Volunteering for Festivals, Why and How

Abstract

This chapter reflects on some features of a topic that is both a source of controversy as well as importance in the cultural sector, that of ‘volunteering’. In 2001 Cultural Information and Research Centres Liaison in Europe (CIRCLE) published the results of a Pan-European enquiry which remains today as one of the few authoritative sources of reliable European statistical data on the subject (Dodd, 2001). This chapter will discuss the role of volunteering in different festivals and countries and provide some analysis of more recent research. What is volunteering? A simple definition is that provided by Canadian authors Gagnon and Fortin (2002: 67): volunteers “are people who freely assume to provide a service without being paid through a group or an organisation”.