The “EXALEIPTRON” Group is by nature voluntary.
The main axis is Culture in its broadest sense.
Culture as a multidimensional concept presupposes social infrastructure and thus voluntary actions become necessary.
We can not change the world, but we can add a small or larger stone.
The concept of volunteering is linked to solidarity and selflessness. Volunteering is expressed in many ways, each of them with its own character and method of action. The common feature of all, however, is their assistance in the defence of fundamental rights.
In modern times volunteering has established itself as the institution that contributes to tackling social, economic and environmental problems and is called upon to make up for the gaps created by the weakness of the state and the mechanisms of the market.
In order to better understand the phenomenon of volunteering, we need to look at the basic ideas and principles that govern it and that flow from it at the same time.
- The principle of altruism and bene benefit is based on the moral imperative of compassion and care for other people.
- The idea of solidarity expresses a sense of identification with a group or civil society and a responsibility to contribute to the well-being of the group and its other members.
- Reciprocity is the understanding that helping others can lead to the creation of a chain offer of assistance, and
- The values of equality and social justice are based on the belief that inequality and injustice are morally and socially unacceptable, and should therefore be addressed or eliminated.
- It is an extremely educational function that strengthens social solidarity, enhances active participation and coexistence, giving new content to life
The forms of voluntary action are varied because they are developed in different
areas:
Humanitarian action includes the provision of material goods or money to deal with emergencies such as natural disasters, the dispatch of medical supplies and the provision of medical care, blood donation, organ donation and participation in human rescue teams.
- Social action is found in the offer of voluntary work to associations and institutions to protect vulnerable social groups (children, dependents, the elderly, the disabled). It includes actions aimed at improving transport, cleaning up cities, protecting pedestrians and defending consumer rights.
- Environmental action is related to initiatives for the protection of the environment, flora and fauna, reforestation, cleanliness of the coasts, recycling of waste, applications of alternative energy sources, etc.
- Cultural action includes the organization and conduct of various artistic events of theatrical, musical, poetic, artistic activities that are not aimed at profit but are conducted to enhance and support the resolution of social problems.
- Internationalist action consists in offering solidarity and knowledge to third world countries and in providing humanitarian services to war-torn countries.
The causes that led to the development of voluntary activity of citizens are due to:
- To sharpen social problems and to make them aware on the part of citizens. The economic crisis, the rise in unemployment, the impoverishment of the living conditions of the various social strata and the threat of an insecure future have prompted citizens to self-organisation to support morally and materially those of their fellow human beings who were at risk of being crushed under the new conditions.
- In the alienation of human relations in urban environments in particular, it has locked several social groups into a deadlock in dealing with problems and has forced awareness of the value of collective action, the activation of citizens and solidarity in response.
- To the frustration of the modern way of life associated with consumerism, individualism, competitive mood, arrogance and the creation of plastic needs.
- To the incrimination of sensitized individuals who felt that it was not possible to have an observer position of human misery and the social drama that existed around them.
- In people’s quests for the deeper and more essential meaning of life through human communication and voluntary offering to the community.
- In the economic, cognitive and technical capacity of average citizens to organize and form non-governmental poles of power governed by the logic of selfless offering to fellow human beings.
- To the assistance of modern media that promote human misery and communicate to the general public human rights violations in a world that has the characteristics of cruelty, lawlessness and violence.
The positive contribution of volunteering lies in the fact that:
- It contributes to the support and rescue of people who are experiencing major problems of destruction, wars, malnutrition, impoverishment.
- It improves the living conditions of vulnerable and vulnerable social groups while preventing phenomena of exploitation of human existence.
- It helps to strengthen social ties between citizens who cease to feel trapped in an un alienated competitive and alienated environment. Volunteers act as a complement to the social state and promote its well-being through their activities.
- It develops the value and ideal of the world’s humanitarian approach with an altruistic mindset that opposes selfishness, individualism and self-interest.
- It contributes to maintaining the ecological balance and shapes the ecological awareness of citizens by resolving problems related to their daily lives.
- It cultivates the belief of active action of individuals, mutual acceptance and collective action to achieve common goals, thus also promotes the idea of national unity.
But Volunteering isn’t just a term… It is an attitude of life, embracing special values such as love, solidarity, social justice and collective participation.
It is the spontaneous, conscious and selfless supply of human energy and the deliberate provision of services. It can be expressed in many ways, each of them with their own character and method of action.
