From Informal to Formal: Features of Volunteering in Arab Countries

Abstract

The paper examines the potential of Arab volunteers in solving social problems in their communities. Conceptually, volunteering is viewed as both part of social participation and a form of helping behavior. The research is based on the analysis of data from an online survey conducted among adult volunteers from 20 countries in the North Africa, Middle East, and Gulf regions. These countries include Algeria, Bahrain, Djibouti, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Mauritania, Morocco, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Syria, Tunisia, United Arab Emirates, Yemen, and the Palestinian territories. The study identifies distinctive features of Arab volunteers engaged in diverse forms of helping behavior, including their social, demographic, and other characteristics. Remarkably, Arab volunteers showed the same level of trust at both near and far social distances, which distinguishes them from Russian volunteers. The findings suggest that there is a positive environment for the further development of formal volunteering in the Arab world. It has been found that targeted government support has significantly contributed to the development of the culture of volunteering and building its infrastructure in countries of the Arab region.