Youth activation and volunteering: lessons learned
Volunteering is described as a critical ingredient for solutions to the challenge of migrant and Roma pupil integration in all partner countries. In all partner countries, though on a varying level, volunteering is growing in popularity. Partners regard it as a critical factor in developing an inclusive civil society.
Perceptions of the society as a whole, however, are also reflected in volunteerism. Concepts such as multiculturalism, transculturalism or transnationality and/or diversity as well as the corresponding individual and organisational knowledge, skills and attitudes cannot be taken for granted in all of the partner countries. Nevertheless, volunteerism has high potential in all of the partner countries.
In Slovenia, partners report that there is high availability for volunteerism. In particular, there are notable volunteering and self-organisation activities in the Roma communities. On the other hand, an even higher level of organisation and coordination of volunteer efforts is needed, and volunteers must be appreciated and acknowledged by the overall society to an even higher level.
In the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, there also is a growing role of civil society in general and volunteerism in particular. A law on volunteering was adopted in 2008. In the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, the Roma community is also known for frequent, moreover, diverse volunteering activities in fields such as health, education and community development, thereby contributing to a holistic approach to integration. Training of volunteers working in these areas is typical in the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia.
In Italy, volunteerism is a long tradition. Faith-based as well as civil organisations, organise relevant volunteering activities and also train their volunteers. The partner highlights that there is no lack of volunteers and the availability to help out is a reflection of a generally open and welcoming attitude of the general population towards migrants and minorities.
In the case of Turkey, partners give evidence of a wide variety of NGO activity in fields like social stabilisation, community development, consultancy to parents and language education offers.
In Spain, although authors assessed voluntarism as being “in infancy” still in 2006 (Merino, 2006), now an impressive number of 900,000 volunteers add to half a million employees of non-profit organisations. Today, the development of volunteering action is gaining momentum, and there is great support to give it a more qualified and qualifying view. Currently, the sector suffers from widespread temporalism of engagement. Also, the integration of migrants and minorities is not among the most popular fields of engagement. On the other hand, innovative forms of volunteering, like “cyber volunteering” are currently being developed. In Spain, universities also encourage volunteer engagement in their students.
In Italy as well as in Germany, volunteering is a traditional and robust part of the social fabric. On the one hand organisations like churches, the labour movement and other traditional organisations are responsible for large parts of the provision of social services and work with employees alongside volunteers. One of these organisations (Caritas) is the largest employer in Germany. On the other hand, “new” social organisations have been forming since the seventies, which are more natural forms of civic engagement. Both types of organisation have carried the main burden of work during the recent surge in refugee migration.
In Germany, the high level of availability for volunteering in this context is reflected in a positive general attitude of the population, mostly on the practical level of empathy and help, transcending political affiliation. Temporalism is an issue in this context, as well. Most organisations do provide a level of training for volunteers and universities also encourage volunteerism in addition to the obligatory internships for students of educational sciences and related subjects.
Communication strategies for volunteers working with migrant or Roma children
The Inclusion of Roma and Migrants in Schools (RoMigSc) project is aiming to introduce effective strategies for the inclusion of vulnerable groups in schools. For this purpose the project has recognised the importance of key actors for greater integration, therefore, has come up with training for volunteers, training for teachers, and conducting national seminars for increasing awareness for inclusion for better integration with stakeholders.
It is expected that through training and open discussions strategies for effective integration of Roma and migrant groups shall be evaluated based on different country settings and identify best practices applicable to diverse communities. One critical activity of the project is recognition of the volunteering activity as promoting the integration of Roma and migrants into society. Many studies have shown that volunteering makes a high impact on society in the process of recognition of the benefits of integration. One persuasive definition of volunteers is that those are “individuals who carry out unpaid activities of their own free will, often in support of an activity or initiative serving the general interest of the wider society, and without replicating or substituting the work of paid staff”. Very often, volunteers are far helpful to the migrant population in developing their social and human capital while increasing their skills for active participation in society. OECD defines human capital as “the knowledge, skills, competencies, and attributes embodied in individuals that facilitate the creation of personal, social and economic well-being.”
Volunteers face challenges on their own when dealing with groups which in many societies have been marginalised due to a variety of reasons; or with population groups who have lost their social and human capital by settling down in a new country with very different social and cultural norms from their own. Volunteers working with migrants and the Roma population require a great deal of verbal and non-verbal communication skills. Therefore, below, we provide three effective communication strategies for volunteers:
Get to KNOW your group or individuals: this helps to establish trust between you and provide comfort for each side. It increases acceptance of your work as a volunteer. Promoting an understanding of differences.
PROVIDING more space and opportunities to hear their story: all these are very important, and a volunteer must demonstrate skills of
- Active listening skills – ability to listen to young people and know what they are saying;
- Questioning– this is a skill of questioning young people (not in an interrogative way) that helps them to express themselves but also gives information to the volunteer. There are three basic types of questions, the open question, the closed question and the leading question;
- Body language – body language can give a multitude of information regarding what is going on with both you and other people;
- Reflecting – this is the ability to provide feedback to young people based on what they have said about themselves so that they can explore further, or clarify a point.
DEMONSTRATE readiness to provide support: putting things in perspective while empathising with one’s feelings. It will significantly increase the willingness to cooperate and face the challenges of a new environment.
References:
Bassilio, Leilanie and Bauer, Thomas (2010). Transferability of Human Capital and Immigrant Assimilation: An Analysis for Germany. Discussion Paper No. 4716.
CEV Involve project: Involvement of third-country nationals in volunteering as a means of better integration Published by the European Volunteer Centre (2006).
SHARE (2016): Volunteering for Refugee Integration: A SHARE Network Toolkit Publication. http://www.resettlement.eu/sites/icmc.tttp.eu/files/Volunteering%20for%20Refugee%20Integration_ SHARE%20Toolkit_1015_0.pdf
Thomas, Derrick (2012). Giving and volunteering among Canada’s immigrants. Component of Statistics Canada Catalogue no. 11-008-X.
