By Marian Harkin MEP - 18th November 2011
What better method for these citizens to remain healthy and active than to turn their expertise and accumulated experience to doing good work where it is most needed?
Marian Harkin MEP
Volunteering is a valuable opportunity, allowing people to enhance their skills and experience for future employment, writes Marian Harkin.
The establishment of the EU voluntary humanitarian aid corps (EVHAC) is an admirable expression of citizens’ firmly held belief in the core EU value of solidarity, and is one of many solid legacies of the European year of volunteering 2011.
In its groundbreaking communication on volunteering in the EU, the European commission argued that “the area where Europeans consider that volunteers play the most important role is in the field of solidarity and humanitarian aid work, and the European commission is committed to taking European citizens’ opinions seriously”.
On that basis, the commission quite rightly decided to set up EVHAC, which when established will serve as a body for joint contributions from European volunteers to the humanitarian aid operations of the EU.
The EU has a long track record of providing development aid to regions of the world requiring such assistance, and when EVHAC is up and running it will add still more credibility to the Union’s efforts.
Post-Lisbon, the EU has likewise strived to enhance its role as a global player, and the new organisation should prove a worthwhile addition to this international ambition.
So if it functions as it should, EVHAC will be a major win-win for the EU. It will allow EU volunteers to provide valuable work-hours and experience in regions in need. As the commission aptly puts it, “the deployment of European volunteers is also aimed at strengthening local capacities, an area where volunteering can make a real difference.
The support of volunteers in disaster preparedness and recovery activities will in particular contribute to laying the foundations for sustainable development processes linked to the EU’s pre- and post-crises operations in the area of humanitarian aid.
But let’s not overlook the other side of the coin: the impact such an experience will have on the volunteers themselves. Volunteering, as is widely recognised and celebrated, allows a person to show the very best side of their nature, while often providing them with a valuable opportunity to enhance their skills and experience for future employment or betterment.
This should prove especially valuable to young people, whose energy and enthusiasm will be the lifeblood of EVHAC’s efforts.
However, let’s not overlook the potential contribution of Europe’s older citizens. 2012, after all, has been designated the European year of healthy and active ageing, and numerous policy experts will be turning their minds to finding new and meaningful ways for Europe’s rapidly ageing population to lead fulfilling, purposeful lives after they retire.
What better method for these citizens to remain healthy and active than to turn their expertise and accumulated experience to doing good work where it is most needed?
Overall, EVHAC should prove a fitting legacy to the excellent work that has been done during the course of the European year of volunteering 2011, and adds an impressively global dimension, particularly as the UN will be presenting its global volunteering report in New York in December.
In our work on supporting volunteers in the European parliament, we often like to note that “volunteering is the EU’s greatest source of renewable energy”, and if EVHAC functions as we all hope it well, this message will ring loud and true across the planet.
