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"Towards a global civil society?"
Statement at the Plenary Expert Panel
On Agenda Item 3(a)(ii): The Role of Volunteerism in The Promotion of Social Development

UN Commission for Social Development
13 – 23 February 2001
by Dr. Michael Bürsch
Member of the German Bundestag
Chairman of the Study Commission on the Future of Civic Activities

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Thank you for this opportunity to speak to you as Chairman of the German Bundestag’s Study Commission on the Future of Civic Activities. The Bundestag’s Study Commission has a similar task to that of the Commission for Social Development: we too aim to develop proposals to encourage "volunteering" for a political body, in our case for the German parliament, which is currently examining in detail questions of volunteering, corporate volunteering, civic activities, civic responsibility and civic participation. Therefore the German Bundestag established the Study Commission on Civic Activities.

The Secretary-General?s note in preparation for this session shows quite a few similiarities with our convictions in Germany: one very important point is that self-interest and solidarity are not mutually exclusive. Volunteering is not a sacrifice which people make reluctantly, out of a sense of duty, without getting anything in return. Involvement in volunteering, civic activities and civic participation should ultimately be fun for the individual as well as being productive for the community.

The Secretary-General?s note also highlightens the expert-meetings on volunteering. Let us take this opportunity to thank the Netherlands for their generosity in hosting two of those meetings as well as the International Association for Volunteer Effort-World Conference. In this context allow me also to express how much we appreciate the contribution of UNV. In my capacity as chairman of the Parliamentary Study Commission, I am pleased about the close cooperation between the German Federal Government and UNV?s Headquarters in Bonn. The Commission itself will be happy to draw on UNV?s wide range of experience.

Another point which is very important to us in this context is that volunteering must not be abused in order to justify the state withdrawing from social responsibility. Civic participation and social responsibility can only complement state action in a sensible manner, rather than replacing it.

Yet, despite the similarities which exist, we must not forget that there are also differences. Every country, every culture, has its own traditions of charity and solidarity and different forms of volunteering, civic activities, civic participation and social responsibility. This variety constitutes a richness which we must not put at risk in the process of globalisation: social capital is not like a currency which can be converted at will into another currency. It has local roots in its own specific culture and history.

In Germany we have a multitude of intermediary organisations. These range from major charities which provide professional social services and these days offer limited opportunities for volunteering, via associations with long traditions and the social movements of the last century, to new initiatives, projects and self-help groups. This wealth of intermediary organisations forms the framework for a civil society, for civic activities and for corporate volunteering in Germany.

Just over a decade ago, we in Germany had some very positive experiences with social movements: the reunification of the two German states, the fall of the wall and collapse of the GDR dictatorship would not have been possible without the courageous volunteering, i.e. the voluntary civic activities, of the citizens’ movements. This peaceful revolution in 1989 was due to the extraordinary civil courage and civil disobedience of east german citizens. In order to overcome the division of Germany which existed for decades we need a civil society in both East and West Germany to enable communication and confidence-building between people in the two parts of the country and thus generate social capital.

Against this background, we are trying to readjust the balance between state and civil society. In particular with regard to involvement in political processes, the state must relinquish some of its powers and give its "good citizens" greater opportunities to contribute. The state needs the civil society as a sounding-board and counterweight. This important form of social capital requires the existence of civil rights and a political culture of participation.

The question of a new relationship between the individual, society and the state also plays an important role in the discussion on the reform of the social state. The most important aim of reform in Germany is to redefine the state’s social responsibility: the state’s task is to empower, to mobilise people’s own energies within their social environment. Civic activities can help to ensure that the elderly, the sick, the unemployed and the poor are not seen as people with deficits, but as people with resources - with social capital. Self-help groups in the health sector are a good example of this. This does not mean, as I stressed already ay, that the state can abandon its responsibility for offering people protection against social risk – self-help born of need cannot form a stable basis for volunteering.

The relationship between globalisation, local civil society and civic activities is another aspect we should deal with, when discussing the future role of volunteerism. With the globalisation of the economy, of culture and of consumer goods, the civil society is also beginning to form worldwide networks and NGOs operating at an international level. When organisations from many different countries work together to campaign for climate protection or against landmines, this is an indication of the beginning of a global civil society, developing new forms of civic participation and social responsibility via modern means of communication such as the Internet. I believe these new approaches are extremely important if social development and the interests of the citizens are to be powerfully and effectively asserted vis-à-vis those of the states and businesses in the process of economic globalisation. Perhaps we not only need a World Economic Forum in Davos, which NGOs were barred from attending, but a World Volunteering Summit as partnership meeting of high ranking government officials, representatives of NGO?s, and the private sector, to send a clear signal to the world public that importance will be placed on civic participation in the process of globalisation.

I am deeply convinced that international volunteering smoothing the path towards "politics without frontiers". In Europe, volunteering is an important means of breaking down frontiers in the process of European integration. One example of this is the European Voluntary Service, which gives young people the opportunity to spend a year in another European country and gain experience of different cultures and lifestyles. Young people are inquisitive, open and represent the future of our society; they constitute an important target group for volunteering and social learning – why not invest in an International Voluntary Service, based on the 30 years of valuable experience on the UN Volunteers, working within the framework of UNDP, of national and international NGO?s.

Nevertheless, I believe that volunteerism and active citizenship must originate not in the global society, but in the local community. The people within the local community are directly affected and involved and can be directly approached. It is within this community that the bonds of trust - the social capital - exist which are needed to give people the courage to commit themselves voluntarily to civic participation and social responsibility. Social integration takes place at a local level – it is precisely people’s voluntary activities at this level which lend cohesion to society as a whole. Conversely, where the local base for civic activities is missing because the bonds of trust have been destroyed, where people’s experiences are those of violence and exclusion, rather than of civic activities, even the best volunteering campaign makes no sense. And even international NGOs need to be anchored at a local level in concrete initiatives and projects, otherwise they might, in the long run, be nothing more than colourful backdrops at international conferences.

The link between global thinking and local action is made particularly clear in the "Local Agenda 21". Sustainable ecological and social development is seen as a global task. The Local Agenda 21 rightly emphasises the importance of an international approach, since ecological risks and social problems, as we know, are no respecters of borders. But the "Local Agenda 21" must be implemented in the individual communities and regions, because it is the people on the ground who know best how sustainable development can be encouraged.

I do not wish to deny that volunteering can cut across ethnic, religious, age, income and gender lines. But every bridge must be firmly secured on both banks if it is to remain standing. Local communities act as the anchors of a global civil society. Steadfast and careful promotion and preservation of local resources and networks are thus in my opinion the most important ways of encouraging volunteering and social development.

So a global civil society must be founded on local civil societies – a network of networks, if you like. We should observe global trends attentively and exploit the opportunities presented by globalisation. This session, where we are sharing the wealth of our experiences and exchanging best practice is one such opportunity, the International Year of Volunteers another. But we must not forget that we need to strengthen local communities if we want to encourage the spread of volunteering. Volunteering, civic activities, civic participation, social responsibility, social learning, corporate volunteering and corporate citizenship begin at home, in a local community.

My vision of a global civil society is based on recognition of the diversity of local and national cultures and traditions. A global civil society must be tolerant and open –experience of plurality, foreignness and differentness opens up wider horizons and allows people to see their own cultures in a new and more revealing light.

I see the idea of a global civil society, of a new international social contract, as being in the tradition of the European Enlightenment. The concept developed in the 17th and 18th Centuries by Locke, Montesquieu and Kant of people living together freely in a society confident in its dealings with the state, not only encompasses tolerance, but also freedom, equality and solidarity - i.e. fundamental values and rights; I believe the right to civic participation is also one of these fundamental rights. However diverse the different forms of volunteering and social responsibility may be: the free access to civic participation should be enshrined in a "Charter of Human Rights". Any violation of this right is damaging to the civil society and thus to social cohesion.

Therefore "volunteering", "civic activities", "civic participation" or "social responsibility" are, despite the diversity which they represent, all based on the fundamental right to participation and the awareness that social integration in a free society is only possible as a result of social responsibility. This forms the common basis for numerous local forms and models of volunteering and civil society. The International Year of Volunteers offers an opportunity to develop this vision further. Only in this way can a global civil society be created from local communities – and a real global union of states formed from the individual states: a true United Nations in other words.