AESOP’S FABLES REVISITED: VOLUNTEERING THROUGH INFORMAL LIFELONG LEARNING

Volunteering is an expression of active citizenship, which occurs in many sectors. It is a value which should be developed from an early age through formal and informal learning. Nevertheless, not enough emphasis is given to it in educational institutes, and it is a value mostly ‘learned by example'. The European Commission has designated 2011 as European Year of Volunteering aiming to raise awareness of its significance and encourage the development of facilitating environments. Teaching of volunteering can start from an early age using short stories, easily understood by children. Aesop's fables have been educating generations since antiquity. The directedness of the stories, the presentation of difficult and complex situations in allegoric way, the demonstration of thoughts, feelings and decision choices, actions and consequences grasp the interest of the reader and offer food for thoughts for a series of life lessons. Three of these fables are analysed by using the idiolectic definition (ID) tool. It is an alternative qualitative tool, which can be used in interdisciplinary research, for analysis of texts. Pinpointing key points of the tales can be used as a basis for highlighting to young people fundamental concepts and as a starting point for dialogue and reflection.