Small and local bodies are at the heart of a diverse array of civic communities building towards a civic Europe, the President, Mrs Robinson, said yesterday in London.
Addressing the British Academy annual dinner, Mrs Robinson said it had been her privilege to see first hand the voluntary effort which was so much part of Irish life.
"I could make a composite for you of the hundreds of local groups I have visited in inner cities, in small rural areas and in sprawling suburbs. I could describe the striking excellence of the development committees, the cooperatives, the facilitators and supportive structures which I have had the opportunity to observe."
She said interest in volunteering was growing in all European countries, and cited as one reason the trend away from State welfarism, which meant most European governments were looking to the voluntary sector to play a larger role in the direct delivery of welfare and other services.
"Common demographic and socio economic trends are lending to an upsurge of interest in volunteering", she said.
"In many countries the ageing population has led to a debate about the role of volunteering in contributing to "active retirement", while the continuing high levels of unemployment have raised the issue of the role of volunteering in providing `skills training or useful work for those outside the labour market."