Advantages of volunteering

To explore this further, we sat down with the current leader of Samfunnet, Vilde Kjelsrud Pedersen, and the incoming leader, Maja Raz Karterud. When we asked them why one should take on a position in Samfunnet, Maja exclaimed, “Because it’s fun!” They further explain that you gain a lot of work experience and social benefits: Joining a committee is a unique opportunity to meet new people and participate in the Samfunnet’s events. Although many may associate working at Samfunnet with bartending during party nights or being a security guard, that’s just the tip of the iceberg of what Samfunnet has to offer. There are many different roles you can take on as a volunteer, such as organizing events, managing finances, working in the café, carpentry, marketing, organizing concerts, or handling sound and lighting – the range of tasks Samfunnet offers is extensive.

In addition, you gain a lot of “spice” for your CV, as Maja puts it. Having experience working at Samfunnet can make you stand out in a future job interview, in addition to providing you with valuable experiences to carry forward in your career. You gain more knowledge about working in an organization and what it entails, as well as developing strong teamwork skills.

Financial benefits

As a member of Samfunnet, you receive discounted prices on event tickets, club services, and party nights.

However, these prices become even cheaper if you are a committee member. If you attended all of Samfunnet’s events in 2022 as a non-member, it would cost you 8000 NOK. As a member, it would cost you 5670 NOK, and as a committee member, you would only spend 1235 NOK. That means you could save up to 4435 NOK just on events!

Why are volunteers important?

“The only reason we are able to run this place is because of our volunteers.” Vilde emphasizes that Samfunnet is an important and truly unique gathering place for students socially. Samfunnet provides a safe environment for party nights with trained and dedicated individuals that you won’t find elsewhere. “There are plenty of party-loving people in Ås, so if you enjoy parties, you should take on a position,” Maja laughs. Moreover, the prices you find at Samfunnet are not the same as those you encounter in bars and clubs in Oslo or other big cities. “We strive to keep the prices as low as possible.”

They also emphasize that Samfunnet contributes to the uniquely strong sense of community among students at NMBU. “We are the most satisfied university students in Norway, and it’s undeniable that it’s because we have an incredibly strong sense of community, and I dare sayt hat Samfunnet plays a significant role in that,” asserts Maja. Despite Ås being a small and seemingly ordinary place, there is an incredible amount of excitement and fun happening here, which can be attributed to long-standing traditions of togetherness, volunteerism, and accessibility.

Volunteering is waning – why?

Are the benefits offered by Samfunnet to those with positions and committee memberships motivating enough for the students? Vilde admits that perhaps the benefits are not visible or good enough, considering the observed decline in volunteerism. One measure to increase volunteerism could be to clarify and highlight the benefits and experiences gained from working at Samfunnet. “It’s not just Samfunnet struggling with volunteerism, it’s actually a nationwide trend, there’s a dip,” she adds. It is not unlikely that this is due to the pandemic, and Samfunnet is working to revive engagement. Maja adds that students who started at NMBU in the midst of the pandemic have not had the opportunity to experience what Samfunnet is all about and how much fun it can be. It is incredibly important for Samfunnet to regain volunteer participation. “If we don’thave enough volunteers, we can’t have as many events. If we have very few, we may have to cancel events or, in the worst-case scenario, shut down the house.”

Revision of benefits

The Board of Samfunnet is currently working on revising these benefits you receive from working at Samfunnet. They do not want to go into detail about the revision as it is an ongoing process. However, we wonder what the underlying reason for this revision could be. According to the long-term strategy of the Board of Samfunnet, revisions are supposed to take place every even-numbered year, but now they want to change it to odd-numbered years to align with UKA (the Norwegian student festival). It is important to regularly revise the benefits to offer a good package that aligns with prices and the desires of volunteers. “We want the volunteers here to feel that their wishes are heard ... of course, we need to stay within realistic limits, but we try to stretch as far as we can to meet them,” explains Vilde. She also adds that prices, which have perhaps been the main focus, are constantly being revised. The goal is to keep costs for students as low as possible while making everything sustainable: “We are not here to make money; whatever we earn goes back into Samfunnet so that we can organize cool events for our members.” They conclude by mentioning that revising does not necessarily mean changing everything, but rather taking a look, although there will be changes this time around. “There will be changes in the benefits to make them more visible, with contractually guaranteed benefits,” Maja explains. Finally, they mention that they are also looking at price differentiation, and this is something the current and incoming Head of Finance will be working on extensively throughout the summer.