Volunteering: its unintended consequences

By John McCormick from NICVA

Published on 04 Feb 2008

The next seminar in the ESRC Public Policy series seeks to explore the less tangible impacts of volunteering.

Event Date:

Wednesday 13 February 2008

Start Time:

12.30

End Time:

02.00

Location:

NICVA- Belfast

Cost:

Event Type:

Event

The benefits an individual accrues from being involved in voluntary activity are well documented but the wider; often less tangible impacts of volunteerism are not as well developed. The Volunteer Development Agency’s report into volunteering, It’s All About Time, found that as a consequence of volunteering an individual’s circle of friends and their engagement with individuals from the opposite community demonstrably increased compared to non-volunteers.

However does the fact that there has been some evidence to suggest that volunteers are exposed to much more engagement with members of the opposite community suggest as a group of individuals they are more tolerant and open to change?

This question and many more will be answered by two leading figures in the field: Dr David Herbert, The Open University; and Dr Steven Howlett, Senior Lecturer at the School of Business and Social Sciences, University of Roehampton. Wendy Osborne, Director, of the Volunteer Development Agency, will provide a policy response and look at what it all means for the forthcoming Volunteering Strategy for Northern Ireland.

Registration

The seminar will be held in NICVA on Wednesday 13 February 2008. Registration is at 12.00pm and the seminar will start at 12.30pm and run until 2.00pm (lunch will be available from 12.00pm). To register please contact the ESRC Knowledge Transfer Team at knowledgetransfer@esrc.ac.uk.

Other seminars

This seminar is the second in a series of three seminars on 'Active Citizenship and Community Relations'. The aim of the seminars is to explore further linkages between a strong and vibrant civil society and the development of improved relations between the two communities in Northern Ireland: civic participation and volunteerism. However, the seminars will also ask some fundamental and difficult questions such as whether or not civil society is sufficiently prepared, resourced and aware of the role it is expected to play. As many commentators have suggested, civil society is no less immune from the prejudices and divisions that blight the rest of society in Northern Ireland and in some cases it can be said to be exacerbating them.

The first seminar looked at public participation and included inputs from Nicholas Acheson, University of Ulster and Edward Andersson from INVOLVE. A publication will be produced at the end of the series covering each of the seminars.