Abstract
Based on some of the results of a 2-year study of Armenian civil society, this chapter explores patterns and realities of volunteering in Armenia, focusing on generational change and on motivations to volunteer. We argue that young people are not more likely to volunteer, thus refuting the ‘active post-communist generation’ assumption. Using both quantitative and qualitative data we demonstrate that volunteering is motivated mostly by career-related considerations, closely followed by altruistic motives. There is a notable difference between perceptions of NGO leaders and volunteers: the former emphasize career-related motivators, whereas the latter state that altruism is as important for them as career in their explanations of why they volunteer.
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Notes
- 1.
The question wording is ‘I will read out a list of activities. Could you please tell me which of these activities have you been involved in during the past 6 months? Did volunteer work without expecting compensation.’
- 2.
The increase in the percentage of self-reported volunteering cannot be attributed to a change in methodology or sampling; the question wording for both years is identical, same sampling method (multistage random sampling of electoral precincts with a random route) is used. In Armenia, the sample size was 1844 in 2012 and 1552 in 2013. A possible reason for such an increase in volunteering can be the presidential elections of 2013, which spurred not only political activism but created an atmosphere of increased social activism in general.
- 3.
X 2 = 28.436, df = 2, p < 0.001 (for year 2011); X 2 = 84.622, df = 2, p < 0.001 (for year 2012); and X 2 = 40.771, df = 2, p < 0.001 (for year 2013).
- 4.
This pattern is similar for all 3 years of analysis. Increased volunteering in 2013 affected all age groups except those 65 years and older.
- 5.
We have also done a number of tests, exploring the impact of sociodemographic variables (age, educational level, income, and so on) on volunteering in the South Caucasus . These tests show more differences than similarities, making us convinced that one cannot speak of a ‘South Caucasian volunteering culture’ as there seems to be no general pattern. For more details, see Paturyan and Gevorgyan (2014).
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Paturyan, Y.J., Gevorgyan, V. (2017). Volunteering in Armenia: Leaving the Soviet Legacy Behind?. In: Butcher, J., Einolf, C. (eds) Perspectives on Volunteering. Nonprofit and Civil Society Studies. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-39899-0_12
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