[MGSA-L] More Than a Myth: Volunteerism in Greece

June Samaras june.samaras at gmail.com
Fri Apr 5 19:52:59 PDT 2013


http://www.huffingtonpost.com/aphrodite-bouikidis/volunteerism-in-greece_b_2996208.html

More Than a Myth: Volunteerism in Greece

Posted: 04/04/2013 11:22 am

Co-authored by Despina Tsalavoutis

We have been in too many conversations recently where we have heard
that there is no culture of volunteerism in Greece. Opinions differ in
our daily conversations and in local and international media.

It is no surprise that there is a heightened interest in this topic as
the European economic crisis continues to affect member states. In a
time of increasing challenges, much attention falls on the
relationships and structures in society that are not working. Yet this
is a time when people also strengthen what works, and search for new
connections and developmental support that enable them to solve
problems together, based on shared passion, motivation and purpose.

In Greece, volunteerism is more than a myth. We see a sense of
solidarity "αλληλεγγύη" and community "γειτονιά" that people are
trying to redefine in the face of significant challenges. Volunteering
through citizen sector groups is one form of solidarity that is
growing.

The United Nations Volunteers (UNV) program describes volunteerism as
"one of the most basic of expressions of human behavior and [it]
arises out of long-established ancient traditions of sharing and
reciprocal exchanges." In Greece, this behavior is traditionally
expressed through family, local community and the church. Now there
are more people engaging in community service through civil society
groups responding to critical issues, including health, social
services and inclusion, employment and mentorship, conservation, urban
interventions, culture and more.

A gathering in Athens last week offered a fresh sign that people are
keen to harness the power of volunteerism. Volunteer4Greece, in
partnership with three other Greek organizations that promote and
facilitate volunteerism, brought together local civil society
organizations, including non-profit and non-government organizations
and informal grass-roots initiatives, to meet, exchange, learn and
collaborate. More than 90 leaders and managers of 40 groups attended
the "Unleash Your Organization's Potential Through Volunteers"
workshop and discussed the tools and methodologies to attract, train,
engage and manage volunteers. This was the first workshop to provide
non-profits, particularly smaller ones, with international best
practices and practical tools to better organize and structure their
volunteer programs.

The hosting partners launched within the last two years and already
are collaborating to create a network of learning and exchange.
Volunteer4Greece is the first Greek online volunteer opportunity
board. Human Grid is a project of TEDxAthens to connect volunteers
with opportunities in Athens. GloVo matches student volunteers to
events globally. All three launched last year. Wonder Festival is an
annual event and network inaugurated in 2011 to connect volunteers and
promote collaboration among volunteer initiatives. It has helped
organizations likeSenior Citizens in Action find their first
volunteers.

The perception of volunteerism in Greece is evolving as people's
perspective on the value and responsibility for social change evolves.
Discussions during the workshop indicated there is a real public
interest in supporting sustainable citizen sector initiatives. Public
sector programs to address social needs have diminished or proved
ineffective. The responsibility for the success of a social cause is
shifting to citizen and private sector stakeholders, partnerships, and
communities of people. As these changes occur, the role of
volunteerism gains more value and appreciation.

"A volunteer is not just someone who appears in your life to serve you
or to make your job easier," explained Gerasimos Kouvaras, Managing
Director of Action Aid Hellas, as he spoke about the benefits of
properly orienting, training and managing volunteers. "At the same
time, you have appeared in their life with an obligation to help them
develop and evolve."

One participant observed that his organization is seeing less
volunteers as people struggle to sustain themselves and their families
in the face of decreasing salaries, lack of resources and
unemployment. At the same time, some of the organization's
beneficiaries become volunteers and use their experience to act as
translators or mediators between the organization and the vulnerable
groups it serves.

Tzanetos Antipas, Board Chairman of Praksis, an organization focusing
on humanitarian, health and anti-poverty programs, said that awareness
plays a role in activating peoples' sensitivity to social issues and
volunteerism. Responding to the question, "Do you think we all have a
volunteer in us?" Antipas observed that many people do not recognize
their potential to be volunteers. It is up to the organization and
current volunteers to "wake up" the volunteer in these people.

"Our experience in matching volunteers to organizations has showed
that there is a need from the non profit side to acquire more
structured tools and better organize their operations, to improve the
way they develop their volunteers," said Volunteer4Greece co-founder
Myrto Papathanou, after the event. "The workshop exceeded our
expectations... We believe non-profits in Greece are hungry for
knowledge and ready to take the next step, which is to use tools and
standard operating procedures in their daily operations to grow in
size and expand their scope and social impact."

The volunteer workshop and the new initiatives that hosted it are part
of a longer trend towards volunteerism. For example, the organization
ELIX has promoted volunteerism in conservation efforts for more than
25 years. Since its founding in 1987, it organized more than 300
voluntary work programs in 104 areas of Greece, and facilitated the
participation of more than 6,000 young people in work-camps in Greece
and abroad. In 2004, 160,000 people applied for volunteer positions
with the Athens Summer Olympics, and 45,000 Greek volunteers became a
part of the events. Approximately 25,000 people took part in volunteer
action during the Athens Special Olympics in 2011. Atenistas, a group
that organizes volunteer actions in Athens to improve public spaces,
started in 2010. It recently created the first pocket park in Athens.
There are similar groups in other Greek cities.

"In five years I believe the landscape for volunteering in Greece will
be very different," predicts Papathanou. "I dare to say volunteering
will have moved to the mainstream, as opposed to being something a
small minority engages in."

What does the future hold for Greece?

We cannot say for sure, but we do believe that civil society has
potential to engage growing numbers of people in the process of
creating this future. However, new forms of engagement also require
new institutions to facilitate trust among citizens. If trust between
individuals and across communities grows and flourishes, people can
collaborate. Trust requires transparency at all levels and sectors of
society, as well as social and governance systems that are
participatory and inclusive. If a reliable, fair system exists to
create a safe space for public action, then people can build a shared
vision and act together to achieve that vision. Citizen actions, of
which volunteerism is one piece, and a fair system are inter-related
elements of a society: they will grow and strengthen each other.

Additional Information:

List of organizations or programs offering volunteer opportunities in Greece:

http://europa.eu/youth/volunteering_-_exchanges/index_he_en.html

Volunteering In The European Union, Final Report submitted by GHK, 17
February 2010

:http://ec.europa.eu/citizenship/pdf/doc1018_en.pdf

Despina is professionally active in Marketing Communications &
Venture/Partnerships Development. She works with organizations &
startups to help 1) develop ventures, 2) extend synergies, 3) empower
communications, & 4) accelerate extroversion. At heart, she believes
that Entrepreneurship, Sustainability & Creative Education can address
global challenges & create new possibilities. She supports endeavors
that progress in this direction. She is a graduate of The London
School of Economics (MSc Organizational Psychology), from the USA &
lives in Europe. She's a trekker, dreamer, creative facilitator and
HuffPost fan.



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