Although it is not yet 6am, and the sun has only just begun to rise, already the thermometer is pushing 30C, and the humidity so high it is impossible not to sweat. I’m leading an Australian archaeological…
August 1914: London volunteers await their pay at St. Martin-in-the-Fields.
On the first day of the war in 1914, British newspapers published appeals for young men to join the colours, and to fight against Germany. Following the advice of the new Secretary for War, Lord Kitchener…
The Sydney Alliance’s founding assembly in 2011 filled the Town Hall with people eager to put community back into politics.
Kurt Iveson/citiesandcitizenship.blogspot.com.au
In the wake of the Second World War, Karl Polanyi wrote that the public arena is made up of three interconnected sectors: the market, government and civil society. He argued that democracy thrives when…
The ideology of the market struggles with the society-focused work of community volunteers.
AAP/Julian Smith
Some community welfare sector commentators point to a new order for welfare where the private sector practises social responsibility, states seek to be more entrepreneurial and voluntary community organisations…
Without volunteers, the Olympics would be a disaster. But will the “Games Makers” - the army of 70,000 Olympic and Paralympic volunteers - stimulate a spirit of volunteerism in and beyond London? Volunteering…
The way tourism companies in the Blue Mountains engage in corporate social responsibility changes depending on whether they are owner-managed or not.
Flickr/nosha
“Corporate social responsibility” (CSR) isn’t just a term used by blue chip corporations to give them a more caring image. It’s a principle being adopted by thousands of small and medium-sized tourism…
It’s possible for economists and charities to enjoy a mutually beneficial relationship.
Kristopher Wilson
It is a well-established tradition in the legal and accounting worlds, where lawyers and accountants would provide pro bono legal and accounting services to the voluntary sector. It has also become common…
Volunteers who step in to make important decisions about huge property bills and neighbourly relations feel ill-equipped…
The university funding system discourages research on volunteers like these men who are risking their lives to help their community.
Flickr/Rob Down Under
In Australian universities at the moment research is everything. They obsess over the rankings in the new ERA system which measures research performance. For academics publishing in the top journals isn’t…
Professor of Volunteering, Civil Society and Businesses and Professor of Strategic Philanthropy, Rotterdam School of Management, Erasmus University Rotterdam