The Third Sector is comprised of mutuals, cooperatives, associations, charities and voluntary organisations, amongst others, to generate opportunities for what is known as volunteerism. No, I didn’t just place an ‘ism’ on the end of ‘volunteer’; it is a term that describes the involvement of individuals in community service as part of a non-profit entity or organisation.

The benefit of having a strong third sector has been recognised by governments in the European Union (and, indeed, beyond) as providing a viable and vital support structure to existing public services. Although this may seem obvious to us, far more can be done to incorporate voluntary activity into everyday life. And, as the economic effects of the sovereign debt crisis bite, volunteering is assuming greater importance than ever. Neglecting the third sector, especially now, would be pretty short-sighted… I mean, really short-sighted.

Malta, the EU and volunteerism

Voluntary organisations have historically played a key role in Malta by contributing to the formation of a robust and active civil society. Indeed, the availability of a host of entities – religious and secular, EU-funded and non-EU-funded – render Malta a member state with one of the highest occurrence of daily volunteering in the EU. It is one of the great things about our culture that we are natural volunteers.

The impact of volunteerism on national identity and social cohesion has been the subject of much academic and journalistic discussion. Volunteering does engrain you into the communities in which you exist and, in doing so, make you more likely to demonstrate a heightened national identity. In fact, studies have also shown that EU funding could potentially influence a volunteer’s European identity, particularly if such funding is coupled with cross-border exchanges.

The power of voluntary interaction to influence national and European identification is just a small facet of the wider beneficial effects that volunteerism can have on the consolidation of community. It is extraordinary what it does for socialisation and the sense of ‘working together towards something bigger than us’. We cannot get more meaningful networks of interaction, understanding and communication than this.

Community, solidarity, identity

Investment into the strengthening of the ‘European community’ is why volunteerism has become a central focus of the EU of late. One of the ways the EU proposes to foster a sense of community that makes Europeans and helps to make Europe work is by championing cross-border voluntary initiatives that promote this intensive inter-cultural exchange. I was intrigued by this prospect. The European Commission claims that communities engaging with one another in voluntary activities, necessitating a level of trust and cooperation, generated heightened identification at a national and EU level. Exposing an individual to diversity and diverse experiences engenders a form of empathy and understanding that inspires an unparalleled togetherness.

So, what can the Maltese government do to ensure we secure all the invaluable benefits to community that volunteerism can bring to our society? 

Volunteering is central to our lives

It is evident that exposing people to volunteering opportunities at a young age will give them alternative and diverse modes of interaction with people from a variety of backgrounds. It allows individuals unparalleled face-to-face engagement. This way, we get to know our neighbours and community intimately with nuanced and informed perspectives that we cannot gain by just sitting on Facebook all day. My experiences as a volunteer helped me learn things that could not possibly be taught in a classroom. So, I’m a big believer in the need for us to make volunteering a continuous, core part of the curriculum rather than a CV-enhancing adage. There is something there for all ages: it will serve to inform an active national and EU citizenry. 

It is imperative that the government takes full-advantage of the strength of the Maltese third sector. There is a clear need to bridge the communication gap between public services and the voluntary sector. The latter provides indispensible support in areas where the former is often found wanting. Many people depend on volunteers, so it is vital that they are a) part of the conversation on how to improve these public services and b) encouraged to continue their voluntary activities through incentives, governmental or otherwise.

Yes, this would mean being able to apportion some part of your day to volunteering without the fear that you might have to sacrifice your livelihood. It is healthy for a worker to be able to volunteer – to give back, to engage with society away from our keyboards. In all of this, we cannot forget that volunteers work at the grassroots – they are very often the frontline. Alienating their expertise and support would be both counter-productive and an opportunity wasted, because at the grass-roots level, knowledge is everything: it is the key to having really comprehensive public services that are responsive to people’s needs.  

This is not just about the provision of funding, EU or otherwise, but about giving life to those funds. For instance, the benefit of cross-cultural and trans-national exchange has proved instrumental in the burgeoning construction of a European identity. Opportunities like this also consolidate national identity in a constructive manner at a time when heightened nationalist sentiments, wrought from our tense economic environment, threaten diversity and exacerbate immovable hierarchies. Island life can at times prove quite insular and the chance to challenge your ideas and beliefs in conversation with people who have had very diverse life experiences to you is a wonderful way to share in and celebrate difference. What you gain from this is not only vital to you as a person but also indispensible to the development of an informed, flexible and outward-looking society.

What’s not to love?

 

The country needs more volunteers. Europe needs more volunteers. More work needs to be done to empower the third sector so that it is able to continue strengthening the meaningful contribution it makes towards the functioning of Maltese (and wider European) society. Ultimately, what it boils down to is seeing volunteering not as superfluous to a person’s development but as intrinsic to it – because it is.