Students' culture of civic engagement
Sunday August 17 2008
Despite fears of apathy among young people, a culture of civic engagement is to be found among third-level students in Ireland. Volunteering is becoming mainstream at college, with students giving freely of their time to non-governmental organisations and charities.
Students are motivated to volunteer for a variety of reasons, to gain skills, experiences, and career opportunities, to make friends and have fun. The success of volunteering programmes depends on recognising the full range of expectations and motivations -- both altruistic and instrumental -- which students bring to volunteering.
Over 1,300 student volunteers registered with the ALIVE volunteering programme at NUI Galway during the last academic year.
The programme is supported by 70 non-governmental organisations support the programme and enable the student volunteers to act as bridge-builders between the university and civil society.
Essentially, students can volunteer as much or as little time as they can give and attend the optional training if they need more support.
The training is designed to harness students' energy and enthusiasm and provide avenues and information on local, national and international volunteer opportunities.
As the first ever student volunteer programme to be embedded within an institution of higher education in Ireland, this pioneering programme serves as a model from which other institutions have sought advice and support.
The programme provides a website that allows community organisations to post their volunteer opportunities online. Students interested in volunteering can then view these opportunities and register. With over 120 opportunities currently on the ALIVE website, there truly is 'something for everyone' -- with NUI Galway students as mentors in school-based local homework clubs, managing promotional events, raising awareness and funds for people with disabilities, as well as providing friendship to children of refugees and asylum seekers and the new communities of Ireland.
The programme draws on a strong tradition of student engagement, both on and off campus, and assists students who wish to actively volunteer while developing tangible and transferable skills alongside practical volunteering experiences.
ALIVE's efforts and achievements have been recognised at a national level, with an acknowledgement by the Taskforce on Active Citizenship Chairperson Mary Davis, on the importance of this work within the third level sector in Ireland, and more recently through the Higher Education Authority (HEA), which has provided funding to help initiate a national network for civic engagement, student volunteering and active citizenship.
Lorraine Tansey is co-ordinator of NUI Galway's Student Volunteering Programme ALIVE.
- Lorraine Tansey
