maurizio maggioni volunteering services centre “volontarimini” rimini, italy
TRANSCRIPT
Maurizio Maggioni
Volunteering Services Centre“Volontarimini”
Rimini, Italy
Volunteering in Italy:
The legal framework
Recent laws have regulated all areas of the voluntary sector:
• NGOs [international cooperation]• Prganised volunteering (Law no 266 in 1991)• Social co-operatives• Associations for promoting social issues• Other organisations
First organic reform in 2000 (Law 328):• Recognises personal rights • Identifies bodies responsible for assistance• Integrates services• Values third sector• Introduces forward planning• Maps out future action for social integration
and support
Legal status of volunteers regulated by Law n. 266 in 1991, which:
• Recognises social value and function of volunteering
• Views it as participation, solidarity and pluralism
• Promotes its development• Safeguards its autonomy
The Italian term “volontariato” (volunteering):• Implies initiatives of help or solidarity by a group
Defining “solidarity”:• Action at community level, with close ties between
parties• Parties share values and defining behaviour
Hence “volontariato” (volunteering) can be defined as:
• Form of community action• Aims to:• Provide altruistic and solidal services• Promote rights• Develop active citizenship
Voluntary organisations• Are founded directly by those involved• Do not give monetary remuneration• Promote rights• Provide services and activities with social
significance• Aimed at non-members or society at large
Volunteers and Italian society
Number of volunteers:• Not known for certain• Rough estimate: 3.300.000Differences between regions:• North 31,3%• South 15,2%• Islands 8%
Volunteers’ educational background:• Majority have secondary school qualification• Females have higher qualifications than males
Volunteers’ time:• 57.3% of volunteers do their volunteering on a
regular basis, for 5 hrs/wk.
Sectors with most volunteering:• Health• Social services• Culture and leisure
Volunteering organisations
Types of volunteering organisations:• Those defined by Law 266/913But also:• NGOs,• Social cooperatives• Associations for promoting social issues• Foundations• Other
At government level:• Nationally, volunteering is overseen by the
Ministry for Work and Social Policy• There is also a National Monitoring Body for
Volunteering• At local level, Regional government has
influence• Technical support is provided by network of
service centres
Volunteering Service Centres:• Instituted by Law 266 in 1991• Provide free services to associations of
volunteers• Aim to support and qualify volunteering
initiatives
How is this done?• Grow culture of solidarity with new initiatives• Promote initiatives by volunteers• Offer consultancy, assistance by qualified staff• Help volunteers to plan new projects• Train members of volunteering organisations• Dispense news and information about
volunteering activities
Key national programmes promoting volunteering, active citizenship and civic participation:
• Annual directives of Ministry of Work and Social Policy (as per Law n. 266 in 1991), targeted at all weak groups including young.
• Civilian service (ages 18-28)• Youth in Action programme (15-28), in and
beyond the EU.
The 0.5% scheme (“cinque per mille”):• Expanded in 2005• Taxpayers can choose to give 0.5% of their
taxes to non-profit or research organisations• No cost to taxpayer• Expansion of scheme is experimental
The 0.5 scheme is not:• A state fund to guarantee a particular activitybut rather:• An opportunity for citizens to devolve a small part
of their taxes to private initiatives of public significance
• Because the state recognises the importance of promoting social solidarity
Economic and social value
Existing data shows economic and social importance of volunteering, as defined by Law 266 in 1991:
• c. 3.2 million hours of work per week• Equivalent to weekly workload of 80.600 full-
time employees
Research is being done into the social and economic value and impact of volunteering:
• Joint project by Volunteering Services Centres and Johns Hopkins University: to measure volunteering activities.
• Several Italian bodies collaborating to measure volunteering activities in healthcare.
In Italy, Volunteering is considered (especially for the young):
• A formative experience • A type of active citizenship• A contribution to social cohesion
Reasons why people volunteer
According to FEO – FIVOL: • Be altruistic• Participate actively in society• Grow as a person• Socialise Differences between age groups: Over 60s: 63.2% motivated by altruism Under 29s: 71.5% motivated by personal growth
Challenges
Anticipate changes in society, and so anticipate solutions to changing social needs
“Volunteering must invent more human things than the most human which have already been invented” (Luciano Tavazza)
How?• The more complex the needs, the more important it
is to operate in networks• With drastically diminishing resources, reflection is
necessary on how to strengthen vounteering even in its smallest manifestations
Unique merits
Volunteering in Italy has innovated in:• Promotion of rights• Social inclusion and integrationFor• Disabled people• Foreigners• Mentally ill people• Patological addicts• Families