Measuring Volunteerism Means Recognizing the Strength of Communities
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Prof. dr Almir Badnjević, Director, Agency for Identification Documents, Registers and Data Exchange Bosnia and Herzegovina - IDDEEA
Across Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Western Balkans, volunteerism has never been merely an occasional act of goodwill. It has often represented a silent infrastructure of social resilience, solidarity, and everyday support among people. In times of crisis, economic transition, migration, natural disasters, social fragmentation, and institutional challenges, it was frequently citizens, young people, professionals, informal groups, civil society organizations, and local communities who demonstrated that development does not emerge only from institutional decisions, but also from the energy of society itself, from people willing to participate, contribute, and build.
From the perspective of the Agency for Identification Documents, Registers and Data Exchange of Bosnia and Herzegovina, an institution responsible for identity systems, secure registries, digital representation, and electronic services, volunteerism can also be viewed beyond its traditional meaning. Volunteerism is not only a form of civic engagement. It is also an expression of trust. It reflects the extent to which people believe that their time, knowledge, and effort can create meaningful change. This is precisely why measuring volunteerism is not merely a statistical exercise. It is a matter of public policy, institutional planning, and societal recognition.
What is not measured can easily remain invisible. And what remains invisible is difficult to acknowledge, support, or integrate into development policies. In developing societies, including those of the Western Balkans, a significant portion of socially valuable work takes place outside formal economic systems. People support the elderly, participate in solidarity initiatives, contribute to educational, cultural, humanitarian, environmental, and digital projects, mentor younger generations, provide professional expertise to their communities, and often perform work of immense social value that remains absent from official records. This creates an important paradox: communities often continue to function because of contributions that systems do not sufficiently recognize or quantify.
Bosnia and Herzegovina carries a particularly important experience in this regard. Our society understands the value of informal community engagement. However, what is often missing is its systematic recognition. If volunteerism were measured more comprehensively, we would gain a clearer understanding of how young people contribute to society, how civil society organizations generate social value, how professional volunteering strengthens communities, how digital skills can support local development, and how civic participation itself can become part of a country’s broader development narrative.
This is precisely where volunteerism, innovation, and digital transformation intersect. Contemporary volunteerism is no longer limited to physical presence. Today, it increasingly takes place through digital platforms, online mentoring, education, data analysis, support for vulnerable groups, communication campaigns, software and application development, community mapping, and rapid coordination of services and assistance. The digital environment enables knowledge from one individual to support a community in another city, allows young experts from Bosnia and Herzegovina to contribute to regional initiatives, and gives local organizations visibility within broader international frameworks.
Within this process, IDDEEA recognizes a clear connection between digital infrastructure and social impact. Digital identity, qualified electronic signatures, and the e-IDDEEA application are not merely technical solutions. They represent part of a broader transformation in the culture of public administration and in the relationship between citizens and institutions. When citizens can access services more securely, more efficiently, and more easily, administrative burdens are reduced, trust is strengthened, and space is created for more active participation in society. Digital services are not an end in themselves. Their true value lies in allowing citizens to spend less time navigating bureaucracy and more time dedicated to work, family, education, community engagement, and the creation of new social value.
The same principle applies to volunteerism. Just as digital transformation requires data, measurable outcomes, and structured services, volunteerism also requires stronger visibility, better evidence, and more robust analytical frameworks. Without measurement, we cannot fully understand the contribution of volunteer work to public policy and social development. Without reliable data, it becomes difficult to design effective support mechanisms for young people, local communities, civil society organizations, and innovative initiatives. Without measurable indicators, it is difficult to demonstrate convincingly that volunteerism is not a peripheral activity, but rather a significant development resource.
From the perspective of IDDEEA, the future development of Bosnia and Herzegovina lies at the intersection of trust, data, technology, and civic energy. Digital transformation can create tools. Institutions can establish frameworks. But communities provide meaning to both. This is why volunteerism must become more visible, measurable, and recognized. A society that measures only formal economic activity, while overlooking the work of communities, does not fully understand its own development.
For Bosnia and Herzegovina and the wider Western Balkans, measuring volunteerism is therefore not only important, but necessary. It helps us recognize what communities are already doing, support what has the potential to grow, and demonstrate that development is shaped not only by institutions, but also by people who believe that through their knowledge, time, and solidarity, they can improve society for future generations.