Seminar: “Mobility of young people – Opportunities and obstacles for cross-border volunteering for young people, particularly with fewer opportunities” - Introduction into the topic- European Youth Centre, Strasbourg December 2011 Maria – Carmen Pantea, PhD URL:

Who are the ‘young people with fewer opportunities’? Traditionally excluded social groups + others? Volunteering: accessible to those already having resources WHY people DO volunteer  WHY people do NOT volunteer Victimising approach (recipients of others’ volunteering) Yet, there are disadvantaged young people who do volunteer European Year for combating poverty and social exclusion … European Year of Volunteering. Young people with fewer opportunities Why volunteering abroad matters? Barriers for young people Challenges for NGOs Challenges for research This Seminar

Does it really worth to go away to volunteer? - Soft skills, transferable on the labour market - Intercultural learning. Yet, need for evidence (Simpson, 2004; Thomas, 2001). Volunteering  NFE  pedagogical questions: - strategies to increase the learning potential of volunteering - the changing nature of volunteering - learning is reciprocal - mechanisms of inclusion - quality management in cross border volunteering. Young people with fewer opportunities Why volunteering abroad matters? Barriers for young people Challenges for NGOs Challenges for research This Seminar

Need to broaden the understanding of obstacles: -Barriers of access -Barriers during the process -Potentially, barriers in making use of the volunteering experience after their stage is over. Young people with fewer opportunities Why volunteering abroad matters? Barriers for young people Challenges for NGOs Challenges for research This Seminar

Barriers of access Access to information Socio-economic barriers (including migration, parents’ views). Time anxiety and ‘uncertainty about future’ (Hustinx, 2010). Psychological barriers. Cultural and historical barriers. Volunteers often self select themselves. But, organisations also may pose their own barriers. Young people with fewer opportunities Why volunteering abroad matters? Barriers for young people Challenges for NGOs Challenges for research This Seminar

Barriers ‘in the process’ Risk for misuses of volunteering during the crisis: -Replacing employment -Replacing social services => burnout (Kulik, 2007) => feeling trapped in volunteering. What happens with disadvantaged young people once they volunteer? Young people with fewer opportunities Why volunteering abroad matters? Barriers for young people Challenges for NGOs Challenges for research This Seminar

Barriers in using of volunteering experience Do disadvantaged young people benefit more from volunteering experiences? Or their initial vulnerability is likely to be reproduced? Indicators of barriers after volunteering Need for longitudinal or retrospective studies on the impact Young people with fewer opportunities Why volunteering abroad matters? Barriers for young people Challenges for NGOs Challenges for research This Seminar

What if a triple number of disadvantaged young people decide to become cross-border volunteers tomorrow? Capacity problems Ethical issues Rights and responsibilities Is the volunteering of young people with disadvantages, a responsibility of the third sector alone? Revisit “the State should not interfere” argument. European legal framework on cross-border volunteering. Young people with fewer opportunities Why volunteering abroad matters? Barriers for young people Challenges for NGOs Challenges for research This Seminar

Disciplinary challenges Volunteering calls for interdisciplinary approaches eg. sociology vs. psychology religious vs. secular disciplines research  policy Two approaches (cf. Donmoyer, 2009 ): 1.the ‘traditional’ way: research ABOUT the third sector, for theory development 2.the more radical rethinking of the role of science: research FOR the third sector (practical reasoning). This is what this seminar is about. Young people with fewer opportunities Why volunteering abroad matters? Barriers for young people Challenges for NGOs Challenges for research This Seminar

Objectives and Agenda (I) To have a proactive role in looking for practical solutions that work in real life. To contribute to the broader European debate on volunteers‘ mobility by advancing more precise proposals relevant for European stakeholders in volunteering, including civic organizations across Europe. Young people with fewer opportunities Why volunteering abroad matters? Barriers for young people Challenges for NGOs Challenges for research This Seminar

Objectives and Agenda (II) -to collect new research available on the topic of young volunteers’ mobility; -to take stock of previous events and their recommendations on this topic; -to entice exchange between researchers, practitioners and policy-makers; -to produce recommendations that can feed into the EU and CoE discussions on the related issues. Young people with fewer opportunities Why volunteering abroad matters? Barriers for young people Challenges for NGOs Challenges for research This Seminar

Objectives and Agenda (III) I. Obstacles and opportunities. Incentives and Disincentives II. Learning opportunities and pedagogical challenges III. Rights and responsibilities Presentation of activities of participating organisations IV.Proposals for future developments in cross-border volunteering. Young people with fewer opportunities Why volunteering abroad matters? Barriers for young people Challenges for NGOs Challenges for research This Seminar

Bibliography: Kulik, Liat Explaining Responses to Volunteering: An Ecological Model. Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly 36(2): Hustinx, L I Quit, Therefore I Am? Volunteer Turnover and the Politics of Self- Actualization. Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly. 39(2): Donmoyer, R ‘ Theories About the Role of Theory in Nonprofit and Philanthropic Studies’. Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly 38(4): Simpson, K Dropping out or signing up? The professionalisation of youth travel. Paper presented to the Association of American Geographers Annual Meeting, New Orleans. Thomas, G Human traffic: skills, employers, international volunteers, London:Demos.

Thank you.