ABSTRACT

In this paper, we seek to advance understandings of the contemporary global ‘sport for development and peace’ (SDP) sector, with respect to volunteers and volunteering in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). Volunteers play a critical role in organizing and delivering SDP social intervention programmes across the world; most SDP volunteer work is undertaken by local young people who are often presented as a current peer or future community leaders. Specifically, we utilize a unique combination of the concepts of antinomy and liminality to examine systematically the ‘in-between’ positions, roles, and experiences of SDP volunteers. Our analysis spotlights three sets of antinomy. First, categorical antinomies relate to the liminal or in-between positioning of volunteers in terms of their socio-demography (e.g. between adolescence and adulthood), status within NGOs (as neither paid employees nor programme user groups), and their standing between NGOs and communities. Second, the structural antinomies of volunteers relate to the empowering/disempowering aspects of development, positioning between the international development and national public sectors, and their standing between civil society and the private sector. Third, the social antinomies of volunteering centre on their relations with the development NGO, links to donors, and volunteer positions in regard to programme sustainability. The paper draws on an extensive interview- and fieldwork-based research into SDP in three diverse locations (Kosovo, Rwanda, and Sri Lanka) as part of a wider cross-cultural research project on the global SDP sector. The findings may be used as an analytical framework for future research into volunteering, in other SDP locations, in other fields of sport, or on wider social and development sectors, such as in education, community and youth work, leisure and recreation.

摘要

在本文中，我们力求增进对当代全球“体育促进发展与和平”(SDP) 部门的理解，涉及低收入和中等收入国家 (LMIC) 的志愿者和志愿服务。志愿者在全球范围内组织和提供 SDP 社会干预计划方面发挥着关键作用；大多数 SDP 志愿者工作是由当地年轻人承担的，他们经常以当前的同龄人或未来的社区领袖的身份出现。具体来说，我们利用二律背反和阈限概念的独特组合来系统地检查 SDP 志愿者的“中间”位置、角色和经历。我们的分析突出了三组矛盾。首先，分类二律背反与志愿者在社会人口统计学方面（例如青春期和成年期之间）的界限或中间定位有关，非政府组织内的地位（既不是受薪雇员也不是计划用户群体），以及他们在非政府组织和社区之间的地位。其次，志愿者的结构性矛盾与发展的赋权/弱化方面、国际发展和国家公共部门之间的定位以及他们在民间社会和私营部门之间的地位有关。第三，志愿服务的社会矛盾集中在他们与发展非政府组织的关系、与捐助者的联系以及志愿者在项目可持续性方面的立场。该论文借鉴了在三个不同地点（科索沃、卢旺达和斯里兰卡）对 SDP 进行的基于访谈和实地调查的广泛研究，作为关于全球 SDP 部门的更广泛跨文化研究项目的一部分。