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1. Historical developments

2. Definition(s) and concepts

Historical developments

Historical developments

The Ministry of Education, Culture and Science stimulated the development of various ways to let young people get acquainted with voluntary work under the title 'civic internship' (maatschappelijke stage) (2007-2020). From the schoolyear 2011-2012 the introduction of civic internship was obligatory in vocational and secondary education, however as of the schoolyear 2014-2015 this obligation was removed and the decision to have civic internship as part of their curriculum was left to the schools. In those years, the voluntary civic activities of young people got a lot of attention. The general opinion was that a favourable image among young people would stimulate them automatically to participate in voluntary activities. As a result, there was an increase of marketing campaigns, that aimed at improving the image of voluntary work.

In the advice 'Investing around children', the Council for Health and Society (Raad voor Gezondheid en Samenleving) had introduced the concept of the pedagogical society and in 2012 it was a common term. The advice formed an important basis for the programme entitled voluntary commitment for and by youth and families (Vrijwillige inzet voor en door Jeugd en Gezin). It was a three year programme (2011-2013) that stimulated the active role of citizens in civil societies such as neighbourhoods and districts in towns and villages, in parenting and growing up to strengthen a pedagogical civil society. The programme was financed by ZonMw The Netherlands Organization  for Health Research and Development, commissioned by the Ministry of Health, Welfare and Sport and the Dutch Research Council, NWO. The intention of the programme was to improve co-operation and exchange between municipalities, youth care, welfare and volunteer organizations in the area of active citizenship about parenting and growing up. It was a successful programme that resulted in a great many projects, products and research. The last issue of the magazine Voluntary Activities (Vrijwillige Inzet) (not available online) highlights all aspects of the programme, the use of it, and its possible follow-up. In one article of the magazine Lucas Meijs and Micha de Winter concluded that 'the pedagogical civil society is completely self-evident' in this initiative

Statistics Netherlands (CBS) published the research paper in 2018 entitled Voluntary work: activities, duration and motives (Vrijwilligerswerk: activiteiten, duur en motieven). In the paper the responses of 45,695 persons over a period of six years (2012-2017) were analysed. The research paper pointed to strong differences between population groups:

• Volunteers are more likely to be found in the middle-aged groups;
• Men and women spend about the same time in voluntary work, but differ in the type of organizations they are active in: Women are twice as active in schools and in care, while men are more active in the area of sport and youth work. Men put more time in voluntary work then women;
• Higher educated people are more active as a volunteer then lower educated people, be it for less hours a week;
• More than half of the volunteers with a Dutch background do voluntary work, while people with a Western and non-Western migration background are much less active.
• People of religious or philosophical denomination are more active than others, of which members of the Protestants Church Netherlands and Reformed Church are the most active.
• In less urbanized communities more volunteers are active than in strongly urbanized communities.

In conclusion, results of the research show that level of education, age and religious denomination are most relevant for doing voluntary work in the Netherlands. The majority of volunteers are regularly working as a volunteer, mostly every week. Voluntary work is often incidental for the neighbourhood and for schools. Young people in the ages of 15 to 19 are more often incidentally active than older people. Young volunteers (15-19) mostly organize activities, give training or ‘something else – not specified’. Young people are less inclined to continue the voluntary work than older people.

Percentage of young people volunteering

On avarage, 45% of people between 15 and 25 years old engage in voluntary work in the Netherlands in the last years (Statistics Netherlands). In 2021, there was a decrease which can probably be explained by the covid-pandemic. With 38% of young people volunteering in 2021, there last years are marked by an increase to 41% in 2022 and 46% in 2023. Also in 2021, most young people, at almost 15%, is active in a sports club. More than 7% are active in school and almost 6% in youth work. The percentage of young people who do voluntary work in politics and in their own neighborhood is low at 0.8% and 1.5% respectively (Statistics Netherlands).The percantage of young people who intend to still volunteering next year is lower than among other age groups, namely 46% (Statistics Netherlands).

Research done by Motivaction (April 2023) by order of NOV shows that for older generations values such as solidarity, helping others and contributing to society are an important impulse for volunteering. Younger generations tend to focus more on individualistic values: more recognition and appreciation for the work within the voluntary organization. Also they would like more guidance, feedback on performance, personal development and to learn new skills.

Main concepts

Volunteering, voluntary activities, voluntary work

The Dutch government (Rijksoverheid) defines voluntary work as something 'that you do unpaid and without obligation, for others or for society'. In addition, three criteria are identified:

1. It is in the general interest or in a particular social interest
2. It is not for profit
3. It does not replace a paid job

Voluntary work is defined by Knowledge Centre for Social Development, Movisie, as: 'Voluntary work is work that gets done unpaid and voluntarily for the benefit of other people or the (quality of) the society in general, in an organized setting.'

In their theme card on volunteering (2016, not available online), Movisie talks about volunteering in a broader sense, also including non-formal activities such as citizens initiatives. The focus was on all organized forms of volunteering, whereas starting from 2015 citizens are supposed to take the initiative themselves. That meant a change in the main functions and focal points of municipalities. They now act as brokers to facilitate citizens in their own initiatives. Two developments are significant, both asking for the full participation of all citizens:

• In the care for people that have care needs and demands the support given is the link to the social systems of a client. A person’s own coping competences and sense of responsibility are important factors in this form of volunteering.

• Also, there is attention for the development of active citizenship and a so-called ‘Do-democracy’ wherein citizen’s own initiatives are being stimulated.

   

To define voluntary work Movisie, Netherlands centre for social development, uses the 2008 definition of Civiq (the former organization on volunteering, now part of Movisie): 'Voluntary work is work that gets done unpaid and voluntarily for the benefit of other people or the (quality of) the society in general, in an organized setting.'

In their theme card on volunteering (april 2016) Movisie talks about volunteering in a broader sense, also including non-formal activities such as citizens initiatives. Six years ago the focus was on all organized forms of volunteering, whereas starting from 2015 citizens are supposed to take the initiative themselves. That meant a change in the main functions and focal points of municipalities. They now act as brokers to facilitate citizens in their own initiatives. Two developments are significant, both asking for the full participation of all citizens:

• In the care for people that have care needs and demands the support given is the link to the social systems of a client. A person’s own coping competences and sense of responsibility are important factors in this form of volunteering.
• Also there is attention for the development of active citizenship and a so-called ‘Do-democracy’ wherein citizen’s own initiatives are being stimulated.

Emphasising that volunteering is participating, Movisie developed a theme card about Participation (2017). It describes volunteering and voluntary work as a means of participating in society. Doing voluntary work for example, provides a sense of esteem and lesser feelings of stress and loneliness. In Chapter 5 Participation all aspects of youth participation are described.