Historical developments

The voluntary sector in Belgium is quite varied and complex. Its origins go back to Article 27 of the Constitution of 1830, which stated that “Belgians have the right to associate with one another, and this right cannot be submitted to any preventive measure”. However, apart from the aforesaid article, no legislation on the matter was developed and no legal framework that guaranteed freedom of association was elaborated until 2005.

Therefore, Belgians had to wait until the beginning of the 20th century before the law on the status of certain types of associations (non-profit-making activities) was passed by the Parliament. In that period, mutual-help associations (1894), professional associations (such as those of lawyers, architects, etc.) (1898), non-public universities (1911), international associations (1919) and trade unions (1921) were recognised. The status of nonprofit organisations was defined by the Law of 27 June 1921 on the nonprofit organisations, the foundations, the european political parties and the european political foundations, which provided organisations with a legal status. Following the law, there was a significant increase in the number of non-profit organisations.

This trend gained momentum in the 1970s, fueled by a renewed democratic spirit and the challenges public authorities faced in addressing societal needs amid a welfare state crisis. A new wave of micro-level associations emerged to tackle tangible issues with limited resources. In 1972, the Red Cross initiated the Association pour le Volontariat to better coordinate voluntary actions, creating a national structure inspired by the Anglo-Saxon model, which was regionalized two years later with six regional centers in Wallonia. Trans-Mission was also established to organize international volunteering, while Flanders saw the creation of Het Platform voor Voluntariaat in 1977. By the 1990s, public awareness of the sector’s importance grew, though its impact remains difficult to quantify due to limited studies.

However, the main accomplishment in the volunteering sector has been the establishment of the law setting the rights of volunteering, the Law of 27 December 2005 on the rights of volunteers (Loi du 3 Juillet 2005 relative aux droits des volontaires), which finally created a clear legal framework both for volunteers and voluntary organisations.At the end of the 19th century, Belgian society was characterised by the principles of subsidiarity and pillarisation. 

Starting in the late 19th century, Belgium became structured around three major ideological networks: Catholic, Socialist, Liberal. Each created its own associations, social welfare organizations, youth movements, mutual societies, newspapers, etc. This gave rise to pillar-based volunteer work, often in competition but also driving very strong associative development.

Main concepts

There are two concepts regarding volunteer work in Belgium : "Bénévolat" and "Volontariat". These two concepts have been for a long time used as synonyms in Belgium. However, the 2005 law on volunteering, has established a distinction between the two notions. 

The law officialises the term “volunteering” as being an activity defined by the law. All other non-remunerated activities would have to be qualified as Bénévolat. However, the meaning of the term can slightly change according to the context. Sometimes it is interpreted in the sense of the law while sometime is interpreted more broadly or in a more restricted way. Therefore, the notion of volunteering does not always have the same meaning in the current language as well as in literature. The volunteering situations analysed in the main research papers focussing on volunteering are sometimes very different. 

The law on the rights of volunteers has been created with the intent to set up a common definition which would be shared by all the stakeholders involved in volunteering. The definition intends to reduce to a maximum the risks due to ambiguities and delimit the precise meaning of volunteering.

The description of volunteering from the relevant Law (2005) is as follows:

• Volunteering is unpaid. Volunteers perform volunteering activities without receiving any payment. Although volunteering is unpaid, volunteers can be given a limited amount of money, to reimburse their expenses or as a package, for costs to be made;
• Volunteering does not involve coercion. A volunteer commits him/herself without any obligation; he or she cannot be forced to perform an activity. Although persons can-not be forced to volunteer, the moment they engage in some type of voluntary activity, a kind of (juridical) relationship (with mutual rights and duties) is established;
• Volunteering is undertaken for others or for the society. Volunteering means being of use to others who are not family or acquaintances, in an organisation or for society in general; and
• There should always be a distinction between volunteering and professional activities. A volunteer cannot perform the same activity both as an employee and as a volunteer for the same employer. A person can volunteer within his own organisation provided that a dear distinction is made between the activity he performs as paid staff, and the activity he performs as a volunteer.There is no specific definition of youth volunteering.