Volume 4. Issue 2. 2024.
Editorial Preface
The second issue of the fourth volume of the online journal Volunteer Review deals with international volunteering in one hundred and fifty pages. International volunteering is one of the little-researched topics in the Hungarian literature dealing with volunteering. At the same time, its importance and effects can be seen in the case of four actors: firstly, the volunteer itself, secondly, the host/sending organisation, thirdly, local communities, and fourthly, as an underutilised opportunity for the country's image. The first theoretical study provides a broad overview of the emergence and development of international volunteering, the benefits and dangers for sending and receiving societies. The second theoretical study deals with a phenomenon that has existed for nearly a hundred years, voluntary tourism, which has become really popular in the past fifteen to twenty years. This "new" social phenomenon has also given new impulses to the research of volunteering, and the author gives a detailed presentation of this. The poorly researched nature of the topic is shown by the fact that hardly any studies can be found presenting the characteristics of volunteers received and sent/supported in Hungary. The third theoretical study fills this gap by providing a detailed analysis of volunteers received and supported by the European Voluntary Service between 2014 and 2017 and under the European Solidarity Corps Programme between 2018 and 2023. Three case studies are presented in this issue, which deal with the activities of organisations that are host and/or sending organisations in international volunteering programmes. We wanted to show the variety of organizational practices and activities manifested during international volunteering by asking the authors to present the work of an organization operating in Miercurea Ciuc in the first case study, a Hungarian church organization in the second, and a "young" volunteer sending/support organization in the third. Finally, the review presents a study on the challenges and opportunities arising from the launch of the European Solidarity Corps programme.
Volunteering at international level
Zsolt Molnár
Voluntary tourism in the light of international literature overview
Ágota Silló
"International volunteering is a form of volunteering where the activity takes place in a different geographical country, often in a socio-economic environment different from that of the volunteers involved and the sending organisation."
International volunteers in Hungary and hungarian volunteers abroad with the support of European Voluntary Service and European Solidarity Corps 2014–2023
Anna Mária Bartal - Hajnalka Fényes
"Volunteers come from sending countries that correspond to 'European trends', but over time there are more and more countries outside Europe. Most foreign volunteers volunteer for a short period of time."
"Voluntary tourism started to develop rapidly in the first half of the first decade of the 21st century, a phenomenon originating in Great Britain that has become popular in many countries over the past 15-20 years."
Care2Travel Association: International volunteering in Miercurea Ciuc
Tibor Elekes
"The mission of the association is "caring for the travelers": to recruit volunteers from abroad to help and learn about the local culture, as well as to support the social services, orphanage and educational programs of Miercurea Ciuc."
Foreign adventures – What does international volunteering give us?
Csenge Kolozsvári
"While we remain active in Erasmus+ short-term learning mobility programmes, we are increasingly recognising the potential of long-term programmes for both young people and social impact."
Growing beyond the self – introducing the Voluntary Diaconal Year program
Emese Závodi – Krisztina Csordás
"For volunteers, the Voluntary Diaconal Year Network aims at personal and spiritual development, intercultural and ecumenical learning, and social and social responsibility."
