VOLUNTEERING INFRASTRUCTURE

1. VOLUNTEERING INFRASTRUCTURECONCEPT DEFINITIONVolunteering and volunteerism are rather new social phenomena in Greek public discourse. Theyarose during the “global associational revolution” of the 1980s and the spread of civil society’sideas and ideals. Before, volunteering was a practice, almost exclusively, of the Orthodox Churchand traditional organisations like the Red Cross and the Scouts.Historically, forms of intervention in the public sphere were orientated and limited throughpolitics and by traditional forms of active citizenship (elected representatives, political partymembership etc). On the other hand, solidarity was based mainly on family and kinship, andless on community. The Orthodox Church and Government’s role was subsidiary in the socialprotection sector. These factors left no space for the development of civilsociety institutions and consequently, volunteering. As an outcome of thistradition, Greek society has been generally very sceptical about volunteering,as there were strong beliefs that it was ‘an indirect way for the demolition ofthe welfare state’ and the replacement of paid employment by volunteers.In the last few years, a shift in public opinion and volunteering is beingdetected, as people are re-evaluating it in more positive terms.Although there are some regulations coming from Governmentdepartments, there is no general law on volunteering. Furthermore, there are no specific andclear bodies of law concerning non-profit, voluntary organisations and relevant notions wellknown in literature. Different government departments have their own perceptions aboutnon-profit sector related terms. Until recently, legislation and developmental strategies were alow priority for policy makers.The significant growth of the sector during the 1990s was the main source of attracting andspreading volunteering ideals through Greek society. At the end of the century, governmentactors started to implement some projects based on volunteering. The Olympic Games of 2004were a highlight of the Government’s active involvement. Later, large for-profit companiesstarted to implement limited-scale volunteering projects, using their staff in specific areas,mainly ecology. The Orthodox Church encourages volunteerism, but its main form of actionis charity, and less giving in the form of volunteering. Today the non-profit sector, as well asinformal initiatives, is the main source of volunteering.Volunteering infrastructure in Greece refers to the potential of volunteering development onthe local, national or international level. It is constituted and defined by the level, quantity andquality of relevant information and knowledge, the existence and the functionality of policydirectives and the willingness and experience of different stakeholders to promote volunteeringin a specific human environment.The Olympic Games heldin 2004 were a highlightof the Government’s activeinvolvement in projectsbased on volunteering.165 Volunteering infrastructure in Europe 12 Greece