The Changing World of Volunteering

By Katharina Hribernigg

It is hard to say exactly how many people devote some of their time to volunteering but (pre pandemic) estimates suggest that in Europe alone it could be as many as 100 million people. Which is roughly 22-23% of the population over 15. (Biagioni, 2018)

 

People volunteer for at all sorts of organizations. Traditionally they physically go to their organization or project of choice volunteer their time, skills and usually have a good time doing so. So far so good. But even for the most dedicated volunteer there may come a time when life’s other obligations, such as a job, children or relatives in need of care get in the way of volunteering. This might make it impossible to physically get to where you volunteer, especially if your schedules are not compatible.

 

In this case there is an ICT for development solution and it is called online volunteering. Online volunteering allows volunteers to help others wherever they are. All that is needed is a computer and an internet connection. There are a number of platforms connecting organizations and potential volunteers. The United Nations has such a platform bringing together people from over 180 countries. (Scholarships Corner, 2021)

 

Organizations and volunteers communicate and work together without ever physically meeting. I tried it and found that for me it worked well. Through the UN online volunteering platform I found the Cameroon Association for Active Youths (CAMAAY) and worked with them on a food security project. All without every meeting in person. For me there were many positives. I was able to participate in an exciting project while being able to choose at what time I volunteer. I could fit this around other things such as work or childcare. I also got to work with an organization I would never have met physically as they are located in rural Cameroon.

 

The main drawback for me was that because we didn’t physically meet there was less interaction between the different parties as getting to know people without physically meeting can be difficult. But overall it was a very good experience. 

 

Have any of you tried online volunteering? Or would you like to, and why or why not? And how were your experiences?

 

References

 

Biagioni, C. (2018, September 14). Volunteering in Europe: A population of 100 million people.: Agensir. SIR. Retrieved October 29, 2021, from https://www.agensir.it/europa/2018/09/14/volunteering-in-europe-a-population-of-100-million-people/.

CAMAAY. (n.d.). What we do. CAMAAY. Retrieved October 29, 2021, from https://www.camaay.org/.

Scholarships Corner, S. (2021, September 16). UNV Online Volunteering Opportunities – become UN volunteer. Scholarships. Retrieved October 29, 2021, from https://scholarshipscorner.website/unv-online-volunteering-opportunities/.

United Nations. (n.d.). UVP – Unified volunteer platform. Retrieved October 29, 2021, from https://app.unv.org/explore.

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5 Comments

  1. Thank you Katharina for this interesting thread. This year I also volunteered online for an international organization. It has been an inspiring and enriching experience, even though it felt “distant”, at times.
    I find that the only positive thing about the Covid pandemy has been the spread and recognition of remote work. I find it amusing to be able to collaborate with colleagues from different sides of the globe and give help from afar. Having lived in challenging circumstances in the past, I also think that the flexibility of working remotely or at least an hybrid option can guarantee a stabler personal life and less probabilities of suffering from distress and burnout as expat humanitarians. I also wonder how many humanitarians there are, that are digital nomads, and can decide where they want to live. Still, more important and crucial questions arise: How much can remote work substitute presential aid work? How much is needed to be in daily touch with the affected communities? As western professionals we are indeed privileged, can we still be considered aid workers if we work from the comfort of our home, without having to adapt to different habits, languages, food? Can we grasp the needs of the receivers and interpret their signals by working from another continent? Is remote work always effective and not alienating?
    I personally think that even though we need to get to know the field in depth, we don’t really need to live steadily there: this can be the right occasion to finally offer full trust and potential of action to the local professionals and communities. Collaborating remotely, especially as communication professionals, would just be a first step ahead towards the decolonization of aid work and would let the spotlight be on the ones that are part of and know deeply their own realities. What are your thoughts?

    Here some further insights:
    https://www.alnap.org/help-library/once-removed-lessons-and-challenges-in-remote-management-of-humanitarian-operations-for
    https://aidforaidworkers.libsyn.com/maintaining-organizational-culture-despite-working-remotely-in-the-humanitarian-sector

  2. Thanks for such an interesting post, since we are both on Linked in, I found it very smart of you and very useful t share it on a professional platform where it brought interesting interaction, I think the question you asked at the end triggered the readers to answer, as it does with me now 🙂 I I have volunteered in tens of organisations, as I am coming from an ongoing conflict country, so a lot of organisation are reaching me for a consultation, I agree with you that “online volunteering Online allows volunteers to help others wherever they are” however sometimes I feel it open the space for exploiting your tendency to offer help, specially in conflict areas, they used to say, you live in Europe, which is a safe please, and you should specify time to help us, that’s right if it is one or 2 organisations, but in Syria in the last ten years, more than 3000 organisation had been established, and you can imagine the huge number of volunteering requests you receive weekly, specially when you don’t know if they really deserve your support or not, and I define deserve here as they stand for a good cause, and they lack the budget to pay for professional consultants, so I think online volunteering a sword with edges, it might psychologically disturb you, and it might help people who are really in need.

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