2.1 General context
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Historical Developments
There is limited existing information on the current situation of the volunteering activities in Greece. One trustful source we can refer to, is a research by the European Union. According to the Eurobarometer which estimated the volunteering in the Sports sector (engagement in voluntary work that supports sporting activities) the degree of volunteering in Greece is considerably low (approximately 3 %). The same report mentioned that the majority of Greek volunteers in Sports (55%), contribute to volunteering activities only occasionally, at individual events. There are no official national sources of statistical information about volunteering in Greece, which prevents someone from summarising the evidence and identifying trends about the current status of the volunteers.
During the previous years, volunteers were probably few, since the authorities did not publish any special report on this topic. However, according to a Study on Volunteering in the European Union and particular, regarding Greece, the concept of organised volunteering in Greece was first introduced in 1913, when the Institution for disabled children (PIKPA) was founded with a mission to manage the needs of the disabled children of the World War I.
Main concepts
In 2020, the National Institute of Labour and Human Resources, a legal entity under private law, supervised by the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs, published the report “Volunteering in Greece: existing situation and proposals”. The report discusses the status of voluntary activities in Greece. According to the report, the reasons why individuals participate in volunteering vary, but there is also a basic framework of motivation, which seems to apply in all cases. Therefore, the incentives to participate in voluntary actions vary to some extent, depending on age and gender.
The definition of volunteering was mentioned in the content of the law 4662/2021: ‘The voluntary commitment of the volunteer to offer work and services for the benefit of society as a whole without remuneration or other material consideration’.