Building a Vibrant Civil Society through Volunteerism

One of the main driving forces behind a dynamic society is volunteerism.  In growing communities, providing services to others and becoming an integral part of the civil society creates social cohesion and facilitates positive change.  Encouraging volunteer initiatives is an effective approach for civil societies to promote capable and motivated individuals and institutions striving toward democratic development and good citizenship.

In late 2008, the Jordanian East and West Center for Human Resources Development (WE Center), supported by the Middle East Partnership Initiative (MEPI) local grants program, organized a 4-day Volunteerism Workshop for 23 participants from 12 civil society organizations (CSOs) from throughout the Kingdom.  Participants enjoyed learning about concepts of volunteerism and civil society, managing and institutionalizing voluntary work, and methods of generating creative ideas on volunteerism.  Leading volunteer organizations offered real-life experiences of volunteer work to increase participants’ enthusiasm to apply the concepts they learned.

“Through this project, the WE Center aims at spreading the culture of volunteerism in the community and urging civil society organizations to ripen their concept of voluntary work," stated Director of the WE Center Mahmoud Hishmeh.  The WE Center is a not-for-profit, non-governmental organization that advances the capability and efficiency of individuals and institutions to help build dialogue among members of the Jordanian society through peaceful and creative projects, such as those that empower volunteerism.

The first phase of the project concluded with a charter that outlined steps to institutionalize volunteer work, which will be applied within six months by each of the 12 participating CSOs.  Additionally, each organization will apply two volunteer initiatives that were produced by member participants.  A template application for volunteering was another outcome of the project.  The WE Center took the leading effort in applying this project and established a special ‘Volunteer’ unit, to include more than 100 male and female volunteers from all of country’s governorates.  The project’s next phase will be the support, assessment, and evaluation of each CSO’s plan to build volunteer capacity within its organization.

The project was covered in the local press including Addustour Article One, Addustour Article Two, Alghad Article One, and Alghad Article Two.