Civic Engagement and Volunteerism (A Case Study of Islamabad, Pakistan)

Abstract

Civic participation motivates people to devote their time, money and energy for the welfare of society through volunteering activities. The study in hand aimed to know the mainstream volunteering areas in Islamabad. Furthermore, the relationship of faith and education with civic involvement of people was also assessed. The sample of this research was thirty graduates of different universities aged between 21 35 belonging different religious sect and ethnicities. Qualitative research methods such as purposive sampling, in-depth interviews and focus group discussion was employed. The analysis of the key findings generalized that major volunteering areas include education, health, environment and general welfare. Volunteers are associated with non governmental organization or they work as a team. The major motivation for volunteerism include feeling of altruism, religious teaching or reward, personal experiences and sense of civic responsibility. Religion as a faith was observed to shape volunteering work as respondents participate in many religious volunteering activities. Besides faith, university ethnic environment, student councils and a few subjects play a pivotal role in developing the sense of civic engagement. However, civic engagement and volunteerism can be increased through proper educational policing. Key words: Volunteerism, Religion, Civic engagement, Education.