee Ji-hyang, Junior Programme Specialist, Youth Team, Korean National Commission

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International youth volunteering has grown more slowly in south-east Asia than in Europe. This article proposes three ways of increasing the pace of development: firstly, by setting up properly organised, issue-based world youth forums and exchange programmes; secondly, by ensuring that all national, regional and international bodies – such as schools, youth organisations, businesses, governments and UN agencies – recognise the importance of volunteering in enabling young people to participate in sustainable development and to promote intercultural understanding; and finally, by encouraging young people to believe in their own potential.

Government support for volunteering in the Philippines

Horacio R Morales Jr, President, La Liga Policy Institute

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Volunteering is a widespread and long-standing practice in the Philippines but, as this article shows, it is currently failing to meet the steep increase in demand. This is partly because of the lack of a supportive policy environment at both national and regional level. The state-funded agency concerned with volunteering spends too much time vetting volunteers from abroad and too little time nurturing local initiatives. The government as a whole fails to see how useful volunteers can be in its programmes of national development. And there is a need for a south-east Asian regional body that can promote South-South volunteering as a means of opening dialogue between cultures – this will help to counter the ethnic intolerance currently threatening the region.

The future of volunteering

Leo Wong, Youth One, Edmonton, Canada

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By involving the ideas and energies of young people today, this article argues, we can ‘create a bridge between the strength of tradition and the energy of innovation’. We therefore need to use our collective power to inspire young people to volunteer worldwide. Three ideas are proposed that could help to shape the future: firstly, we need to embrace diversity – diversity of thought, belief and opinion – so that we can break down the barriers we have created for ourselves; secondly, we need to research volunteering more effectively, in order to fortify it as an institution for learning about ourselves; and thirdly, we all need to find our ‘inner youth’.

A volunteer exchange programme between Korea and Japan

Yoko Yazawa, Society of Yatsugatake Residents Contemplating Life and Death

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Relations between Korea and Japan have historically been problematic. This article describes the initial stages of a volunteer exchange programme designed to improve understanding between the two countries. A Korean student spent six months in the Japanese town of Fujimi, using half her time to volunteer in social welfare facilities and half to tell the local people about the Korean way of life. Once certain administrative problems have been solved, the programme is set to expand.

How volunteers are helping internally displaced families in Colombia

Maria Teresa Gnecco de Ruiz, Corporacios El Minuto de Dios

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Fifty years of civil strife in Colombia have led to the displacement of many families from the countryside to the cities. This article describes how one organisation, Corporación El Minuto de Dios, supports these displaced families from the moment they arrive, by helping them with housing and education, and by providing psychosocial services such as group therapy. The organisation’s volunteers carry out a variety of roles: raising public awareness of the needs of displaced families; raising funds; providing training; offering emotional support; helping with job search; and escorting families to cultural and recreational activities.