Evidence-based approach in Erasmus+
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Solidarity in times of COVID-19 – the perception of the notion and value of solidarity by European Solidarity Corps volunteers during pandemic By Mateusz Jeżowski
1. Introduction This article discusses the perception of the concept of “solidarity” by foreign volunteers who carried out their volunteering activities in Poland during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic (between January and May 2020). The notion of solidarity was introduced to modern sociology by Émile Durkheim and referred to the social unity of a given group. Durkheim formed the theory of mechanical and organic solidarity, where the former refers to the social integration of individuals based on common values, beliefs and, by consequence, actions (Durkheim, 1947). The latter, on the other hand, means social integration arising from the need of society members for each other’s services and is based on the division of labour in modern societies and the interdependence of individuals in society. For Durkheim, law was an important mark of solidarity, as all permanent forms of social life strive towards some form of order, and law in this context is nothing more than institutionalised order (Durkheim, 1947). In Europe, the notion of solidarity is often associated with the Polish trade union Solidarność – the first independent free trade union of the Eastern bloc, which started in 1980 in Gdańsk during a growing wave of strikes protesting against rising food prices. It was in the Lenin Shipyard of Gdańsk that over 17,000 workers barricaded themselves under the leadership of Lech Wałęsa – then an electrician and between 1990–1995 the first president of Poland to be elected in general elections (Karabel, 1992). The values underlying Solidarność referred directly to workers’ solidarity, Christian ethical norms and values, Polish independence traditions, social justice, freedom and tolerance (Obserwatorium Żywej Kultury, nd.). Solidarity is also one of the fundamental values of the European Union, along with the securing of a lasting peace, unity, equality, freedom and
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Mateusz Jeżowski is Co-ordinator in the Research and Analysis Department of the Polish Erasmus+ and European Solidarity Corps National Agency. His current research focusses on transnational volunteering, university– –business relations as well as on competences gained in non-formal education settings. He is a member of two international research consortia and acts as a National Correspondent for Youth Wiki project.
KEYWORDS European Solidarity Corps, volunteering, COVID-19, solidarity,
learning mobility
