“Such
is the upside-down, topsy-turvy state of our world that the children are now
the adults and the adults are the children.”
So
leads Jonathon Freedland in his recent article in the Guardian titled - The
school climate change strikes are inspiring – but they should shame us
I’ve
written before about the school climate change strikes and other climate action
volunteering but there seems to be so little if any scrutiny or discussion
about this form of volunteering within the volunteering or volunteer management
sector itself.
We
boast when we talk about “new and emerging trends” that we are way ahead of
them or at least anticipating them but we are still stuck in a quagmire of
volunteer management discussion focussing on us and our struggle to be taken
seriously. Perhaps the emperor has no clothes.
Meanwhile,
and pardon the French, the world is facing a shit storm. It’s called climate
change. It is real, it is threatening and it should be frightening the socks
off you all.
It
is frightening our youth enough, that they have opted to volunteer for a noble
cause…like…saving the planet for their future.
As
Freedland goes on to say “It has fallen to those so young they are not trusted
to decide what they can eat or when they can go to bed to sound the alarm about
the crisis that matters most: the crisis of the climate.”
How
soon will it be before more Not for Profits take up the cause of fighting to save
the planet. If they are now fighting for humanitarianism, for alleviation of poverty
or for social justice or for refugees how soon will it be before they realise
that it all will be further interconnected by the crisis that is not around the
corner but here now. This is not a long
stretch of the bow.
Back
to Freedland’s article “Rabbi Jonathan Wittenberg, an early and tireless
environmental advocate, is right to say
that the #FridaysForFuture movement is “not the first great change to begin
with the action of just one person”: from Abraham onwards, our history and
tradition is full of people who, alone at first, changed the world.”
How often in
our speeches and writings and blogs and newsletters do we write “Volunteers
change the world?”
And yet, with this
volunteering movement growing around the world why do we seem to be missing its
significance? What can we as a sector learn about;
·
Volunteers
self-organising
·
Organising
at scale
·
Motivation
of young people
·
Mass
civil action
·
Innovative
modes of management
·
The
power of social media to mobilise volunteers.
Yes there are
critics of these new movements springing up and a certain cynicism about youth
action and you can read about those in the article as well. And yet we have
heard that cynicism in the Volunteer management world as well. We have all come
across one of these statements
“Young people
are not reliable volunteers”
“Never take on
students”
“Young people don’t
stay”
“Young people
are doing volunteering for selfish reasons”
And we may face
cynicism in our own sector as well about the very notion that this is a
volunteering movement. Some will argue that it is activism rather than
volunteerism.
In a separate article
written for the Guardian George Monbiot wrote about these children leaving
their classes to protest against climate change - My
generation trashed the planet. So I salute the children striking back
“The
Youth Strike 4 Climate
gives me more hope than I have felt in 30 years of campaigning. Before this
week, I believed it was all over. I thought, given the indifference and
hostility of those who govern us, and the passivity of most of my generation,
that climate breakdown and ecological collapse were inevitable. Now, for the first time in
years, I think we can turn them around.
By
combining your determination and our experience, we can build a movement big enough
to overthrow the life-denying system that has brought us to the brink of
disaster – and beyond. Together we must demand a different way, a life-giving
system that defends the natural world on which we all depend. A system that
honours you, our children, and values equally the lives of those who are not
born. Together, we will build a movement that must – and will – become
irresistible.”
By combining your determination
and our experience! What can our sector learn from this powerful sentiment?
Can
we see the trees for the forest before there are no trees left at all?
The
volunteer sector needs to be discussing this. The silence is deafening.
I was moved to tears when I saw a clip of Greta Thunberg, the sixteen-year-old girl from Sweden who addressed the environment conference in Poland. I have never before witnessed someone so young; speak with such passion and eloquence about the environment and its demise due to desecration by the greed of humanity. If she represents the voice of future generations we are in good hands; but are we too late? Will ‘adults and decision makers’ listen to her or more importantly take action!!!
ReplyDeleteYes the volunteering sector has a lot to learn. The cynicism in the Volunteer management world needs to be addressed as well.
“Young people are not reliable volunteers” Are your programs flexible enough to cater for changes in university timetables, exam periods etc?
“Never take on students” In a hospital, nursing students are ideal volunteers. They gain additional experience in a hospital environment, a huge plus for their studies and experience and definitely a plus for the hospital. (note: they are not performing the work of paid nursing staff)
“Young people don’t stay” Are we offering exciting roles that they are interested in or just giving them roles that nobody else will do? Are we flexible enough? Do we ask for feedback from them to see if they have some ideas to utilize their skills to assist staff or patients or the community?
“Young people are doing volunteering for selfish reasons” Motivation for volunteering has evolved; gaining experience to enter the workforce, practicing English as a second language in a real life situation rather than in the classroom, meeting other people, being part of a community and of course for altruistic reasons. Even those, who consider their volunteering is purely for altruistic reasons, gain social connection, a sense of satisfaction and a sense of well being.
By combining your determination and our experience! What can our sector learn from this powerful sentiment?
Change is inevitable if we are to survive from the brink of self-destruction through indifference to the profound negative ecological effect that humans have had on the environment we need to do the following
Be open to new ideas
Embrace positive change
Listen to those who are passionate about saving the environment, especially the young; they are the now and the future. They are our hope for the future.
Utilize the experience of the sector to support the change makers.
Think outside your own world, think big picture for all humanity.
Take Action; make an impact that brings these issues to the forefront of the focus of our decision makers.
Way to go. Totally concur.
ReplyDeleteWise words Diarmuid Cronin.
Keep talking.
Hear Hear Wendy! Thank you for taking time to post that great response!
ReplyDelete