VOLUNTARY ENGAGEMENT, SOCIAL COHESION AND CIVIC ACTION

Volunteering always offers a relevant and positive response to crises 

In contrast to the current image of a French society that is democratically exhausted, a society turning in on itself, one looking for meaning in work and where everything is commodified, the “joyful impulse” of volunteering brings real solidarity to our country. 
Volunteering unifies society through the daily connections it creates between citizens of all ages: 22 million people aged 18 and over are active in associations, trade unions, mutual societies and political parties. Volunteer involvement, highlighted during the Covid-19 health crisis, is also showing the signs of its fragility. 

These organisations are committed to the public interest and work in a wide range of fields (education, social work, disability, health, culture, protecting biodiversity, food aid, etc.). The voluntary sector also has to deal with the ageing and departure of its leaders, with training needs (administrative complexity, responsibility, financing, etc.), and with the crisis of individual and collective recognition. 

The EESC is putting forward 19 recommendations to give every citizen the opportunity and freedom to be 
a better trained, better recognised and highly valued volunteer

Faced with these necessary changes, how can we support and renew volunteer engagement?

THE EESC PROPOSES A NEW DEFINITION OF VOLUNTEERING:

Volunteering is the action of a person who freely commits themself, on their own time, to carrying out an unpaid action for the benefit of others, or for the benefit of a cause or a collective interest.