There is no National Programme for Youth Volunteering in Bosnia and Herzegovina and as a response to the growing need and requirements of the processes of promotion and development of volunteering in BiH, local youth NGO – Youth Communication Centre supported the development of volunteering infrastructure since 2005. This resulted in the development of local volunteer services in different cities, which formed a network called “Volontiram!” There are currently 14 local volunteer services under the network, established across the country, in Banja Luka, Bihac, Bijeljina, Brcko, Bugojno, Derventa, Doboj, Mostar, Mrkonjic Grad, Sarajevo, Srebrenica, Trebinje, Tuzla and Zenica.

A Local Volunteer Service (LVS) represents a basic structure for the encouragement of the citizens to volunteer (in accordance with the main principles of organised work with volunteers) and for the creation of volunteering programmes in accordance with the needs of the community in which they live.

The vision of the „Volontiram!“ Network is a humane and equal democratic society which actively includes its citizens in society processes. „Volontiram!“ is an informal network of local voluntary services in BiH, which contributes to the development of social capacities through activities of promotion and development of volunteering, as a condition for the improvement of the quality of life and for the development of the society altogether.

Strategic objectives of the “Volontiram!” Network:

1. Established and applied legal framework of volunteering in BiH;

2. Volunteering recognised and accepted as a positive social value;

3. Established unitary system of volunteering management in BiH;

4. Strong “Volontiram!” network that consists of sustainable local voluntary services in BiH;

5. “Volontiram!” Network, recognised as the centre for information, exchange of experiences and development of innovative methodologies in the area of volunteering at national and international level.

Young people, who were focus group participants, rarely take part in the volunteer activities. Although, most respondents stated that they at least once participated in certain activities related to environmental protection and ecology, these were mostly short-term activities lasting one or two days at most, or they were focused on direct assistance to the local community, such as assistance in flood relief or humanitarian drives.

Young people highlight general inactivity and the lack of will as the reason for not participating in volunteer activities, although activities are an opportunity to gain needed work experience.

Focus groups participants who participated as volunteers in such activities state that they had complete and clear information about those activities. They knew who organized given activities, what their goals were, how those goals would be achieved, etc. When they thought they were not sufficiently informed, young people actively looked for information and managed to get the information they required.

Volunteering of youth in BiH is defined by volunteering laws adopted at level of two entities (RS and FBiH) and at the level of BD BiH.

Law on Volunteering in RS

The RS People’s Assembly adopted Law on Volunteering in 2008 (Official Gazette of RS, No. 73/08). In 2013, the RS People’s Assembly adopted a new Law on Volunteering (over 50% of previous law has been changed – Official Gazette of RS, No. 89/13) that is viewed as the most flexible and adequate Law on Volunteering in the Balkan region. The new Law has been drafted to respond to many disadvantages identified as obstacles to adequate Law implementation.

The Law covers the basic definitions related to volunteering, conditions for volunteering, principles for organising volunteering, conditions for volunteering contract, rights and obligations of volunteers and volunteering organisers, recognition, support and development of volunteering and penalty provisions for possible situations of law violations.

The terms “volunteer” and “volunteering” are used only by this Law, but there are still different understandings of what volunteer or volunteering is. That is the consequence of previous Labour Laws (at all governmental levels in the country) that also used this term for non-paid internship. The present Labour Law (Zakon o radu) is not using this term anymore, however the Law on Volunteering defined the cases that cannot be defined as volunteering:

• Practical work and professional development without employment contract (non-paid internship, defined by the Labour Law);

• The performance of services or activities that a person is obliged to provide to another person;

• Execution of courts and other decisions of the competent authorities;

• The performance of services or activities common in the family, friendly and neighborly relations;

• The performance of services or activities that relates to donation of properties and money or providing the properties for usage free of charge.

The Law define volunteering as organised activity in the interest and common benefit of the RS that contributes to improvement of living quality, active citizens’ participation and development of more humanistic and more equal democratic society. Nevertheless, the Law highlights three ultimate characteristics of volunteering as activity:

1. It is done by free will and on voluntary basis;

2. It provides aid to another person, or it is for common benefit and interest;

3. It is not motivated by gaining of financial benefits or any other materialistic benefits.

According to the Law, a volunteer can be any person, domestic or foreign, aged 15 and above. Therefore, the Law covers youth volunteering (youth aged 15 – 30), even that is not explicitly defined as such. However, there are also strict principles that define which conditions should be met to engage the juveniles as volunteers (aged 15 – 18).

Regarding the timeline of volunteering, Law defines that volunteer can be engaged maximum 30 working hours per week.

The organisers of volunteering may be any legal person registered as citizens’ association or foundation, any republic or local governmental body, public institution, private institution that works in area of health and education and any religious community. In addition, the Law also recognized trends in developed countries such as corporate volunteering, and therefore it also defines which conditions should be met to engage profitable companies as volunteering organisers.

The Law recognized importance of establishing the effective mechanisms of promotion and information sharing, resource development, networking, and coordination in the field of volunteering. Therefore, the Law defines local volunteer services as structures with role of informing and connecting the citizens interested in volunteering with adequate volunteering activity or volunteering organizer. These structures can be established only within the non-profit legal person, and it provides its services free of charge.

The volunteer contract is not obligatory written form that defined contractual rights and obligations between volunteer and volunteering organisers. However, it is obligatory when beneficiaries of volunteering activities are those recognized as part of vulnerable groups of citizens (children, persons with physical disabilities, persons with mental difficulties, elderly, medical patients, and people who completely or partially lost their working capabilities). Also, the volunteer contract is obligatory when volunteering organisers engage juveniles as volunteers.

Even when volunteering activity is unpaid activity, the Law defines possible situations for financial compensation of volunteers’ costs incurred in direct relation to volunteering. These costs could be costs of travel and food, purchase of working clothes, equipment, and tools for protection during the volunteering, costs of medical services and vaccines, costs of trainings, etc. Financial compensation of volunteers’ costs is not obligatory, and therefore it is subject to the agreement between volunteers and volunteering organisers.

In respect of recognition, support and development of volunteering, the Law defines various mechanisms that do not exclude other mechanisms not set out in the Law:

• Strategies and policies at the levels of RS and local municipalities;

• Support to establishment, work and networking of local volunteer services;

• Rewarding the legal and individual persons that significantly contributed to the development of volunteering at the RS or local level (republic and local rewards for volunteering);

• Transfer of role and importance of volunteering to children and youth through formal and non-formal education;

• Possibility of financial donations by profitable sector to volunteering organisers with the purpose of support to the development and promotion of volunteering;

• Establishment of unique volunteers’ ID that records all volunteer engagements and gained competencies and skills (based on long-life learning competencies defined at the level of EU).

Administrative control of the Law implementation is carried by the Ministry of Family, Youth and Sports and inspection control is carried by the Republic Administration for Inspection Affairs. At the end, the Law defines penal provisions for possible law violations.

Law on Volunteering in FBiH 

As the Law on Volunteering in FBiH is similar to the Law on Volunteering in RS, only the differences between these two Laws will be highlighted.

The Law on Volunteering in FBiH has been adopted in 2012. 

The Law covers the basic definitions related to volunteering: conditions for volunteering, principles for organising volunteering, support measures to volunteering, volunteer contract, rights and obligations of volunteers and volunteering organisers, conditions for conclusion of volunteer contract, managing the records on volunteering, reporting on volunteering, using the volunteer ID, issuing the confirmation letter on volunteering, administrative control on the Law implementation and penalty provisions for possible law violations.

Differences between the volunteering laws in FBiH and RS:

• Religious communities, private institutions operating in the field of health and education and profitable sector (corporate volunteering) are not defined as volunteering organisers under the FBiH Law;

• The FBiH Law defines that “long-term volunteering” is continuous volunteering activity longer than 240 hours in a period of minimum three months. This type of volunteering is recognized as official working experience proved with the confirmation letter issued by the Ministry of Justice as administrative control body, after the end of volunteering activity. Therefore, the FBiH Law defines that each organiser of long-term volunteering is required to obtain accreditation for conducting the long-term volunteering valid for period of five years and issued by the Ministry.

• The FBH Law defines volunteer ID as the personal document of volunteers engaged only in long-term volunteering activities. The confirmation letter on volunteering is not obligatory document, and it is issued upon request of a volunteer for any type of volunteering (short or long-term);

• The FBH Law defines that volunteering organisers are obliged to submit annual report on volunteering to the Ministry of Justice;

• The FBH Law defines a volunteer contract as obligatory in all situations and volunteering organisers are obliged to submit a copy of each volunteer contract to the FBiH Ministry of Justice (in case of long-term volunteering only);

• The FBH Law defines only the Reward for volunteering and recognition of long-term volunteering as working experience and mechanism for recognition, support and development of volunteering.

BD Law on Volunteering  

The BD Law on Volunteering  has been adopted in 2018.

Similar to the RS Law on Volunteering  and the FBiH Law on Volunteering, the BD Law on Volunteering covers the basic principles of volunteering: conditions for volunteering, principles for organising volunteering, support measures to volunteering, volunteer contract, rights and obligations of volunteers and volunteering organisers, conditions for conclusion of volunteer contract, managing the records on volunteering, reporting on volunteering, using the volunteer ID, issuing the confirmation letter on volunteering, administrative control on the Law implementation and penalty provisions for possible law violations.

There are no significant differences between the BD Law on Volunteering and the RS Law on Volunteering and the FBiH Law on Volunteering. 

Other laws and regulations

It is important to mention other laws and regulations addressing volunteering:

• RS Law on University Education defines possibilities to obtain the ECTS points through volunteering. Therefore, all public universities and certain number of private universities drafted and adopted the Rules and Procedures on students’ volunteering activities for the purposes of obtaining the ECTS points through volunteering.

• FBiH Youth Law defines that one of its goals is strengthening youth volunteering.

• BD Youth Law defines that one of the obligations of youth organisations is the affirmation of youth volunteering.