Volunteers’ collective memory of Youth Olympic Games: macro-level contextual understandings

Abstract

Knowledge about macro-level context differences in volunteering is critical. By adopting the notion of collective memory, consideration is given to how macro-level context constructs the volunteers’ memory of the experience at a sport mega-event such as the Olympic Games. A case study of the 2014 Nanjing Youth Olympic Games was selected. Thematic analysis of three focus groups reveals that volunteers’ memories are regulated by Confucian culture and socialist core value education (i.e. dedication, collectivism, and patriotism), contemporary political discourse (i.e. name card/image of China), as well as the construction of local volunteering culture (i.e. Little Lime). This study situates the Olympic volunteering in a dynamic interplay within the Oriental macro-system. It contributes to an increasingly studied demographic and essential subject for analysis on Occidental Olympic Games, especially when Chinese volunteer service is seriously impacted by the macro-level context and China will host the 2022 Winter Olympic Games after 2008 within a 14-year short interval.