The Importance of Training Young Volunteers in the Context of Social Pedagogy

EU experience shows that volunteering may be involved and explored in all aspects of society and social life. It offers young people as well as adults an efficient way of spending time together while working for a common cause, being guided by such basic values as mutual trust and respect. Moreover, by its very nature collective volunteering makes a significant contribution to the development of social consciousness and of the communities involved in volunteering. The common factor shared by all volunteering organizations is every participant’s duty towards common or public wellbeing, the very rationale of their work for the benefit of others. Like any training, the training of young volunteers in the context of social pedagogy ought to touch upon certain levels: knowledge, meaning the gathering and enhancing of knowledge; action, meaning the development of practical skills; personality, meaning personal development; and the social level, meaning the development of social skills.