Volunteering and Civil Society: The Silent Carriers of Sustainability

Volunteering and Civil Society: The Silent Carriers of Sustainability

Sustainability is often explained through big words: climate crisis, carbon footprint, global goals… Yet what these concepts truly mean in everyday life is not always clear. Honestly, for a while I also thought sustainability mostly existed in reports and conference titles — until I became more closely acquainted with volunteering.

At first glance, volunteering may seem like a simple act of help. Taking a role at an event, supporting a campaign, or setting aside time for a community… But once you are involved, you realize that volunteering is actually one of the main forces that keeps civil society standing. And without civil society, sustainability remains merely a well-intentioned idea. During one volunteering experience, I noticed something: no one was making grand statements like “we are saving the world.” Yet everyone knew that the small task they were doing mattered.

One person was putting up awareness posters, another was preparing social media posts, someone else was simply serving tea to visitors. On their own, these tasks might have seemed insignificant. But together, they created a lasting impact. I suppose sustainability works in much the same way. Civil society organizations do not view sustainability only as an environmental issue. Equal opportunity in education, social justice, and social solidarity are also parts of a sustainable future. As young volunteers take active roles in these areas, they do more than contribute to a project; they learn to take responsibility, act collectively, and think long term. These form the human dimension of sustainability.

Still, there is a small contradiction here. Young people are expected to be aware, to volunteer, to care about the world — yet how these efforts will be supported in the long run is often unclear. A project ends, the team disperses, and what remains is only the sentence, “it was such a great experience.” However, sustainable volunteering is only possible through continuity. And for that, young people’s ideas must truly be given space.

It is difficult to write a conclusion, because in volunteering there is no clear “end.” But I can say this: sustainability becomes possible not only through major policies, but through the consistent efforts of people who voluntarily take responsibility. Perhaps the real issue is not changing the world all at once, but sustaining the structures that will continue to change it — and this is achieved most often by those who contribute without expecting anything in return.