2004: DRAFT Declaration of the community and voluntary sector
A draft declaration of the community and voluntary sector for discussion at the forums.
Declaration/charter Ideas for discussion
The purpose of this declaration:
- declaring our own sense of identity and self-determination
- declaring both where we are now, and our ideals for the future
- declaring the importance of our sector to the life of the nation
- declaring the basis of our relationships with other parts of our society
We are the community and voluntary sector.
We celebrate that we are placed in this land of Aotearoa/New Zealand
- founded on the basis of a contract binding tangata whenua and tangata tiriti in relationships of trust and mutual honour
- with a proud history of freedom of association and freedom of speech
- enriched by the contribution of countless people through voluntary service
We are everywhere:
for just about every place, every interest, every activity, every type of person, every ideal – there’s a club, a society, a trust, a committee
We are part of everyone’s lives:
every person and their family contributes to our sector, or benefits from what we do
We are diverse
we aren’t all the same and we are as proud of our unique differences as we are of what binds us together
we change as needs change, as communities change, as time passes
We are voluntary
our existence is not compulsory, but comes from the choice of people
We are voluntary
even when we have paid staff, we rely on the energy, skill and goodwill, the gifts of time and other resources, of countless individuals
We are values based
there is some purpose, ideal, or vision that drives us, and a set of values by which we live
We are advocates
there are ideals, people, principles, specific situations, which brought us into being, and we will always be impelled to "speak for" them, whatever else we do
We are not-for-profit
even when we are large and complex, the reason for our being is our original vision – being business-like is a means not an end
We are community-linked
we all have ordinary people as our base – and always need to be responsive to them
We are accountable
we are required to give account of what we are doing, and how – our members and our communities decide our direction.
We contribute to community wellbeing
there is an "added value" to our life and work – the binding together of families, of whanau, of communities – because of our shared vision and shared effort.
We are worldwide
many of us have important international links and we interact with others around the globe.
Return to 2004 Forum Archive Index.