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 The phrase 'back to first principles' has a literal meaning when we talk about volunteering and our understanding of it. The Definition and Principles of Volunteering, along with a set of volunteer rights, a Model Code of Practice and the National Standards for Involving Volunteers in Not-for-profit Organisations form the foundations of a significant body of knowledge on volunteering. Together, they seek to aid understanding of what makes volunteering a unique form of citizen participation. It is true that volunteering is not an end in itself and must have some context in which it operates to achieve outcomes. Yet it is important that we recognise the intrinsic worth inherent in an activity in which citizens, through contribution of their time without financial reward, seek to engage with, and shape, the communities of which they are a part.
As our feature article (20 July 2006) indicates, the activities that people engage in as volunteers may change in response to social developments, yet we recognise that volunteering remains distinct from other forms of unpaid work or participation.* The definition and the principles in particular, seek to identify the boundaries that differentiate volunteering from other forms of activity that may, at first glance, resemble some, but not all, aspects of volunteering. The principles and definition prevent the exploitation of both those who participate as volunteers and those who benefit from their contribution, while at the same time recognising that the ways in which they as citizens may engage, and the things that they engage in, may shift over time.
When used together, the foundation documents referred to above provide a means to test whether a change to a volunteer role or to the environment and context in which that role may be performed puts us on a slippery slope to losing the very essence of volunteering. The use of the foundation documents is fundamental to Volunteering Australia's activities as an organisation dedicated to advancing volunteering and informing and advocating on issues impacting volunteering. The issues to be considered are often complex and frequently contentious, if not fully understood. Some of the questions that Volunteering Australia must ask as we seek to influence policy are equally applicable when an individual organisation is considering a volunteer role or changes to its volunteer program:
• Does this new role or program undermine the definition of volunteering? If so, how?
• What do the principles say?
• Are we only selectively using the principles or are we certain that this role or program would breach none of them?
• Is there potential for exploitation of any party?
In making an assessment of whether an activity can correctly be termed volunteering or may in fact be some other form of unpaid work, no value judgments are being made about the relative worth of the activity, and, in declaring that something is not volunteering, we are not dismissing the legitimacy of its contribution. But it is important that as we recognise that volunteering is an evolving activity that is responsive to broader societal changes, we still guard the foundations that make it a constant.
* Jeni Warburton and Melanie Oppenheimer (2000) Volunteers and Volunteering, Federation Press, Leichhardt, NSW
Kylee Bates
Deputy CEO
20 July 2006
If you would like to know more about the thinking behind the principles, have a look at the article The Principles of Volunteering: Why have them? You can also join an e-forum discussion of that article.
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