SWVR text [6]:Layout 1 26/10/11 11:42 Page i State of the World’s 2011 olunteerism Report Universal Values for Global Well-being SWVR text [6]:Layout 1 26/10/11 11:42 Page ii STATE OF THE WORLD’S VOLUNTEERISM REPORT 2011 © United Nations Volunteers, 2011 Published by: United Nations Volunteers (UNV) Translated by: Prime Production, United Kingdom Designed by: Baseline Arts, United Kingdom; Shubh Chakraborty (cover idea) Printed by: Phoenix Design Aid, Denmark This report is available in Arabic, English, French and Spanish To order a copy, please visit: https://unp.un.org/ Permission is required to reproduce any part of this publication. ISBN-13: 978-92-1-101246-0 e-ISBN-13: 978-92-1-054828-1 Sales No.: E.11.I.12 ii SWVR text [6]:Layout 1 26/10/11 11:42 Page iii SWVR REPORT TEAM State of the World’s Volunteerism Report Team Senior Writer Project Manager Robert Leigh Aygen Aytac Research and Writing Team Communications Specialist David Horton Smith (Senior Researcher), Lothar Mikulla Cornelia Giesing, María José León, Debbie Haski-Leventhal, Benjamin J. Lough, Jacob Administrative Support Team Mwathi Mati, Sabine Strassburg Vera Chrobok, Johannes Bullmann Editor Paul Hockenos iii SWVR text [6]:Layout 1 26/10/11 11:42 Page iv STATE OF THE WORLD’S VOLUNTEERISM REPORT 2011 Foreword Volunteering occurs in every society in the a decent standard of living. As the Human De- world. The terms which define it and the velopment Reports have shown, development forms of its expression may vary in different lan- effectiveness needs to be measured not only guages and cultures, but the values which drive by GDP per capita, but also by the extent to it are common and universal: a desire to con- which people’s choices have expanded and im- tribute to the common good, out of free will proved their quality of life. and in a spirit of solidarity, without expectation The human development concept puts of material reward. people at the very centre of development. Volunteers are motivated by values like UNV’s report embraces that too, recognizing the those of justice, equality and freedom as ex- importance of non-material attainments to the pressed in the United Nations Charter. A soci- well-being of individuals and the entire socie- ety which supports and encourages different ty. Material improvements – health, education forms of volunteering is likely to be a society and decent work – remain essential; but also which also promotes the well-being of its cit- vital are participation, empowerment and ac- izens. A society which fails to recognize and fa- tive citizenship of which volun teering is such cilitate the contributions of volunteers deprives a powerful expression. itself of contributions to public well-being The Global Human Development Report which could be made. 2010 stated: “Putting people at the centre of de- In proclaiming the International Year of Vol- velopment means making progress equitable and unteers ten years ago, the international com- broad-based, enabling people to be active par- munity recognized the essential contributions ticipants in change.” UNV’s report shows vol- which volunteers make to the progress, cohe- unteering to be a highly effective way of sion and resilience of communities and nations. building on people’s capabilities in all societies Yet, as we strive to accelerate progress to and at all levels. reach the Millennium Development Goals by At UNDP, we believe in supporting countries 2015, the contributions of volunteers are not to build the institutions, capacities and policies always factored into development strategies which will drive transformational change. To be and often remain at the margins of develop- effective, policies need to bring about change ment debate. at the grassroots level. Strategies nurtured by The United Nations Volunteers programme community-level action can help achieve that. took the initiative to commission this first-ever This report should trigger a discussion on, United Nations report on volunteering as a way and promote a better understanding of, the of marking the tenth anniversary of the Inter- contributions of volunteering to peace and de- national Year of Volunteers. By emphasising the velopment. untapped potential of volunteering, the report shows that the current development archi- tecture is incomplete where it omits to include the contributions volunteers can make. Over the past two decades, the United Na- Helen Clark tions Development Programme (UNDP) has ad- Administrator, United Nations Development vanced the concept of human development, Programme calling for expanding people’s choices and free- doms and increasing their ability to live long and healthy lives, to be educated, and to enjoy iv SWVR text [6]:Layout 1 26/10/11 11:42 Page v FOREWORD AND PREFACE Preface The focus of this report is on the universal any strategy that recognizes that progress values that motivate people the world over to cannot be measured solely in terms of eco- volunteer for the common good and on the im- nomic return and that individuals are not mo- pact of volunteer action on societies and indi- tivated by self-interest alone but also by their viduals. We believe in the power of volunteering deeply held values and beliefs. to promote cooperation, encourage participa- In the chapters that follow, we provide nu- tion and contribute to the well-being of indi- merous examples of the transformational viduals and of society as a whole. changes that volunteers experience and pro- Volunteerism was recognized as an im- duce. We show why volunteerism is crucial to portant factor in development ten years ago in human development. More importantly, we ar- 2001 when 126 Member States co-sponsored gue that a truly human society needs to be driv- a General Assembly resolution at the end of the en by the values of trust, solidarity and mutual International Year of Volunteers (IYV). This res- respect which inspire all volunteers. olution provided numerous policy recom- In preparing this first United Nations report mendations to governments, United Nations on volunteerism, we address numerous defi- bodies, non-governmental organizations and nitional and methodological issues. We are well others on ways to promote and support vol- aware that further study and research are unteerism. needed to refine our understanding of the na- Since then, encouraging progress has been ture and extent of this expression of human en- made in implementing some of these recom- deavour. This report represents the starting mendations. At the same time, as we mark the point for a broader debate, not a definitive an- tenth anniversary of IYV, the contribution of vol- swer. In future years, we intend to deepen our unteerism is still only partially recognized. It is understanding of the motivations, scope, val- an afterthought rather than an organic com- ue and impact of volunteerism worldwide. ponent of programmes designed to promote citizen participation and societal well-being. With this report, we hope to make the case for the recognition of volunteerism as an es- sential component for the sustainable, equi- Flavia Pansieri table progress of communities and nations. In Executive Coordinator, United Nations a rapidly changing environment, volunteerism Volunteers is a constant. Its forms of expression may vary but the central values of solidarity and com- mitment that lie at its core remain strong and universal. They are found in all cultures and so- cieties and are a true expression of our common humanity. There is growing recognition of the need to modify our unsustainable production and consumption patterns. This will require polit- ical will. Equally, it will require the buy-in and active participation of citizens. Volunteerism is not a panacea to the problems of the world to- day. It is, however, an essential component of v SWVR text [6]:Layout 1 26/10/11 11:42 Page vi STATE OF THE WORLD’S VOLUNTEERISM REPORT 2011 Acknowledgements This report is the result of a truly partici- An internal UNV Readers Group compris- patory effort. The sincere thanks of UNV go ing UNV management and technical staff was to all who contributed their time, knowledge established to provide feedback on the draft and experience. As befits a report on volun- SWVR. The report benefited greatly from their teerism, most of the contributions took the advice and suggestions. Thus we would like to form of voluntary engagement. The report was thank: Kwabena Asante-Ntiamoah, Mahamane prepared by a core team, coordinated by Baby, Manon Bernier, Elise Bouvet, Mae Chao, Project Manager Aygen Aytac, under the gen- Simona Costanzo-Sow, Peter Devereux, Olga eral guidance and supervision of Flavia Pansieri, Devyatkin, Francesco Galtieri, Kevin Gilroy, Executive Coordinator of the United Nations Naheed Haque, Moraig Henderson, Ibrahim Volunteers (UNV) programme. The research Hussein, Ghulam Isaczai, Allen Jennings, Tapi- and writing team, led by Senior Writer Robert wa Kamuruko, Donna Keher, Svend Amdi Leigh, comprised the founder of ARNOVA, Madsen, Yvonne Maharoof, Robert Palmer, David Horton Smith from the Boston Col- Jan Snoeks, Robert Toe, Marco van der Ree, lege, Benjamin J. Lough from the University of Oliver Wittershagen, Kawtar Zerouali and Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Jacob Mwathi Veronique Zidi-Aporeigah. An internal refer- Mati from the University of Witwatersrand, ence group also assisted. Thanks go to Alba Debbie Haski-Leventhal from Macquarie Uni- Candel Pau, Fabienne Copin, Romain De- versity, and Independent Consultants María sclous, Rafael Martinez, Marguerite Minani José León, Cornelia Giesing and Sabine Strass- and Amina Said. burg. Project and administrative support was UNV commissioned 19 background papers provided by Vera Chrobok and Johannes Bull- on a range of thematic issues related to vol- mann. Lothar Mikulla led the communica- unteerism and seven regional papers. We tion and advocacy activities and Paul Hockenos would like to thank the authors for providing edited the report.