Page 50 - Bulletin, Vol.81 No.2, December 2022

ASSOCIATIONS: TIMES ARE HARD, DO YOURSELF

GOOD AND TAKE IT EASY!

By Christian DAVID

The voluntary sector has always been confronted with difficulties inherent in the way it
operates.

For the management team, it is necessary first of all to make oneself available and then
to participate actively in the creation and maintenance of a dynamic aimed at involving
both the members of the bureau and the members. This activity certainly generates a
constraint for those who take on the management and logistics, but it also has many
advantages. From getting to know new people and strengthening social ties, to
reinforcing and updating acquired knowledge, acquiring know-how and developing
contacts, everything contributes to an open mind and to maintaining an intellectual
acuity aimed at adapting and finding the right solutions and referrers.

And what a pleasure it is to work in a group to solve a problem that seemed insoluble at
the beginning and whose horizon can become clearer thanks to the help and common
knowledge provided by the team.

It is well known that when we talk about associations, the phrases that are most often
evoked are: "it is always the same people who work" and "criticism is easy, but art is
difficult". It is true that in all associations, some people who join, enthusiastic at the
beginning, sometimes find, over time, all the excuses not to be present when the need
arises and the workload that should have been distributed is instead always
concentrated on the same people. It is also noted that other people (or the same
people) sometimes give lessons in efficiency without participating or taking the time to
know the full parameters of the problem.

For members: This possibility of belonging to a community is also particularly
important, especially for people who stop working, e.g. because of retirement. A feeling
of isolation can quickly set in. The reference points and reflexes that have been applied
throughout a working life are no longer used. The loss of social links between
colleagues can also have consequences for the morale of the person who finds himself
isolated.

Indeed, it is unanimously recognised that our cognitive functions, which enable us to
interact with others, remain essential to maintaining our physical, intellectual and moral
health. These functions remain activated if we carry out an activity, whether it be
associative, recreational, artistic or sporting.

In this context, technology can facilitate interactions and has been used extensively
during these pandemics. However, the lessons of these recent episodes show that
there is no substitute for the effectiveness of the 'traditional' exchanges of a face-to-
face, convivial meeting, meal or shared coffee.

48 AAFI-AFICS BULLETIN, Vol. 81 No. 2, 2022-12