Duty
or Honour? The Future of Volunteering
Abstracts (english)
Warnfried
Dettling: Bürgergesellschaft (citizen society) as a reform
perspective or: New opportunities for volunteering in a
transformed world. FJ NSB 2/00, pp. 8-14
In
his essay Warnfried Dettling proposes a precision of the term Bürgergesellschaft.
In a first step, he understands this term in a generic way. In
this context Bürgergesellschaft is constituted by civil
activities, i.e. not just confined in participation through
elections. In a second step, Dettling looks at a particular
sphere of human activities in society. In these social spheres
of civil society, as he calls it, lie dormant those motives of
commitment that are necessary for the Bürgergesellschaft as a
whole (private volunteer activities in associations or
initiatives). Bürgergesellschaft without economic and
governmental framing measures is not imaginable for Dettling.
However, it must not be seen as a subsitute for the very own
governmental (welfare state) and economic tasks.
Kurt
Beck: Civil Activism between Tradition and Awakening, FJ NSB
2/00, pp. 15-21
For
building a civil society based on democratic participation and
citizens' own responsibility, according to Kurt Beck, two
questions are crucial: First, the amount, power and innovative
potential of citizen participation must be assessed
realistically. Second, the role of politics in these
circumstances has to be defined. A civil society must include
business as an active partner; furthermore it must be realized,
that civil activism is manly carried out by employed people;
finially the motives of volunteers (like enjoyment and
self-realization) must be taken into account. In three ways
governmental politics can further a civil society: First, civil
activism must not be an excuse for socially unbalanced cuts in
the welfare system. Second, politics should offer opportunities
for activism on one's own responsibility and empowered
participation. Finially, government and administration must
support rather than hinder civil activism. This does not lead
into an opposition to the state and representative democracy. On
the contrary, Germany could gain a more active and a fairer
civil society.
Herfried
Münkler: Honour, office and commitment. Why civic sense is a
rare ressource and how its reproduction can be secured. FJ NSB
2/00, pp. 22-32
As
a consequence of the traditional nation-states´ increasing
inability of intervention and control, accompanied by an
increasing individualisation of modern societies, socio-moralic
solidarity in society is declining. Starting from this initial
analysis and in distinction to those juridically- economically
inspired democratic theories that omit the social- moralic
dimension, Herfried Münkler pleads for a classical republican
understanding of the citizen. Civic sense and civic honour are
ressources that comprise more than individual advantages and one´s
own successs. The citizen as a consument and producer of liberty,
who is asking what he can do for his country, supported by the
relevant governmental framing measures, is the precondition for
the preservation of liberal order.
Helmut
Klages: The Germans - a People of Volunteers? Results of a
Nation-wide Project. FJ NSB 2/00, pp. 33-47
Klages
presents systematic results from a recent nation-wide study,
carried out by the ministry for family, senior citizens, women
and youth. The striking finding is that the preparedness for
voluntary work and the potential for further volunteer
recruitment are very high. However, the circumstances of
voluntary work are problematic. Efforts for volunteer
recruitment are most successful by visibly offering the chance
for acting on one's own responsibility. Effective delegation is
rare among volunteer based organisations. That holds further
people back from activities on a voluntary basis. Agencies
offering contact could help to overcome some of the shortcomings.
Gisela
Notz: Volunteering and work. Who is most commited in the country?
FJ NSB 2/00, pp. 48-57
Research
and publications in the field of volunteering or civil
commitment frequently omit the different meaning of volunteering
for men and women. These results, according to Gisela Notz, can
be seen in the recent survey of the Federal Ministry for familiy,
seniors, women and youth. By reverting to this and other surveys,
the author shows that sex-specific division of labour within
volunteering still exists. For the most part, women work in the
area of social services and health, whereas men mainly volunteer
in the political, economical or scientific sphere. A major
problem are the different preconditions of female and male
volunteering. Most men are working and and volunteer in their
spare time. Most women do not have a working existence and are
working exclusively in volunteering jobs. But more and more
women want to do this work in addition to a payed labour. A
forward looking debate of volunteering and civil commitment must
therefore take into account the sex-specific conditions of these
two fields of activity.
Adrian
Reinert: Bürgergesellschaft as a process - Ways towards a
support of volunteering. FJ NSB 2/00, pp. 58-63
Empirical
data about the valuation and assessment of governmentally
organized civil activities are, according to Adrian Reinert, as
diverse as the ideas, theories and concepts of civil society.
Nevertheless, some central characteristics of this new form of
commitment could be extracted: thematic and temporal autonomy
and a clearly defined field of activity. Within these rough
categories, however, there are some differentiations. These
complex structures and preconditions make it difficult for a
general use of the term and for volunteering organisations with
a broad thematical range. Because of this, Rainert pleads for an
understanding of civil society as a process. This process should
be supported and facilitated by framing measures. Elements
mentioned are an infrastructure that supports volunteering, a
strengthening of the principle of reciprocal help, extensive
support of joint responsability and a just distribution of work
within the society.
Gisela
Jakob/Heinz Janning: Agencies for Volunteering - After the
Funding Euphoria a First Review. FJ NSB 2/00, pp. 64-76
Jakob
and Janning take a look at the wide variety of the
organisational forms and activities by agencies for volunteering
and review critically their situation. The work of agencies for
volunteering are marked by several persistent problems: First,
due to the character of public funding, their financial
resources are insecure. This hinders continuous and professional
work. Second, the established public welfare and charity
associations try to adapt the concept of agencies for
volunteering in order to overcome their own recruitment problems.
Close ties with these associations, however, are in
contradiction to the principle of independence. Usually agencies
for volunteering try to further volunteering in a broad sense,
but for various reasons many agencies reject this goal. This
results in their poor image and financial problems. Solutions to
these problems could be variable maintenance concepts,
sufficient public financing and the implementation of supportive
circumstances.
Gerd
Mutz: Business Volunteering: Corporate Social Responsibility. FJ
NSB 2/00, pp. 77-86
In
the debate about the first sector (economy), the second (public
service), and the third sector (civil society) the first and the
third sector seem to have nothing in common with each other.
Mutz wants to fill the gap with a new business and volunteer
culture. Corporate Social Responsibility is a concept of
sustainable organisation development and innovative
organisational culture. In a globalised world not only the
individual but also business has to face new demands on the
local level. Corporate Social Responsibility wants to further
civil involvement of employees for social, cultural, and
environmental goals. The first and the third sector can learn
from each other and thus enlarge the social capital of our
society.
Henk
Kinds: Alliances between the business and the civil sector, FJ
NSB 2/00, pp. 87-91
Being
an experienced activists in all the three sectors of market,
public service and civil society all over Europe, Kinds argues
for alliances between the business and the civil society
('Corporate Citizenship'). Based on examples from Great Britain,
Denmark, and the Netherlands he illustrates the advantages of
such alliances and the potential lying in the cooperation of
business and non-profit organisations, networks and initiatives.
The idea of learning from each other is underdeveloped in
Germany. However, the examples show clearly, that both sides can
profit from these alliances.
Adalbert
Evers: Civil involvement - Which Focus is Needed? Some
Propositions for the Tasks of the Commission on Voluntary
Activism. FJ NSB 2/00, pp. 92-96
Evers
discusses the tasks of the public commission on voluntary
activism. Discussing volunteering must not be reduced to
offering selective incentives on the individual level. Only an
institutional change can provide the infrastructure for a strong
third sector besides market and public services. The necessary
organisational changes remain urgent. Also the societal and
political views on volunteering require a development. Debates
on the future of work, the public service and civil involvement
must not only discuss volunteering in the context of work and
the transformation of the welfare state.
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