VOLUNTEERING AS A FORM OF SOCIAL COHESION IN THE ORGANISATION AND RUNNING OF LOCAL FESTIVALS

Abstract

In today's global world, the relevance and importance of volunteering as a form of social cohesion and a mechanism of civic engagement of members of a local community for a cause is growing. Volunteering as a phenomenon has its historical roots assuming different dimensions, but in the majority of cases it is seen as an activity for the benefit of other people or communities, which is carried out of one's own free will, without expecting any kind of reward in the community (Zdravkova, 2016:1; Todorova, 2013). Different meanings are attributed to volunteering in the specialized literature (Kanev, 2023; Radev 2012: 85 86; Radev 2007: 225), which aim to clarify its essential features, considering its manifestations in a larger aspect (Houle, B., Sagarin, B., Kaplan, M., 2005, 337 344). Considering its different forms and manifestations, for the purpose of this paper, volunteering will be considered as a tool, a form of social cohesion between individuals, members of a local community on the occasion of the organization and conduct of local festivals within a specific locality. The question arises: what is its function and role in the context of the construction of these events? According to Bakas, local festivals as events outside of everyday life attach great importance to active community participation, to social bonds within a community that are strengthened through these events, trust is built, and social cohesion networks are formed (Bakas et al., 2019). Holidays imply the performance of activities that live a life of their own, different from other festive rituals. They contain both the commonality and accessibility of modern values and ideas and the intimacy of experiencing authentic artistic events by a community of initiates" (Kutin, 2018, p.2). From this point of view, volunteering during the construction of these events provides an opportunity for community members to actively participate in changing the environment, providing an opportunity to manifest some of the primordial human virtues such as responsibility, dedication, kindness and empathy ( Veneva Pauncheva, 2011). Involving local people in volunteering activities helps not only to create co operative contacts, but also to develop communication and interaction skills with various proactive local actors.
Based on the results of qualitative (in depth interviews, focus group discussions and participatory observations) and quantitative research conducted within the project "Local Festivals: A Resource of Local Communities to Deal with Crises ", financed by the Fund Research at the Ministry of Education and Science, the role and importance of volunteering in the process of constructing local celebrations will be outlined.