Do we need a body overseeing volunteerism? There is no doubt that we need a champion within the government to promote and facilitate volunteerism. Therefore, an agile structure totally depoliticised and able to do its work with broad latitude is necessary, and, in this regard, the current draft proposes a National Council on Volunteerism
There is one important thing that the Deuba government must do before the upcoming election, and it is the following: approve the National Volunteering Policy. Prepared by the Policy Research Institute, a government think tank in partnership with the civil society and the United Nations, the final draft is the result of two years of discussions and preparation.
While not perfect, there is no doubt that we are talking about a good document that, if approved, could bring volunteerism to the next level, leveraging the spirit of collaboration and selflessness at the foundations of it, to really do something good for national development.
Volunteerism is not a panacea to the myriad of problems faced by the country, but nevertheless it can provide impetus to facing numerous challenges that Nepal must win if it wants to turn into a more resilient, just and inclusive nation where all its citizens can prosper.
Recently, a meeting was organised by the Ministry of Youth and Sports, the ministry in charge of submitting the final draft to the cabinet for approval.This is an important development because, if you think about it, it is one of most bipartisan issues we have ever had.
The meeting was focussed on discussing some key issues in relation to the overall "governance" of the volunteering sector in the country. As explained by one of the participants, the question of how to run and manage volunteerism remains paramount.
We need to find the correct balance between coordination, compliance and monitoring without creating unnecessary and duplications in the functions.
Do we need a body overseeing volunteerism? There is no doubt that we need a champion within the government to promote and facilitate volunteerism.
Therefore, an agile structure totally depoliticised and able to do its work with broad latitude is necessary, and, in this regard, the current draft proposes a National Council on Volunteerism.
As long as such an institution is allowed to carry out its work in autonomy while remaining accountable to a higher-level committee, a sort of board of directors, to borrow from the corporate world, there should not be any issue with the model. Instead, if this institution that needs to be set up from scratch is going to be bogged down by red tape and a weak mandate, then we would have a real problem.
Moreover, while talking about governance, we also need to discuss about collaborations, including division of competencies. For example, Nepal already has a National Youth Council, an autonomous body, under the purview of the Ministry of Youth and Sports.
Since its inception, the National Youth Council has been trying to find its role as per its mandate, and so far, it has played a useful role in developing the nation's youth, but there is still so much margin for doing more and better.
It is also about resources that need to be invested if we want stronger and stronger actions to support the youth, especially those who are marginalised and vulnerable, who should remain a national priority.
We all know that volunteering plays an immense role in developing youths' character and skills, and that's why any national volunteering policy needs also to think about the role of the National Youth Council.
One solution could be for the National Council on Volunteerism, envisioned in the draft policy, to focus mostly on programmes on the ground, while the National Youth Council could be the Ministry of Youth and Sports' hub for any policy related to the youth, a sort of action think tank that is able to mobilise resources and ideas to be implemented by others. In this sense, any new volunteering body could be one of the implementing partners of the National Youth Council.
Let's also not forget that we are in a federal system, no matter its initial stages of development. It means that provinces and municipalities also have a responsibility in promoting youth's empowerment through volunteerism. On a positive note, something is already happening: Gandaki Province has already produced a specific procedure to mainstream and promote volunteerism.
The draft policy needs to take into account such a reality and ensure that local governments are able to set up their own programmes and institutions in a collaborative rather than competitive mode in relation to the work to be done at the federal level.
Such a level of complementarity is indispensable if we want to ensure that volunteerism is to be fully taken into account and recognised for its role in national development.
The 15th Development Plan, currently under implementation, recognises the role of volunteerism as an essential platform to achieve Agenda 2030.
We need to ensure that any volunteering policy will provide the ingredients for ensuring that volunteerism remains relevant now and in the next national development blueprint from 2024/2025.
Writing this column, it seems that I am taking for granted the fact that volunteerism is an exclusive domain of the youth. Do not get me wrong, it is not.
That's why in an ideal world, volunteerism should be promoted by a body under the Office of the Prime Minister and Council of Ministers.
This was an argument lost long time ago, but we need to remind ourselves that any future National Council on Volunteerism must also target other members of the society.
This role is paramount and would be a sort of bridge between the Ministry of Youth and Sports and other ministries and state institutions.
As you can notice, there are a few things policymakers still need to figure out in volunteerism.
The decision to open the final draft for comments from the general public is positive, but we also need to hurry up. Otherwise, we risk having another government in place and no volunteering policy at all.
Galimberti is the co-founder of ENGAGE, an NGO partnering with youths living with disabilities
A version of this article appears in the print on March 25, 2022, of The Himalayan Times.