Is volunteering dangerous for paid staff ? Are paid staff and volunteers competitors or complements ?
There are two kinds of analysis. The opponents consider volunteers as job killers . The defenders see volunteers as innovative models and essential auxiliaries.
Our Institute gathered, in December 1998, experts, professors and managers in the non profit sector who were concerned by the question.
Should we propose something like a "status of the active" to reconciliate both camps ? Testimonies from managers from associations in the social, health and cultural sectors were quite edifying.
The World Days for Youngsters in 1997 and the World Football Cup in 1998, were clear proof that paid staff and volunteers may act as complements on the ground. This complementarity was a key issue for the success of these two major events both organised in Paris.