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Jon Snow Interviews... Gordon Brown |
when is this on?
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 In this series of conversations marking the Year of the Volunteer 2005, Jon Snow gets to grips with what motivates some extraordinary people to give that little bit more time and energy to others. We hope this series of interviews will change the way you think, challenge how you choose to give your time or at the very least give you some inspiration.
In the third interview of the series Jon Snow meets the man behind the Year of the Volunteer – the Chancellor of the Exchequer, Gordon Brown. Don’t miss The Jon Snow Interviews exclusively here on your Community Channel.
Gordon Brown is the driving force behind establishing 2005 as the Year of the Volunteer, providing the funds and political capital. He’s a man who passionately believes in there being a ‘good will mountain’ just waiting to be tapped, and the positive impact of inspiring and organising volunteers on communities around the world. So what motivates one of the country’s most powerful politicians to promote volunteering? Jon Snow meets the man and asks the questions.
So what exactly is the Year of the Volunteer, and what is it meant to achieve? Gordon Brown believes it’s a way to inspire everyone, particularly the young, into taking an active role in the community, local or global. "I think one of the problems in the past has been that we haven’t provided the avenues for people to express their wish to be volunteers. It’s not for governments and it’s not really about government. It’s about all of us together as citizens trying to make it possible for people to do some of the things they want to do in their own communities but in the wider, global community if that’s their choice," says Brown.
Both Gordon Brown and Jon Snow had fathers in the clergy and grew up with a Christian-influenced charitable perspective, but it was other experiences in their formative years that have inspired them to promote volunteering and the voluntary sector. For Snow, a period of working with VSO (Voluntary Services Overseas) in Uganda left his global perspective permanently altered and diverted his early ambition to be a Tory MP – a decision congratulated by the Chancellor – but what inspired the young Gordon Brown towards volunteering?
"Well I rather regret not being able to do VSO but it didn’t seem an opportunity for me at the time when I was at school. But my brother was more of an influence on me than any other because he - (and therefore I) was the pioneer of this - ran a whole series of organisations to raise money for charity or to do work for charity, even when he was 10, 11, 12." Together they started a newspaper to raise money for various charities and began various fundraising initiatives and organisations, though the Chancellor can’t remember whether they paid any taxes at the time!
Gordon Brown says he would rather be remembered for the contributions he makes to helping others and making a difference in the world, than for his personal achievements of power and status, and believes this moral sense is part of being a human being. He says, "I think most people would want to be remembered not by titles or possessions or anything. They would want to be remembered by the good that they were able to do to help other people and it’s reminding people that there are opportunities to do good, to volunteer, to play your part, that really is the purpose of this Year of the Volunteer."
Don’t miss your opportunity to watch this fascinating insight into the experiences and personal beliefs that motivated Gordon Brown to establish the Year of the Volunteer.
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Last Updated ( Thursday, 13 April 2006 )
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