Volunteers are the hidden heroes of our societies. Today is International Volunteer Day, which provides an opportunity to celebrate their role in shaping our communities. It is also an opportunity to ask ourselves how we can encourage, mobilise and steer volunteer efforts to drive the social economy and local development more generally.
As the former mayor of Moriyama City, home to 85,000 people in the Shiga prefecture of Japan, I have seen first-hand the efforts of volunteers and their impact on local communities as well as the volunteers themselves, allowing me to realise the win-win nature of volunteering.
For example, Kodomo Shokudo (translated as “children’s cafeteria”) – a Japanese volunteer initiative that helps children who suffer from poverty, neglect, or abuse by providing warm meals–offers both societal and personal benefits. The societal benefit stems from supporting children and families within local communities, while personal benefits arise through the sense of connectivity and joy one feels from seeing the children’s happy faces. Kodomo Shokudo has been spreading across Japan, including Moriyama City, with a total of 7,363 cafeterias that support all generations, not only children.
Strength in numbers or in spirit?
Globally, 862 million people are volunteers, almost 15% of the population, making contributions worth 2.4% of global GDP. Much of that value added is local, supporting better social outcomes and stronger, more inclusive communities. But is also good for the volunteers themselves: volunteering is linked to improved health and well-being, including increased longevity, adoption of healthy lifestyles and reduction in depression and stress.
While volunteer rates in developed countries have been in decline, due to changes in socio-economic conditions, ageing populations and shifting values, the spirit of volunteerism remains strong.
In the United Kingdom (UK), formal volunteering (through organisations), has long been in decline, while informal volunteering (between individuals without an organisation) increased significantly during the COVID-19 pandemic, from 28% in 2019 to 33% in 2020. In response to the National Health Service’s (NHS) call for Mutual Aid amid the COVID-19 outbreak, 750,000 volunteers came forward. 165,000 people performed over 1.8 million informal volunteer activities, and more than 4,000 voluntary organisations were formed to provide services such as shopping for the elderly. It is clear that the spirit of volunteerism remains powerful in the UK, especially in times of crisis, despite falling numbers of formal volunteers.
Participation rate of formal and informal volunteers in the UK
In Japan, volunteer participation rates have also been dwindling, especially because COVID-19 greatly affected the elderly population who have long been at the centre of Japan’s volunteer activities. However, there have recently been new signs of volunteerism in Japan, marked by the shift from “neighbourhood association based” and “theme-based” volunteering (e.g., welfare, environment) to “new community-based” volunteering, where individuals are increasingly engaging in volunteer activities to seek new communities and human connections, exemplifying that the spirit of volunteerism may also be strong among the Japanese.
The Oumi Fishing Association, which is a volunteer organisation devoted to the cleaning the largest lake in Japan, Lake Biwa, has witnessed a steady increase of young volunteers since the pandemic, including students, professional football players, and artists. Individuals are increasingly finding joy in picking up trash and contributing to the environment with each other, which creates new communities and human connections among the volunteers. Miyuki Takeda, one of the organisation’s representatives, commented that “the youth are searching for their own new communities where they can connect with each other, different from their communities in university or work.”
Re-energising the community
Although the spirit of volunteerism remains, it needs to be nurtured, organised and directed to maximise its value and guard against further decline. Part of that is about recognising and celebrating its value. In the UK, that value has been estimated at GBP 37,000 per person, and in the US volunteering is reportedly worth USD 167 billion.
But there is much more we can do, which is why the OECD is currently conducting an international comparison of volunteerism and its support frameworks between European countries and Japan.
The research has already highlighted some powerful policies. Italy, for example, is revitalising volunteer activities by implementing the 2017 Third Sector Law, which provides financial support such as tax benefits for organisations including those related to volunteering, and establishes of 49 intermediary support entities for volunteers and volunteer organisations. France, Germany, and Italy have also introduced national volunteering platforms to further encourage younger generations to engage in volunteering. And today the baton is being passed from Trondheim (Norway) to Trento (Italy). the 2024 European Volunteering Capital.
Conclusion
As we celebrate International Volunteer Day today, it is crucial to acknowledge that while volunteer participation rates may be on a general decline, the spirit of volunteerism remains strong as individuals are increasingly seeking new forms of communities and human connections. This must be tapped into to reactivate volunteerism for local development, considering its huge benefits. However, doing so will require new support frameworks and means of organising that preserves the joy and sense of connection one feels when helping others within their societies.
As the former CEO of Scotland Volunteer, George Thompson, states, “what our human hearts yearn for is connection, authenticity, trust, joy, community, giving and receiving. Let us focus on the civic space and empower and support citizens to connect and find a common purpose”.
OECD work to find out more:
What is the social and solidarity economy? A review of concepts
Social economy and the COVID-19 crisis: current and future roles
Legal frameworks for the social and solidarity economy
OECD Recommendation on the Social and Solidarity Economy and Social Innovation
Kazuhiro Miyamoto is a “practitioner in residence” with the Local Development Forum in the OECD Centre for Entrepreneurship, SMEs, Cities and Regions. He will be at the OECD for a year to complete a research project on the international comparison of volunteerism and its support frameworks. He was the mayor of Moriyama City, located in Japan’s Shiga Prefecture, for 12 years until February 2023. Moriyama City has been characterized as a "liveable city”, due to high volunteer participation rates, which is his leading motivation for conducting this research project. He holds a Bachelor of Engineering of Architecture from the University of Tokyo, and formerly worked at Japan’s Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism (MLIT) for 15 years.
If you are aware of any good practices on volunteerism and its support frameworks in your city, please let us know!
Moe Shiojiri is a Policy Analysis and Advice intern at the Centre for Entrepreneurship, SMEs, Cities and Regions. She is currently pursuing a master’s degree in international and development studies at the Geneva Graduate Institute. She has previously worked with the OECD, specifically with the OECD Development Centre as a graduate student researcher where she examined the relationship between public policies on climate change and internal migration, and with the OECD Tokyo Centre as a public affairs and communications intern during her undergraduate years. She holds a bachelor’s degree in political science from Sophia University.
Japan is a country that experiences many natural disasters, and once a disaster occurs, a huge number of volunteers gather to help the victims. We believe that being active in such activities is part of the Japanese national character, and we are proud of it. Volunteer work is an expression of human kindness and is an important activity that creates many bonds. Thank you for your wonderful article. Msamichi Ando from Japan