International day of volunteering

For over thirty-five years, the UN has been calling for recognition and celebration of the work, time and skills of volunteers around the world.

Thanks also to data and recognition, volunteering is now the most widespread form of public engagement. According to statistics, it is much more appreciated than political and trade union commitment, and is practised by young and old, by women and men, both in the north and the south, in our country and in the globalised world.

Photo: Repubblica.it

The extraordinary value of volunteering therefore lies in the fact that it is an opportunity for individual and collective experience. It is something that is strictly individual, but also strictly shared. At the heart of every activity are moral convictions, personal assessments and predispositions which result in a free, unpaid and supportive choice. The action of the volunteer is aimed at supporting the other, a person or community, distinct from the one to which the volunteer belongs.

This is the difference with respect to other widespread forms of social commitment. Even those who engage in political or trade union struggle attribute a solidarity-based purpose to their activity: it is a question of supporting the rights and interests of an entire community, of which the militant also feels an integral part. The volunteer, unlike the militant, supports the interests of communities of which he is not a member, of people other than himself.

Photo: Reppubblica.it

Volunteer work is not “militancy” precisely because there is no communion of interests with others; you are not “comrades” with the elderly person you visit at home or the injured person you rescue on the street, etc., even though you may share their feelings and moods very deeply. Voluntary commitment is a gift.

Picture: apspcles.it

Giving implies not only a strong motivation on the part of the volunteer-donor, but also the establishment of a relationship with the recipient of the gift. Especially when the donation is not a one-off event, the relationship implies assuming responsibility for the other and recognising the constitutive human brotherhood.

Photo www.vides.org

“Volunteers now for a shared future.
From emergency to challenges for recovery”.

is the title of the event organised in Rome by CSVnet, Forum Terzo Settore and Caritas Italiana to highlight the generosity, altruism and commitment of volunteers who daily give their time and skills for more cohesive and supportive communities, in support of the most fragile people.

Photo www.hashtagmagazine.it/