2.1 General context
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Historical developments
During the communist regime, mandatory voluntary 'patriotic' work was organised for pupils in high schools and for students, mainly in agriculture for manual and non-qualified work. This context generated the rejection of voluntary work during the 90s and early 2000. After 2000 the development of the sector was slow, and it remains in great proportion under documented (there is little or no research concerning this field). However, in the last decade volunteering popularity increased constantly. According to the Youth Barometer commissioned by the Ministry of Youth and Sports in 2020, 52% of young people have been participating in volunteering activities, compared to only 13% in 2012.
Main concepts
In accordance with the Volunteering Law (Legea no. 78/2014 privind reglementarea activitatii de voluntariat în România), the voluntary activity represents the participation of a natural person to general interest activities for the use of other persons and for the general use of the society, without remuneration. The host organisation of a volunteer can only be a public institution or an NGO (non-profit organisation). Youth volunteering is not defined differently from the general volunteering activity.