Issues and Terminology
Venue: FNB Conference and Learning Centre, Johannesburg, South Africa
Date: Monday, 18 October, 2011
VOLUNTEER ACTION
Volunteering
Civic Service
Youth volunteering Community-based
volunteering Corporate support for
volunteer action International
volunteering Higher education
community engagement
VOLUNTEERING
“Acts of one’s own free will, not obligated by
law, contract or academic requirements; not
done primarily for financial gain; and for
common good or community well-being.” (UN General Assembly Resolution 56/38)
VOLUNTEERING CONT.
“The reality in Southern Africa is different than in other parts of the world. (VSO-RAISA; 2011)Volunteering often occurs in resource limited
settings under extremely difficult conditions.Expectation of financial or material compensationVolunteering is primarily undertaken to show
solidarity
VOLUNTEERING CONT.
“Volunteering is a civic act, one that, ideally, is driven by a volunteer’s sense of ‘belonging’ within a particular civic community. It is an act of social citizenship if you will.”
(Obadare; 2011)
CIVIC SERVICE
“Civic service can be defined as formal voluntary or mandatory engagement through structured programmes, operated by private, civil society or public organisations, designed both to develop those providing service and improve social and economic conditions.”
(Moore McBride & Sherraden, 2007)
VOLUNTEERING AND SERVICE
Volunteering and service activities vary in duration and structure, from ad hoc or occassional volunteering at one end of the spectrum to structured and intensive civic service programmes at the other (Moore McBride et al, 2003)
These activities and programmes also vary in purpose – from charitable or philanthropic service activities to those that aim for social transformation (CIVICUS, IAVE and UNV, 2009).
VOLUNTEER ACTION CONTINUM
Note: These categories are not mutually exclusive
and may overlap
Mutual aid
Self helpCharity
PhilanthropyCivic
engagementSocial
activism