Neither sorry nor alms, civic responsibility
What is the image of voluntary work in the media? Is the society aware of the volunteers ongoing work or we only think about them at times of crisis? Highlighting and strengthening the voluntary work is the objective of one of the 38 projects selected within the EEA Grants Active Citizenship Programme, because they are a key element for a better society.
17.07.2014
They are NGOs Communication Officers and they are painfully aware of the challenges that lies ahead in order to give the appropriate visibility to their projects. They complain about the tendency of the media to sensationalize bad news and to not reflect the huge work the NGOs are doing. Fevocam (Platform of voluntary work entities in Madrid) has brought them together in a discussion group as part of the project “Building active citizenship, volunteering relationship”, one of the 38 selected projects within the EEA Grants Active Citizenship Programme, operated by NGO Platform of Social Action, whose objective is to strengthen the Third Sector in Spain and its impact in the most vulnerable groups.
The aim of the Fevocam project is reinforcing voluntary work as an active citizenship exercise through participatory process of reflection, exchange and generation of opinion, as well as raising awareness of voluntary work values and their ability to change and to improve society.
With this in mind, the project promoter has undertaken a research and reflection process among all stakeholders involved: NGOs, volunteers, Administrations and media. The goal is the development of two guidance documents which will be used as a framework in the dialogue between NGOs, Administration and media and society in general. In a nutshell, knowing where they are and where they want to go. Because, as the Social Sector Communication Officers says, “our objective should be citizenship building and to generate a social fabric to avoid social exclusion situations, nor alms or pity”.