Diaconia in Community

New Directions in Voluntary Action and Community Engagement  180811 Draft 3

1. Motivation and call to action

• The call to action may be:

• through faith in God, in response to God’s call
• through a response to the ‘other’ or ‘neighbour’ in need
• through a response to needs identified by care systems for volunteers or which have a perceived lack or limitation

• Voluntary action may be motivated by the ‘push’ to  action from the severity of an activists own situation of need or injustice

• The motivation of volunteers is the key to developing committed action whether the starting point be the volunteer’s own or group needs or ‘altruism’

2. The importance of developing our ways of seeing reality

Local and national contexts of church and society are very different. Furthermore, different people experience the same context differently and they have different interests in voluntary action and community development

• Processes to enable actors to ‘see and reflect on their own biography and reality’ should be supported; These processes should include professionals, service users and local residents as appropriate.
• This process helps participants to reflect on what their expectations are and what is expected of them in their own context.
• The results of these processes should be fed into (social) analysis and action planning and consequent practice

This creates a strong motivational base for voluntary action and community engagement and strengthens participation and commitment.  Training which supports this approach should be supported and developed.

• Comparing situations helps workers and volunteers to see their own situation and own working methods in a relative and wider context. It promotes reflection and helps create ‘new pictures and patterns’

3. Developing the culture of voluntary action

• It is important not only to focus on individual volunteering but to develop a culture of voluntary action in the wider society; it is not always important to create a structure for individual or group volunteering;

• Mutual aid and self help is a form of voluntary action. Community development implies voluntary engagement and supports a culture of service

• Diaconia should be expressed not only through professional work and individual volunteering but by creating a diaconal church

• Informal voluntary action should not be ‘taken over’ by service providers  and incorporated into structures, but supported in its own right

• It is important to build on the specific cultural, historical and ecclesial roots in different contexts and among different groups to support voluntary action – there are no universal patterns

• Supporting  organisations, between the person and the wider society, are needed to develop a culture of voluntary action

4. Expanding the role and position of volunteers

• Volunteers can bring the new energy and insights needed to renew and re-energise professional work, they are an ‘added value’ with new or different competences and should not be used a substitute for professional work.

• The role of volunteers can be:

• researcher
• activist
• philosopher
• active critic
• action developer
• creator of new actions and initiatives
• supporter
• provider of services to those outside the system (sans papier)
• ...

• Voluntary action may cause the redefinition of the roles and functions (methods and structures) of professional work through inputs from volunteers and ‘ordinary people’

• Voluntary action can make ‘hidden groups’ visible and promote their recognition & rights

5. Developmental dynamics

• By promoting voluntary action, new and innovative initiatives can develop, based in people’s life worlds/experience – and these may not always be what the ‘system world’ expects

• Volunteers may become activists working to change systems, structures and political policies

• ‘Professionals’ should promote and facilitate the development of participation from ‘service user’ to ‘volunteer/activist’ to ‘engaged citizen’ (It is important to recognise that service users may develop their role as volunteer/activists, but they need professionals who share this vision to accompany them)

• Community building and community development/organisation should be seen as forms of developing voluntary action

6. Promoting quality in voluntary action

• Professionals should:

• be close to the ‘life world’ of those they work with, developing an understanding of it and reflecting on the gaps and ambiguities in their perceptions of it.
• actively seek out and engage volunteers
• start with and build on the skills and interests (motivation) of the volunteers
• develop strategies with volunteers
• develop processes for investigating needs and issues in the areas with residents/service users
• support self-help, self-organisation and community development
• network with partners locally, regionally and on wider levels
• create structures and processes for specialised voluntary work including for work with ‘at risk groups’ or in crisis situations

• Priests and Diaconal workers should:

• create diaconally active congregations and support informal diaconal work
• be close to the ‘life world’ and reflect on the gaps and ambiguities in their understanding of it
• Promote quality as any other professionals in the field (see the preceding section)

• Professionals and power

• Professionals should be ready to change their ‘position’ in the process and share power and responsibility in the traditional senses. This implies a dialogical approach and the recognition of the expertise and role of different actors
• Professionals should the existence and implementation of policies and practice for safeguarding vulnerable children and adults and establish limits for work in difficult or complex situations

7. Implications

• Training is needed for professional workers to:

• see and reflect on their own biography and reality and to use this reflection as basis for redefining their role and analysing their context
• see the needs and possibilities for voluntary action
• acquire the skills needed to support and supervise volunteers