miguel buttiġieġ - young people's participation in voluntary work part 2

8/10/2019 Miguel Buttiie - Young People's Participation in Voluntary Work Part 2

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Abstract

Miguel Buttiie

Young people's participation in voluntary work

This study looks at the level of participation of young people in voluntary work. Through the use of

four semi-structured interviews with long time volunteers and comparisons made with other studies,

it tries to identifies both the motivators that push young people towards this sector and the barriers

that may be impeding their involvement. Following the findings extracted through these processes

and also weighing in my own experience, a number of recommendations, on how the young

people's presence within the sector can be improved, are brought forward. A particular closing

remark outlines the fact that unfortunately young people are often times pushed to the sides and left

feeling invisible even in a sector that may well be depending on them.

Diploma Youth and Community Studies

May, 2014


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Contents

Chapter 1 Introduction

1.1 Introduction 4

1.2 Aims 5

1.3 Objectives 6

1.4 Overview of research 6

1.5 Conclusion 7

Chapter 2 Literatur review

2.1 Introduction 8

2.2 Young people 9

2.3 Levels of participation 10

2.4 Voluntary work 11

2.5 What do the studies tell us? 13

2.6 Youth work model 15

2.7 Conclusion 16

Chapter 3 Methodology

3.1 Introduction 17

3.2 Research design and data collection 17

3.3 Interview set-up 18

3.4 Analysing secondary sources and the interviews 19

3.5 Ethical issues 19

3.6 Participant selection 20

3.7 Difficulties and limitations 21

3.8 Conclusion 22

Chapter 4 Data analysis

4.1 Introduction 23

4.2 The interviewees' background 234.3 About youth participation 24

4.4 Conclusion 28


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Chapter 5 Findings, recommendations and conclusion

5.1 Introduction 29

5.2 Findings 29

5.3 Recommendations 31

-5.3.1 With regards to media 31

-5.3.2 With regards to education 32

-5.3.3 With regards to the entities' responsibilities 33

5.4 Conclusion 34

Bibliography 36

Appendices 38

Appendix 1 Consent Form 39

Appendix 2 Interview-guide 40


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Chapter 1

Introduction

1.1 Introduction

In 2004, after resigning from nursing school and quitting a part-time job I was doing at the time, I

simply did not know what to do with all the idle time on my hands, how to go around and get an

employment with my lack of qualifications. But most of all I was at the total mercy of an

inadequate ambition for a meaningful future.

It was during this time that a friend introduced me to the world of voluntary work; relationships

through which I rekindled my ambitions for a better future, an awareness to a reality that was till

then still unknown to me, values and principles that I still hold dear to this day, skills that eventually

landed me my current employment and a sense of purpose serving as my driving force in life. The

impact left by this positive experience ruled that I will be indebted to the concept of voluntary work

and will go on encouraging others to try this experience.

With all of this going on in my life, it was quite disappointing when in 2013, during the presentation

of a study commissioned by the Commissioner of Children and Aenzija gaag, done by Prof

M. Clark and Dr. J. Cassar in 2013, exploring the leisure trends amongst young people in Malta, it

was revealed that only 5.6% of those interviewed said that they were involved with youth

organizations or volunteered.


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1.2 Aims

Several audience members felt uncomfortable with this statistic and questioned whether it was

really representative of the real situation or simply a flaw in the data collection. Some, speculating

on the nature of this low figure, suggested that volunteers themselves, while thinking about

voluntary work might consider it more as a commitment rather than a leisure activity. As for myself,

while appreciating that the methodology used, questions asked, and the period of time during which

the data for this study was gathered could have effected the result, personally I believe that this

number is not far off from reality.

This perception of mine, coming both from the ten years spent in voluntary work all the while

trying to motivate others to get involved (and more often than not failing miserably even though

various different approaches were used), and from observing the struggles that other voluntary

organizations are going through when it comes to recruiting, motivated me to use this research

project to investigate further.

In this research project:

I will be looking at a particular study looking specifically at voluntary work to see whether

the 5.6% is congruent with the results found when exploring this particular topic.

I will also be holding four semi-structured interviews to check if others identifying

themselves as active volunteers

hold this same perspective or not,

understand what attracts them to the work the do,

how they feel that they might be benefiting from the work they do

and what might hinder their involvement.


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1.3 Objectives

According to the findings derived from the studies, the suggestions acquired from the interviews ,

and taking into account my personal experience, I will attempt to outline a number of

recommendations, filtered through the youth work model, on how to reach and encourage more

young people get involved with voluntary organizations.

1.4 Overview of Research

In the Literature Review of this study I will be first clarifying the terminology being used in this

research project; with special focus on the terms young people, voluntary work and

participation, and how different approaches towards these subjects tend to leave us with different

interpretations. Then I would be going into two local studies, carried out in these last three years, of

which one deals specifically with the participation in voluntary organizations while the other

amongst other issues, looks at this participation in a wider context. In the third chapter, that dealing

with the research design and methods I will be discussing the methodology of this whole study; the

reason why I choose to carry the study in a specific way and the motive behind the decision to take

certain approaches in the interviews carried out. In the data analysis chapter I will be discussing the

four interviews, comparing them with each other, contribute with my own experiences and see how

these fare when imposed upon the studies reviewed in chapter two. In the last chapter, in my

recommendations I will be speculating both on existing structures that are already in place trying to

encourage young people to volunteer and the different approaches that can be explored if one wants

to entice those who were never presented with the opportunity to taste voluntary work.


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1.5 Conclusion

Having mapped out how this research project will progress, I will still be approaching this study

with caution. I know that reaching the end chapter will simply mean that somehow I will have to go

back to the very beginning of my voluntary experience; that I will have to sift through my

memories, my feelings, my being who I am today and look at all of this through this newly acquired

lens. Most of all, I will have to go through some beautiful moments such as when I met one of the

first children I worked with when she was just 4 years old in October 2004 and darker times such as

that time in March 2014 when I attended her funeral, three days after she committed suicide; and

remember that her memory might as well be the reason why I am doing this research project.


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Chapter 2

Literature review

2.1 Introduction

With the intent of understanding the level of youth participation in voluntary work, how they may

be benefiting from this work and eventually come up with suggestions on how to be able to

encourage even more young people to give this experience a chance by implementing the theory

behind the youth work model, in this chapter I set out to achieve two particular goals.

First; clear the definitions of that which I was going to tackle since different sources approached

these issues from different angles. I had to make a choice; which definition of youth was I going to

use throughout this research project? What would I be referring to when mentioning levels of

participation? What do I mean when I talk about voluntary work? And most importantly, how can

this be achieved through the youth work approach?

Secondly; I will be going through the findings of two specific studies focusing on the local

situation. The data extrapolated from this process will be used; both in this chapter to help me

become more aware of the bigger picture and in also in an upcoming chapter where it will be

compared with the information given in the interviews carried out.


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2.2 Young people

While birth and death are easy recognizable markers in one's life, what happens in between,

especially keeping in mind that here we are talking about a life segmented in phases, can be up to

interpretations, depending on which angle you are taking to approach the subject. Since this is a

Youth and Community studies project one can state the age bracket presented in the National Youth

Policy, and leave it at that. However considering the challenges pinpointed by research that young

people have to face during their transition from youth to an adult life (National Youth Policy 2010 -

2013, 2010) and how different sources claim that a young person's transition from youth to

adulthood happens at different stages in life I explored what could be meant by young people if I

look at the difference found in different contexts with regards to the same phase of life.

For the purpose of the policy, the revised National Youth Policy that was covering the years from

2010 to 2013, took into consideration those between the ages of 13 and 30 years. This does not

mean that this age group is considered as one humongous group. The policy itself states that some

statements might be intended to refer to all young people falling in that age bracket, while others

relate to particular groups. This might sound all complicated, however, this is in line with how the

European Union refers to young people; with the documents related to youth issues all referring to

youth falling between these seventeen years, with some focusing on more specific age groups.

Outside of this policy, the definition of young people tends to become more blurred. Important

institutions such as the Employment and Training Centre also has their own definition of young

people. As seen in both of their documents concerning specifically young people; the 2008 report

Youth Strategy and the 2006 report The School to Work Transition of Young People in Malta,

both mention a specific age from 16 years to 25 (page 3 and page 20 respectively). This is almost


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similar to the the age taken into consideration by the Ministry of Education and Employment in

their "National Youth Employment Strategy 2015" which is aimed at those between the ages of 15

and 24 years (page 9). Even though it can be argued that ETC as well as the Ministry of Education

and Employment, through these reports aims at assisting young people's transition into a decent

place of work and therefore targets those most suitable for the work market, we can already see a

discrepancy of 8 years between the these policies and those mentioned above even though all of

these are aimed at what we are referring to as young people.

That being said, to add to the confusion, if we were to look at this stage through the legal

perspective we would find that there is nothing specific in the Maltese Laws that defines the period

of youth. Article 150(b) of the Civil Code, Chapter 16 of the laws of Malta states that parental

authority cease by operation of the law when the child reaches the age of eighteen. Therefore upon

reaching this age, a person would no longer be under the responsibility of those who parent. The

minor shall, for civil law purposes, be considered that once he had had his eighteenth birthday, there

was a shift from childhood to adult and will be expected to act and pull his responsibilities like one

and he can expect that legally, for all means and purposes, he will be treated like one.

2.3 Levels of participation

An important part of the process of understanding how young people are getting involved in

voluntary work is to look at their levels of participation in such ventures. Hart (1992) argues that a

person starts to participate in society immediately upon its entry in this world when as a baby

discovers to which extent the world can be influenced with its cries and movements. However, it is

immediately pointed out that this influence varies according to what the individual is permitted to

express by the surrounding culture and family lifestyle.


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As such, during both the data analysis and the recommendations, I had to keep in mind Hart's

(1992) Ladder of Participation metaphor and constantly check whether that what is being analysed

or proposed fits with the recommended highest level of participation; that of having activities

initiated by the young people themselves while sharing decisions with adults. This does not mean

that the participants need to constantly operate at the highest possible levels at all times; different

individuals might opt for varying degrees of involvement. However the important point here is that

the choice should be left in the hands of the young people themselves. Such an opportunity can be

beneficial for those interested in developing their potential as they can all choose to participate at

the highest level of their interest (Hart, 1992).

Unfortunately, it happens that most of the time, the relation between an adult and a young person is

patronizing. While young adults are the ones who will be inheriting the world, they might be the

least to have a say in what goes around. Many projects are designed and run by adults while the

young people are expected to act out predetermined roles (Hart, 1992).

2.4 Voluntary work.

For a number of different reasons, the search for a good definition for terms like voluntary work,

voluntary service and volunteering, have been going for a long time. And while looking at the

studies available on the Maltese voluntary sector I will be doing this very same thing, while doing

my interviews I opted to let the interviewee come up with his own definition. This option was

chosen due to the simple reason that it is especially challenging to find a universal definition

accepted by all those in the field.

We might start to question what is the difference between volunteering and helping out? Is someone

really doing an act of benevolence or simply doing what is expected of him? Can there be paid


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volunteerism? Or does it necessarily have to come all out of the pockets of those involving

themselves? Can a modest remuneration, maybe to cover small expenses, be considered as a

payment and thus negating the positive contribution done through volunteering? And since,

generally speaking, assistance given to one's family is not considered as voluntary work, will we

have to define what constitutes a family before we can decide on this issue? (Manual on the

measurement of volunteer work, 2011).

To further complicate matters, since society in general is only concerned where financial matters are

involved, we see situations where we go through great lengths to sign a Voluntary Organizations

Act, but only do so to regulate the organizations while we ignore the fact that the volunteers

themselves are more than just members. This attitude, unfortunately, leads us to instances where a

volunteer is simply described as a person who provides unremunerated services through or for a

voluntary organization (Voluntary Organization Act, 2007. Page 4). It can be argued that this is

simply done for legal reasons; however we must appreciate that by doing so we are enforcing an

idea about volunteers that might not be entirely true.

It is not uncommon to hear that that which is considered as voluntary work, is in fact, only part of

one's own duty. Either that or simply someone doing someone else's job. That being said, I still

chose to follow a very specific definition of voluntary work which guided me through this research

project. As quoted in the Manual on the measurement of voluntary work (2011), the Estonian

Minister of the Interior (2006) defined voluntary work as The commitment of time, energy or

skills, of one's free will and without being paid. Volunteers help others or undertake activities

mainly for the public benefit and the benefit of society1. In essence, this definition projects the

volunteer as someone who, even though might be doing this for the personal gains derived from

1The quote by the Estonian Minister of the Minister, goes on to say that helping one's family is not to be

considered as a voluntary activity. However I am actively choosing to leave this specific part out the very reason

mentioned above.


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voluntary work, can also be more than just a member of an activity or an organization, but an

individual with altruistic intentions of social solidarity (Azzopardi, 2012).

2.5 What do the studies tell us?

By far, the only study done on the Maltese Islands that dealt specifically about the participation of

Maltese young people in the voluntary sector is the one published by Dr. Andrew Azzopardi in

2012. This study, commissioned by the Commissioner for Voluntary Organizations in collaboration

with The Parliamentary Secretary for Youth and Sport, analysed the current state of voluntary

activity in Malta and provided recommendations how these can be further strengthened.

This study shows very clearly that amongst the many expectations young people desire, they want

to have an active role within their communities rather than wait compliantly for any opportunity

that may come their way, so as to be able to influence the matters that interest and concern them

most. The report goes on to argue how unfortunately, even though the young people themselves

might be quite involved and willing to be part of, or at times even instigate, any change that needs

to happen, this will never be enough if we do not have structures within our society with which we

can support such initiatives.

Exploring further the participation of young people, this study reports that the majority of the

respondents do not currently belong to any organization, with justifications such as not interested or

at least, have other interests, do not have enough time either due to studies or other commitments ,

or simply were never presented with an opportunity. This reporting is quite in line with the 5.6%

participation in youth organizations and volunteering found by Prof. Clark and Dr. Cassar in their

study of leisure trends amongst young people in 2013. On the other hand, curiously enough, the

findings of these reports contrasts heavily with the statistics released by the NSO in 2004 where


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they claimed that youth membership in youth organisations made up 55.1 per cent of youth

population aged between 15-24 years (http://www.nso.gov.mt/statdoc/document_file.aspx?id=1793

accessed 21/04/2014. Page 2). Unfortunately, there is nothing in these reports with which one can

explain this discrepancy. I can only speculate what the reasons can be such as the age brackets taken

into consideration in these reports which I believe factor a major role since more recent reports

include the ages 13 14 where one's involvement might be more restrictive and the ages 25 30

where one might be in that stage in life where the focus is once again shifted on one's own needs,

and that the increase in the spread of technology usage contributed to a situation where young

people are becoming more alienated and isolated.

Further questions in Dr. Azzopardi's study show how the majority of young people are getting

involved may for personal reasons, such as to make new friends and to advance in one's own career.

Unfortunately, the study kept back from exploring the 26.7% of the respondents (Azzopardi, 2012,

page 20) who said that they joined their respective organisations for other reasons.

This information may be quite alarming for those hard core volunteers who believe that they are

doing whatever they are doing for purely altruistic reasons. At this point one has to stop and ponder,

could this be the reason why less young people are getting involved with youth and voluntary

organizations? Could it be that they might be turning to such activities only until they would have

gained whatever pushed them to get involved in the first place and once they feel that they have

reached their goal they quit the organizations?

That being said, one has to keep in mind another point brought forward by Azzopardi; time

available to the individuals. The results showed that the individual's availability played a major role

when it came to their involvement, both when they had to decide whether to get involved or not and

also when they had to decide on their level on involvement (Azzopardi, 2012). This may be due to


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various factors, however both studies we have looked at till now, The participation of Maltese

young people in the voluntary sector and Leisure trends amongst young people in Malta,

identified study and work as the two main reasons for this lack of involvement. This was especially

evident in Prof. Clark and Dr. Cassar study (2013) where even in the participant's suggestions, the

highest ranking solutions suggested to improve one's access to leisure time where to be given less

homework (16.9%) and work less hours (15.9%) (page 19).

2.6 Youth work model

Youth work combats social need principally through programmes of personal and social

development which are geared to the age, range, interests and capacities of the children and

young people who become involved.

(Youth Work A model for effective practices, 2003. Page 5).

When talking about youth work one has to keep in mind that;

it is entirely up to the young people whether they get involved or not, and they can choose

to be involved for whatever reason most apply to them, even if this means that they want to

just have fun and meet new friends,

the young people need to embark on any initiatives from wherever they feel the most

comfortable, they need to feel that their right to make choices is supported, that they can

develop at their own pace and that they can voice their own ideas and attitudes,

and the young people should be respected for their qualities and their abilities,

(Youth Work A model for effective practices, 2003. Page 10).


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2.7 Conclusion

If I had to highlight that which I believe is the most important point in these studies, I would point

out the fact, emphasized by both studies, that youth involvement contributes, as expected, to

personal development, but even more so to a healthier society.

Azzopardi (2012) talks about how voluntary work is about engaging with one's own self and not

just trying to improve life for others. This is corroborated by Clark and Cassar (2013) where they

point out that such time, especially if well spent, helps the young people to get to know themselves

better through the discovery of new aspects of their personalities. This time will also help in the

development of new talents and to foster confidence during any life transitions that young people

might be experiencing. Clark and Cassar (2013) goes on to mention how through these experiences

young people have an opportunity to mature, learn how to interact with others and socialize in

different situations. As such, this becomes a very important learning opportunity for self-expression

and self-control. Nonetheless, the most important aspect of this time could easily be the opportunity

to contribute towards society.

This voluntary participation in whichever aspect of society can be a key contributor to sustainable

development, human rights, good governance and social justice (Talcott, 2011)


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Chapter 3

Methodology

3.1 Introduction

In my quest to understand better young people's participation in voluntary work I had to rely both

on the experience of those who are involved hands on in the sector and the authority of those

studying these issues. The value of, especially the latter, could not be underestimated (Cohen,

Manion and Morrison, 1995). In this study I used a qualitative approach when I conducted my own

semi-structured interviews which were than triangulated against the findings of other secondary

sources.

3.2 Research d esign and data collection

Since both local studies available on this subject, although quite detailed and extensive, took a

quantitative approach, I choose to take a different path. After going through the reports looking for

information relevant for my studies I decided to meet with four volunteers for an interview. I had

already had an idea of what kind of information I was after, but was also interested in gathering this

information in whichever way the interviewee's want to hand it out and not in any pre-determined

manner, as such I opted for semi-structured interviews (Cohen, Manion an Morrison, 1995).

Choosing to go with semi-structured interviews and informing the participants beforehand meant

that I gave myself leeway to probe for more details and prompt the interviewee for clarification

when needed (Cohen, Manion and Morrison, 1995).


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Opting for this method of interviewing meant that while I had the advantage of having an interview

guide at hand, since there were particular topics that I wanted to cover during the conversation,

while also being quite flexible and able to deviate from the guide and follow topical trajectories

(Cohen, 2006). Notifying the interviewees that we will be using this approach assured me that while

I could remain focused on the main points that I was targeting, I had given myself the permission to

stray off from the questions listed and probe into any interesting point that might pop up.

Since I was encouraging respondents to share their opinions and even some of their experiences on

such a subject as voluntary work, which allows ample room for interpretations, I could not allow

myself yes or no question and had to encourage each of the four interviewed to elaborate on their

answers.

3.3 Interview set-up

An interview guide was used for these interviews (see Appendix 2). This guide was used to have some

guidelines concerning the topics that I wanted to cover (Segal and Hersen, Eds., 2010) and it was set up

in such a way so as to be divided into two distinct parts. In the first part of the interview I wanted to get

to know the background of the individual I was interviewing. This was done so as to be in a better

position to understand their experiences and how this could have potentially led them to their

conclusions. In the second part we discussed the interviewee's opinion with regards to youth

participation in voluntary work, what do they perceive as motivating and hindering factors, and what

could be done to motivate the young people to get even more involved. Interviews were afterwards

transcribed with parts of the interviews being used in the following chapters.


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3.4 Analysing secondary sources and the interviews

As stated in a previous chapter, before going into this research I had to set some guidelines for

myself so as to help me choose on which course I was embarking. Amongst other terms, I had to go

through different interpretations of volunteering and voluntary work, participation and young

people. Once I started to form a clear idea of how these concepts intersect, I could go through the

two main studies done locally that looked at young people's involvement in voluntary work. These

quantitative studies were especially helpful as beside providing information such as participatory

percentage, gender distribution and age distribution, they also looked at the (general) reasons of

why would anyone decide to join a voluntary or youth organization and, on the other hand, what is

hindering this participation.

Throughout the interviews I was, more or less, after the same information. However this time I

wanted the experience of those involved in the field, to learn of their hardships, what are the

challenges that they have to face and how do they tackle these issues within their respective fields.

The combination of this information and eventually its filtering through the youth work model

helped me to see a slightly clearer picture and set me in a better position to come up with some

recommendations on how to be able to encourage young people to get involved in voluntary work.

3.5 Ethical issues

While this subject did not touch any of the sensitive subjects that required the Ethics Board

approval, upon reflecting on my experience in voluntary work I realized that if I was going to be

asking someone about his experience as a volunteer I was not going to be simply asking him about


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an experience, a lesson or a story, but it was much more personal than that. Personally, the years I

spent working voluntarily, I was not simply doing it to gain skills, get to know other people or

simply to pass the time; it was during this period of time that I started to get to know myself, to

develop my identity, and to connect with others on a personal level. Keeping this in mind I wanted

to approach whatever the participants shared during the interviews with the utmost respect.

As such I contacted the interviewee's beforehand with the questions so that they could decide

whether they were comfortable answering them or not and since I took the semi-structured

interview approach where at times I diverted from the questions on papers, every time I did so I

made sure to inform the participants that they were free not to answer that particular question. I also

asked all four participants whether I could tape the interview. This was done through the signing of

a consent form (see Appendix 1). After the interview, once the transcription was done, this was sent

to each respective participant so that they could check if they are satisfied with how the interview

turned out, even if during the transcription I made sure to never mention the participant by name nor

give any details which might identify the person.

3.6 Participant selection

When choosing the participants for the interviews I had to set up some criteria so as to be able to

guide myself when it came to the selection process. I wanted to interview volunteers who

had been involved for a number of years (either through direct involvement or through their

chosen lifestyles),

at any time during their period of involvement they were between the ages of 13 and 30,

between themselves they have done voluntary work within different sectors,

their voluntary work is not their main source of income,

they occupy a role within their organizations,


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have experienced volunteering both locally and abroad,

through their voluntary work they are forming part of a group and not acting out as

individuals,

they are still active,

were not aware of the studies done by Azzopardi and by Clark and Cassar as I wanted the

volunteers to draw from their experience rather than other sources,

and I wanted to interview individuals with whom I had had some kind of shared voluntary

experience both for convenience sake and also for the fact that I wanted to have some kind

of rapport with the participant before the interview. For me this was a particularly important

issue as I believe that while talking about past voluntary experience unpleasant memories

can be easily stirred.

3.7 Difficulties and limitations

During this study I had to go toe to toe against two specific difficulties. The first hurdle was the

result of a choice I made at the very beginning where I decided that during the interviews I would

not be providing any definitions of voluntary work but let each interviewee come up with his own

definition. This meant that at times it was quite difficult to come to an understanding on particular

points due to the vastness of the subject while at other times we were on totally different

wavelengths.

The second biggest difficulty I encountered during this project was due to the relative young age of

the subject. This research project title, Young People's Participation in Voluntary Work,

encompass two topics; voluntary work and young people, on which studies are quite limited. As

seen in the literature review chapter, it was only in 2010 with the introduction of the National Youth

Policy that any kind of clarification, with regards to what constitutes a young person came about.


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Previous to this, studies dealing with what today we refer when talking about young people, usually

divided the ages differently, thus making comparisons quite a headache. The same can be said about

the concept of voluntary work. It was only in the recent years that we have seen a shift from a

charitable mentality towards an empowering opportunity. Thus the research done on both subjects is

quite limited. Due to this void, I had quite a difficult time when it came to interpreting the results

gathered from the interviews against the backdrop of any studies previously carried out locally.

Another limiting factors resulted from my experience, or lack of, in the field. I found it especially

difficult to find female volunteers for my interviews. It could be simply a result of me having

specific requirements as listed above, but it could also be a result of the finding of Clark and Cassar

(2013) where they found that 6.5% of the young male are involved in youth organizations or

voluntary groups while only 4.7% females confirmed their involvement (page 33).

3.8 Conclusion

This particular methodology was adopted as I wanted to get close and personal to these issues.

However, being involved personally in voluntary work for almost a decade now, and being aware of

the potential vastness of this subject I appreciate that transferring the findings of these interviews to

scenarios outside those experienced by the participants can be quite tricky.


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Chapter 4

Data analysis

4.1 Introduction

In this research project I focused to gather the information from the experience of four individuals who

are still active within their voluntary organization. This information was then compared against the

findings of the studies mentioned in the literature review chapter. However, in this chapter I will be

analysing the four interviews carried out while also weighing in with my own experiences.

4.2 The interviewees' background.

After taking into consideration all of the criteria, listed in the previous chapter, which were set to

identify the participants, I interviewed four volunteers whose profiles are listed below;

Interviewee A Interviewee B Interviewee C Interviewee D

Nationality Maltese Maltese Maltese Maltese

Age 24 25 30 36

Gender Male Male Male Male

No. of

organizations

involved with /

Been part of

Multiple Multiple Multiple 1

Started doing

voluntary work

At the age of 16 At the age of 19 At the age of 16 With an

organization at the

age of 33. On anindividual level,

while still in his

teens


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Work done in the

voluntary sector

- With children

and teenagers with

disabilities

- With children

and teenagerscoming from

difficult

backgrounds

- With families

within poor

communities

- Within the fair

trade sector

- With families

within poor

communities

- With children

and teenagers withHIV and AIDS

- With children

and teenagers

coming from

difficult

backgrounds

- With addicts

- With the elderly

- With the sick and

dying

- Within the fair

trade sector

- With children

and teenagers

coming from

difficult

backgrounds- With families

within poor

communities

- Within the fair

trade sector

- With political

pressure groups

- Advocacy within

a religious context

- With individuals

coming from a

difficult financial

background

needing legal aid

- Within different

contexts in the

disability sector

Volunteered

locally and / or

abroad

Both Both Both Both

Employed and / or

studying while

doing voluntary

work

Both Both Both Both

In a relationship

while doing

voluntary work

Not currently In a long distance

relationship

Not currently Engaged

Level of education Graduate Graduate Masters level Undergraduate

Received awards

related to

volunteering

Never Nominated and

won

Never Nominated

4.3 About youth participation.

The participants were informed that for the sake of this interview and the information I was after, when

talking about young people we would be taking into consideration those falling in the 13 to 30 year old

bracket.

Starting off they were asked about their opinion on whether they consider young people to be active or

not in the voluntary sector. The responses given were quite different from each other; ranging from a


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To further understand the perception of the interview participants when it comes to young people's level

of involvement in voluntary work, I also asked them what could be hindering the youth from getting

involved. As expected, I was given a list of possible factors. Amongst of which;

lack of information,

peer pressure,

relationships and

indifference (towards current happenings).

Interestingly, one participant also felt that the organization should shoulder some responsibility, saying

that it can also depend on how one promotes itself;

...importanti li l-organizazzjonijiet iridu juru li huma daqsxejn cool. Pereempju jekk l-

organizazzjoni turi li daqsxejn cool hekk, jirnexxiela ib voluntiera gag. Jekk ma tkunx

daqshekk mainstream, jekk ma tkunx cool mhux se ib gaag.

(Interviewee C)

...it is important that organizations are perceived as cool. For example if an organization can

show that it is quite a cool organization it will manage to attract young volunteers. If it is neither

mainstream nor cool, it won't.

(Interviewee C)

the same respondent goes on to say;

...you must promote yourself. Pereempju jekk inti organizazzjoni m' gandekx website u trid

tgid lin-nies isma jien qed nadem, in-nies mhux se jkunu jafu. Jekk inti organizazzjoni u tgid,

jien naf, tista tkun bl-ajar intenzjonijiet fid-dinja ta, imma again, jekk inti mhux a jkollok

promotion galxejn hu.

(Interviewee C)

...you must promote yourself. For example if you're an organization without a website and wantto inform people that you are working, they will not know. Even if you have the best intentions

in the world, without promotion you will not manage.

(Interviewee C)

Following with another question to see what is the perception about young people's involvement and

building on what the interviewees had mentioned earlier, I also asked the respondents opinion on doing

voluntary work as part of a study unit (such as the possibility to do a certain amount of hours for the

Systems of Knowledge project or a Degree Plus unit), and as part of a European project (such as the

European Voluntary Services).


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With regards to those volunteers embarking on a voluntary experience due to their study demands, the

participants expressed opposing views. Two of the respondents said that they feel that students either

choose voluntary work as the easiest option, since the organization will not be expecting much from

them, or else they feel that the experience was imposed on them and react accordingly. On the other

hand the other two volunteers claimed that even these few hours are an excellent opportunity for the

student to become aware of the opportunities available and of the realities outside their sphere of

knowledge. One of these respondents emphasized that the organization must realize that these hours are

there for the benefit of the student and not of the organization itself. That being said, he seemed quite

confident that if the organization strives to make the students feel welcome, they will respond positively

and help the organization as much as possible. With regards to the European Voluntary Service, the

response was generally positive, comparing this opportunity to an internship.

In the interviews I also asked the respondents their opinion on glorifying voluntary work with prizes

such as the il-Premju tal-President gall-Volontarjat. The replies here were more or less favourable,

though the respondents were all quick to point out that rather than giving a prize, this is more about

showing appreciation towards the contribution given by the volunteer receiving the award. An

interesting point that the respondents brought forward at this point was that this should be more of a

symbolic award rather than the focus being on the monetary value of the award itself. They went on to

suggest that this award should be set up in such a way that it celebrates the volunteers of the year, with

the monetary prize being divided, rather than one volunteer.

Finally, the interviewees were asked how would they motivate other people to get involved in voluntary

work. The suggestions here centred around being a role model with one's own experience and showing

the young person the benefits of involving oneself. Benefits such as gaining work experience, widening

your circle of friends and surrounding yourself with like-minded people, and getting involved in a self-

fulfilling activity. Another interesting suggestion was to try to achieve this through the launching of a

campaign promoting voluntary work, with an emphasis on the use of today's relevant media.


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4.4 Conclusion

Through these interviews I could appreciate the challenges faced by those responsible for their

organizations and the difficulty of taking care of the needs of the organization itself and those of its

members simultaneously. It was especially interesting to observe the participants reactions during the

interviews, especially while discussing what could be done to motivate more young people and seeing

how while answering the question they were thinking how to improve the situation in their

organizations.


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Chapter 5

Findings, recommendations and conclusion

5.1 Introduction

It seems that after a number of years involved in voluntary work one starts to dream all type of

scenarios where he is able to recruit more people to his cause and thus have more hands on deck. It

was with this need that my friend managed to convince me to accompany him for one of the

sessions that he used to attend. I have been to various meetings where different recruiting strategies

were proposed, discussed, scrutinized and torn apart, I have met countless volunteers frustrated over

this issue, and have been in this situation myself over and over again. It was with this urge that I

embarked on this research project, searching for a confirmation, believing that I was already in

possession of a ready made solution. However after going through the studies and the interviews I

feel that I am in a position to recommend different approaches to this subject than what I would

have done before.

5.2 Findings

Perhaps, the most interesting points derived from this research were those points confirming that

particular points found in the studies reviewed in chapter 2 are experienced even by those who in their

roles are responsible for other young people within their voluntary organizations.


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The first point that became particularly evident was the time issue mentioned in the findings of the

'Leisure trends amongst young people in Malta' study . The four interviewees mentioned the time

available to young people, especially after deducting time needed for studying, working and a social

life; which reflects the two highest ranking suggestions given to Clark and Cassar (2013) when they

asked what could improve access to leisure time (Page 19) in their study.

Another point that came up from these interviews that also goes hand in hand with another important

point mentioned in the studies done, this time by Azzopardi (2012), is that of the young persons' attitude

towards giving his time to others. Azzopardi (2012) mentions the fact that young people today have

been poorly socialized into giving time (page 29). One of the participants goes on to say;

...qed nitkellmu li l-kunett tax-xogol volontarju lanqas biss jeisti fil-kunett ta' rashom. Qed

nitkellmu li mhux open galihom. Anzi, ieli staqsewni n-nies, x' inhu dan? Jew x' tagmel?

Galfejn tiddedika inek galih?

(Interviewee B)

...we're saying that the very concept of voluntary work is non-existent. They are not open to

such a concept. As a matter of fact some people asked me what's the deal? What do you do?

Why do you dedicate your time to voluntary work?(Interviewee B)

The last point that was evident both in the studies and in the interviews was also present in Azzopardi's

study. An unidentified Youth Worker interviewed in Azzopardi's study (2012) pointed out how young

people are moving further away from the 'village square' to the 'virtual square' (page 28) and how

voluntary organizations must act accordingly. This effect was brought up during the interviews;

...jekk ana kapai nagmlu pass fejn nikkonsultaw mal-media u forsi lilna bala nies fil-

volontarjat jingatalna ftit in, fuq stazzjonijiet kemm tar-radju u kemm tat-televijoni u

forsi nippromovu l-volontarjat anke fuq networks sojali u internet bal, gas-saa tal-

argument, facebook, naseb naslu biex nattiraw iktar gaag...

(Interviewee D)

...if we're able to consult with media, and maybe we, as people involved in voluntary work,

are given exposure on both television and radio programmes and maybe we promote

voluntary work on social networks, such as facebook, as well, we may be able to attract

more the young people...

(Interviewee D)


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5.3 Recommendations

5.3.1 With regards to media

If one were to do a quick search on facebook, groups such as Voluntary Work Opportunities for

Maltese Nationals (with 1,980 members, accessed on the 11th of May, 2014) and profiles

promoting volunteering such as Voluntary Sector Council (with 1,062 friends, accessed on the

11th of May, 2014 ) and Volunteering Malta (with 790 friends, accessed on the 11th of May,

2014) immediately pop up. So one has to wonder, is it a matter of lack of information or is it the

young people that are not pursuing it? An old proverb goes on to say that If the mountain won't

come to Muhammad, then Muhammad must go to the mountain, and my first recommendation

would be exactly along this line. Directed towards all those promoting some voluntary opportunity

and those interested in encouraging young people to get involved, I believe that an extra effort

should be done by taking these opportunities where the young people congregate. A facebook group

specifically set-up to accommodate voluntary opportunities, while ideal, is also the easiest option.

The volunteer must go the extra mile and search for groups which are actually frequented by young

people, break the ice, and share the information over there.

With regards to exposure on television and radio programmes I believe that more can be done,

especially by the state-owned channels. Though it is understandable that there is a limit to the

number of programmes that can be done on the subject, it would be a great opportunity for

voluntary organizations if they were given some sponsored air-time during the time allocated for

adverts through which they can promote their activities.


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5.3.2 With regards to education

While opportunities already exist through initiatives such as the Degree Plus possibility to engage in

voluntary work in exchange of credits and the possibility to do voluntary work as your Systems of

Knowledge project, it seems that these are not being used to their full potential; where participating

students are getting involved simply to cover the required hours. This may be totally acceptable

were the student and the hosting organization agree on these terms beforehand. However through

my experience I have only met students who approached these projects with exactly this mind-

frame while giving the organization the understanding that they plan to continue afterwards.

Whenever this happened, irrelevant of the attempts to try to get the young people interested in

staying once their placement is over, the organization felt that it was cheated of all the investment

poured into the young person. So, while not assuming that this is a general trend, I feel that the

system being as it is; planned to cater for the student, allows for instances where the organization

may feel that it was simply used.

To try to eliminate such approaches as much as possible, I would recommend three particular

strategies;

Start exposure to voluntary work from secondary schools. This can be organized to be age-

appropriate and also linked to specific subjects. For example

a walk in the three cities during a history lesson dealing with the island's

fortifications ending in a clean-up,

an English lesson ending in a migrant's open centre where the students can mingle,

socialize and practice their language,

a Social studies lesson ending in a retirement home where students can spend time

with the elderly while appreciating different groups of their society,

a PSD lesson focusing on the importance of working in a group being held by a team

of volunteers and so on.


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Once you have the presence of volunteers in schools I would also recommend having time

specifically set-aside for voluntary related activities, ranging from meetings with different

voluntary organizations where students can become more aware of the opportunities

available, and also having organized workshops dealing with particular skills such as

communication, leadership, follower-ship, etc. However, while these should be readily

available, these should be neither imposed on the student, nor the student baited to attend.

Eventually, building on this scenario I would recommend stopping all instances where

voluntary work is pitted against other options (such as the option to carry out the Systems of

Knowledge project in other areas instead of the Active Citizenship scheme). Obviously, this

means that more effort needs to be done to attract young people to voluntary work since its

benefits would become more abstract. Here is where the challenge gets interesting and those

promoting voluntary work should see how to promote its life relevance rather than its

tangible aspects (such as the amount of hours needed).

And while understanding that no matter what approach one takes, voluntary work is not necessarily

everyone's cup of tea, an extra effort has to be done to at least instill in young people the concept of

being socialized into giving time (Azzopardi, 2012. Page 29).

5.3.3 With regards to the entities' responsibilities

As pointed out in the previous chapter by one interview participant, with whom I whole-heartedly

agree, entities should also shoulder their part of the responsibility of attracting young people

towards voluntary work. From my experience I have seen that a number of organization believe so

much in their cause and the way they act towards it that they end up expecting others to react with

the same fervour. It is at this point that while I compliment who-ever may be involved on the energy

invested, I would recommend to always keep in mind that to attract fresh blood the organization

must present its activities in such a way so that they are relevant to those whom it is targeting to


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engage. What is more, I would also add a change in attitude towards the young people who were

actually bold enough to accept such an invitation. If these volunteers are expected to feel a real

sense of involvement and belonging, they should be allowed ownership of some aspects of the

activities (Azzopardi, 2012).

My final recommendation is also directed towards the organizations themselves. Since the very

beginning of my involvement I have experienced, an experience I have shared with many other

volunteers, In fact this point also came up during the interviews, a great deal of fragmentation and

competitiveness between the organizations. It seems that certain voluntary organizations privatise

certain sector and lay claim on that territory, which is a real pity considering that in the voluntary

work collaboration, sharing of resources and experience is one of the healthier paths towards

growth.

5.4 Conclusion

While going through this project I have come to appreciate how too often we tend to view young

people just as numbers on whom to rely without giving them the consideration needed and without

fully appreciating that they can be very valuable contributors (Azzopardi, 2012). Even in this very

research project where I was after the very reasons that are stopping young people from getting

even more involved in voluntary work; I did not take into consideration the point of view of the

very young people who could have helped me identify barriers that other volunteers and / or leaders

might be creating.

That being said, embarking on such a journey would have been more than that which I set myself to

achieve. I strongly feel that this should be the subject of a further study, one which perhaps would

be able to shed more light on this issue.


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Bibliography

Azzopardi, A. (2012). The participation of maltese young people in the voluntary sector.(). Malta:

The Parliamentary Secretary for Youth and Sport and The Commissioner for Voluntary

Organisations. doi:97899957-0-215-1

Azzopardi, A., & Bezzina, D.National youth employment strategy 2015.(). Malta: Ministry of

Education and Employment.

Civil code, Chapter 16, Article 150 (amended 1993).

Clark, M., & Cassar, J. (2013).Leisure trends among young people in malta.(). Malta: Office of the

Commisioner for Children and Aenzija gaag. doi:978-99957-0-500-8

Cohen, D., & Crabtree, B. (2008). Qualitative research guidelines project. Retrieved May, 1st, 2014,

Retrieved from http://www.qualres.org/HomeSemi-3629.html

Cohen, L., Manion, L., & Morrison, K. (2000).Research methods in education(5th ed.). London:

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Gatt, S., & Gatt, K. (2006). The school to work transition of young people in malta.(). Malta:

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Hart, R. (1992). Children's participation from tokenism to citizenship. Florence: UNICEF Innocenti

Research Centre.

Herbert, K. (1994).I won't learn from you and other thoughts on creative maladjustment. New

york: The New Press. doi:978-1-56584-096-6

International youth's day.(2005). (). Malta: National Statistics Office.

Manual on the measurment of volunteer work.(2011). (). Switzerland: International Labour

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National youth policy 2010 - 2013.(2010). (). Malta: Parliamentary Secretariat for Youth & Sport.

Segal, D. L., & Hersen, M. (Eds.). (2010).Diagnostic interviewing(Fourth ed.). New York:

Springer.

Talcott, F. (2011).Broadening civic space through voluntary action: Lessons from 2011.(). South

Africa: CIVICUS: World Alliance for Citizen Participation and United Nations Volunteers.

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Northern Ireland.


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Appendices

Appendix 1 - Consent Form

Appendix 2 - Interview Guide


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Young People's Participation in Voluntary Work - Interview

Age:

Gender:

Level of education: How did you become involved in voluntary work?

How long have you been involved in voluntary work?

Were/Are you involved with a particular group, a number of groups or work individually?

Were you in a relationship any time during your period of involvement? Did your

relationship or lack of influence you in any way?

Were you employed any time during your period of involvement? Did your employment or

lack of influence you in any way?

What is/was your area(s) of involvement?

What is/was your level of participation?

What type of activities are/were you involved in? On average, how many hours would you say that you spend/t on voluntary-related tasks per

week (planning / implementation / meetings / activities, etc)?

What is/was the driving force that gave you motivation during your involvement?

Do you feel that you are/were benefitting from the work that you are/were doing? If so,

how:

What hindered / could hinder your involvement?

When talking about Youth we are taking into consideration people of ages between 13 and 30 years.

From your experience what is the level of participation of this group of people in voluntarywork?

What is motivating young people to become involved in voluntary work?

What is stopping young people from becoming involved in voluntary work?

From your experience, what is your opinion about initiatives within the educational

framework to encourage voluntary work? (such as the possibility to engage in vol. work as

part of the SOK project and the Degree Plus)

How would you rate the quality of work resulting from such schemes

In your opinion do you think that the very concept of voluntary work and young people's

involvement with voluntary organisations changed due to the opportunities offered by the

EU?

What is your opinion on the President's Volunteer of the Year Award?

If it were up to you, how would you encourage others to get involved in voluntary work

Extra questions for those who are involved with an organization:

What does the organisation you are affiliated with do to recruit volunteers?

Upon becoming part of your organization, what would their role be and how are they

expected to involve themselves?

miguel buttiġieġ - young people's participation in voluntary work part 2

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