Megjelent Nagy Ádám és Gerő Márton könyvfejezete az International Encyclopedia of Civil Society-ben: Nagy, Á., Gerő, M. (2025). Volunteering in Central and Eastern Europe. In: List, R.A., Anheier, H.K., Toepler, S. (eds) International Encyclopedia of Civil Society. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-99675-2_9653-1

Absztrakt

In this article, we aim to explore the specificities of volunteering in Central and Eastern Europe (especially its approaches, extent, and characteristics), mainly based on the available literature and data. There is relative agreement on the descriptive concept of volunteering. It is most often defined as an activity performed for the benefit of others without compensation (Damian, 2019; Dobrescu, 2012; Silló, 2016; Voicu, 2009), identified by four main characteristics: It is an activity that (1) is based on free will, (2) is not rewarded financially (at most by compensation or reimbursement of costs or basic needs), (3) is carried out outside the immediate circle of friends or family, and (4) is in some way, at least according to the volunteer/beneficiary, for the public good (Nagy-Nizák-Vercseg, 2014). In other words, it is not considered volunteering if the workplace obliges or pressures you to perform a 'voluntary activity' (lack of free will); if you are paid for the activity (compensation); if you are fulfilling your family-communal duties (family ties); or if the activity is socially harmful or destructive (lack of public good). In this article, when we refer to Central and Eastern Europe, we mean the Visegrad countries (Hungary, Poland, the Czech Republic, and Slovakia) and the South-Eastern members of the EU (Slovenia, Croatia, Romania, and Bulgaria) (Vándor et al., 2017).