Digital volunteering conception

The anthropological approach to changes in the world. Understanding digital volunteering concept. Defining digital volunteering principles and rules. Describing digital volunteering forms and persons who would love to do. Sharing examples of possible digital volunteering. Digital volunteering as a learning form and a way to be useful. The way of living by giving and taking chances that you could create on your own. Importance of accessibility and inclusivity allowing individuals from diverse backgrounds to participate and offering volunteers the opportunity to contribute based on their schedules.

Anyone with an internet connection and a willingness to contribute can become a digital volunteer. This includes students looking to gain experience, professionals seeking to apply their skills for social good, retirees aiming to stay engaged, and individuals who may face mobility restrictions yet wish to participate in meaningful causes.

Worldwide access to the Internet, and universal use of digital services has stimulated the development of online solutions targeting several life domains, with the potential to improve people’s health, as well as their cognitive, social, and emotional well-being.

Concept of digital volunteering starts from minimum three components (volunteer, computer/internet and a person receiving volunteering services). The last twenty years, development of information and communications technology (ICT) was made a huge leap forward to connect people around smaller or bigger circle.

Digital volunteering causes could be different, for example, volunteers and people getting volunteering services separate physical big distance, or, volunteer/ people getting volunteering services do not have abilities to meet physically or other constraints. Digital volunteering offers many benefits, including increased flexibility, lower costs, and the ability to reach volunteers from different locations and backgrounds.

Digital volunteers use their competences and devote time remotely for good goal and reasons. Digital volunteering could have different forms but most common is online mentoring or services could be done in a distance, review, translations or other.

Anthropological approach to volunteering provides valuable insights into the motivations and impacts of volunteering. An anthropological approach to volunteering involves examining the social, cultural, and historical contexts in which volunteering takes place, as well as the relationships and power dynamics that exist between volunteers, organizations, and the communities they serve.

Anthropologists emphasize that in some cultures, volunteering may be seen as a religious obligation, while in others, it may be viewed as a way to gain social status or honor. Anthropologists would also be interested in understanding the power dynamics that exist between volunteers, organizations, and the communities they serve. For example, they may examine the ways in which volunteers from Western countries can unintentionally reproduce colonial power structures when working in developing countries.

The impact of volunteering on the communities and individuals considers factors such as whether volunteers are addressing the actual needs of the community, whether they are inadvertently perpetuating stereotypes, and whether they are helping to build long-term, sustainable solutions.

Overall, an anthropological approach to volunteering can help to illuminate the complex social and cultural dynamics that underlie volunteering, and can provide insights into how to make volunteering more effective, ethical, and impactful.

The development of technical and operational skills aligned to the ability to understand technical information could contribute to reducing the digital gap.  Digital communication and work/volunteering possibilities help to face life challenges, increasing learning demand and take up through effective guidance and motivation.