Published: Less than 10 min ago
The war in Ukraine awakened something in the Swedes. Giving soared, but we weren’t satisfied with that. Around the country, people collected clothes and supplies and took shuttles to Ukraine.
One reason for the great involvement in Ukraine is that it is about a clear conflict, says Veronica Strandh, associate professor of political science at Umeå University. She researches the role of volunteers in crisis management and can state that volunteer involvement is greater than it has been in many years.
– The suffering itself in Ukraine is so obvious. Then there is a conflict that is clear to understand – it is a country attacking an innocent country.
Important core values
The Swedes are committed as a people and the will to defend is also high compared to other countries. One explanation is that we have a number of core values that we think are important – such as democracy, civil rights and freedom of speech, says Magnus Karlsson, professor at the Center for Civil Society Research at Marie Cederschiöld University.
He believes that precisely those values are at stake in Ukraine is an explanation for the great Swedish involvement.
– There is an old imminent Russian threat that represents a different order. Here we see that the threat challenges our values and then I think we identify a lot with Ukraine.
In connection with the outbreak of the war in Ukraine, a series of voluntary initiatives also arose which were spread via social media.
– Swedes are close to technology and we adopt new innovations quickly. I can imagine that we have quite close at hand to organize ourselves via the internet, says Magnus Karlsson.
Shorter efforts
So-called spontaneous volunteers, who choose to get involved outside the established organizations, are nothing new. But a trend has been seen for some time in which more people have gone from long involvement in large organizations to shorter efforts, explains Veronica Strandh.
– There is a preference for helping based on one’s own conditions. This spontaneity, we believe, will increase because it is more suited to a lifestyle that many people live.
Spontaneous involvement outside the big organizations has traditionally been seen as something with a short life, but the war in Ukraine has shown the opposite, she points out
– I think that the war in Ukraine shows exactly the endurance of volunteerism and a great strength there, which is sometimes forgotten that maybe it is the volunteers who are there even after the media lights have gone out and the authorities for various reasons have no resources left.
Facts
The involvement in Ukraine
After the outbreak of war, the percentage of Swedes who say they have given a gift increased to the highest levels in ten years, according to a survey conducted by Giva Sweden together with Novus.
Giving increased most among men, but also among young people.
Swedish collection control experienced an enormous commitment among private individuals and companies in connection with Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and assesses that the commitment continues when it is seen that the war may be prolonged.
It has also received several requests to open a 90 account from private initiatives and organizations working on aid shipments of materials and other supplies to Ukraine.
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