Partners in Creating the Future
Jordan celebrates with the world the International Day of Volunteers for Economic and Social Development
Jordan celebrates with the world the International Day of Volunteers for Economic and Social Development
Thursday, 5 December 2019

Jordan and the world celebrate today (Thursday) the International Day of Volunteers for Economic and Social Development, which falls on 5 December each year, under the slogan "Volunteer for an inclusive future”

The United Nations General Assembly adopted the International Day of volunteering on 5 December 1985, a means for volunteers and voluntary organizations, to increase awareness of the contribution that this group makes to their societies, to celebrate their efforts, to share their values and to enhance their work in their communities.

The main objectives of volunteerism are to raise the professional skills and expertise of volunteers in their areas of specialization, thereby increasing their employment opportunities as academic experience alone is not sufficient to obtain the appropriate job, considered as the potential mechanisms for creating a member unit in building society and developing the spirit of belonging of young people.

The role of volunteerism aims to improve women's access to leadership and decision-making roles in the context of volunteerism is noteworthy, since volunteerism supports the promotion of women's participation in work committees and decision-making sites, as well as discussion of discriminatory gender-based norms and equitable representation, and making actors able to change local perceptions and standards of their roles.

HPC  confirmed in a press statement on this occasion that its vision includes interest in the demographic dimension that is to achieve the development and well-being of the Jordanian society components, including youth, pointing out that collective and participatory work, excellence, creativity and community responsibility are among the core values the Council is committed to within its scope of work. It is at the heart of the values of volunteerism and the spirit of community service.

HPC noted that, in view of its interest in achieving the goals of sustainable development, justice and equality of opportunity, special attention was paid to the occasion of World Volunteers Day, which was a new opportunity to recall the importance of volunteerism, namely, the expansion of the options and opportunities available to communities in their preparedness to cope with and respond to crises by unifying individual actions under a common goal.

HPC has enhanced the contribution of volunteering to building resilience by opening up its own volunteer program, which includes students from various disciplines and from various local and international universities, with a view to enriching the working environment, showing that volunteerism opens new channels for other interested parties and links community members to broader support networks. The ability to withstand is stronger when people are an integral part of the fabric of networks, relationships, and diverse connections.

HPC  indicated that volunteerism faces several challenges and obstacles at the level of Jordan that prevent its full use, as some of these challenges are due to legislative frameworks lacking laws governing volunteerism,  as well as many professionals and officials are not convinced of volunteering and its allegiance or fear of volunteer involvement in their work. In addition to the many social and cultural challenges that prevent volunteering to become a widespread phenomenon in Jordan, despite the long history of charitable associations and initiatives aimed at supporting members of society in various fields in rural, urban and Bedouins areas.

Globally, the World volunteering Status Report 2018 of the United Nations Volunteers Program (UNV) showed that the global volunteer labor force was estimated to be 109 million full-time workers, a figure that exceeds the number of workers in many major global industries. Moreover, 30% of them are officially volunteers to organizations, associations and groups.

The geographical environment, social gender, age and other social, economic and political factors influence the ability of individuals in societies to volunteer because this is a social behavior, and world figures show that women are more formal than men, with 57% women and 43% males.