Gaston Ternes

The topic of volunteering is increasingly being documented in recent years, both nationally and internationally. It is being observed all over the world that the willingness to volunteer is decreasing. What is the situation regarding volunteering in Luxembourg? That's where Gaston Ternes comes in with this ‘carte blanche’.

The current government agreement contains two pages about a plan of action for volunteering. That's good! The fact is that volunteering is dropping in all countries. In the USA, for example, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that the rate fell from 29% in 2005 to 23% after COVID. For Luxembourg, the Statec confirmed this September that 35% of residents do voluntary work.

Volunteering has a component that is more important than maintaining essential services for the community and organising activities. There is a statistically significant positive correlation between social cohesion and people's willingness to volunteer. In other words: more volunteering equals more democracy.

This should be noted in the context of the recent POLINDEX 2024 study. It shows a clear change in our society. Since 2018, it has become increasingly materialistic. ‘Even a technocratic, authoritarian regime would be okay, as long as politics personally benefits me,’ summarises Professor Poirier from the University of Luxembourg. Benevolence can be a driving force for a better functioning democracy. It teaches the right attitudes and behaviours: respect for others, equal rights, taking responsibility.

How can we make volunteering more visible? The Rwanda model ‘Umuganda’ could not be applied here at home one-to-one. ‘Umuganda’ is organised by the state, not voluntarily. But, we can learn from the idea. ‘Umuganda’, translated from Kinyarwanda into English, means “coming together to achieve a common goal”. Once a month, the people of Rwanda engage themselves to carry out community work in their district.

Why not introduce this idea in Luxembourg on 5 December, International Volunteer Day? Wouldn't that be an excellent day for joint activities, for the involvement of schools and associations? In this way, we could firmly anchor volunteering in our society. Gabriela Civico, Director of the Centre for European Volunteering, said: ‘Volunteering is not a new topic, but we want to see it in a better place in the order of priorities.’ Hopefully the fact that she is right has been highlighted by these 2 minutes 30.