How an ancient tradition shaped a nation's work ethic
塑造挪威人职业道德和凝聚力的古老传统
It’s the day before National Day and people across Norway are working hard to make the whole country look clean and tidy ahead of the celebrations on May 17. In a school playground in the small town of Sogndal, lots of parents have turned up to get the area ready.
国庆节的前一天，挪威举国上下都在清扫整理，为了让大街小巷在5月17日国庆之前焕然一新。松达尔（Sogndal）小镇的学校操场上，许多学生家长在做准备工作。
Six mothers are directing operations. A young father and another parent who is an Eritrean refugee are carrying chairs and tables out. Another group are using birch tree branches and flags to make the space look festive, while others are putting out rubbish bins. A few are asking about the games they need to run the next day for the children. “Do your best, that´s good enough,” the organisers tell them.
六位妈妈在指挥。一位年轻的爸爸和另一位家长（厄立特里亚难民）正在把桌椅搬出来。另一些人在用桦树枝和旗帜装点操场，让这里更具节日氛围。其他人在倒垃圾。有人询问明天要为孩子们举办的活动，组织者告诉他们"尽力就好。"
This is “dugnad”, a word which literally means help or support in Norwegian, a custom of communal work in Norway that dates back centuries, and one that has existed in some form or another in most agricultural societies around the world.
这就是“dugnad”，在挪威语里的原意是帮助或支持（这里译为"志愿服务"）。在挪威，这种社区工作的传统可以追溯到几百年前，世界各地大多数农耕社会都有类似的传统。
In Norway, dugnad was traditionally a way of getting big tasks like roofing, haymaking and house-building done, usually followed by a big meal or a feast. In a nation of farmers and fishermen, it functioned as a kind of community insurance scheme. People helped others out and as a result knew that they could always call on the community in their time of need.
从前的挪威，类似盖屋顶、制干草、建房子这样的大活儿通常都是通过这种志愿服务来完成，完成后大家通常会大吃一顿。在农夫和渔民的社会中，志愿服务就像社区保险一样，帮助别人，自己需要帮助时同样可以寻求他人帮助。
Today dugnad has come to mean unpaid voluntary work done in a group, for local, national or international causes. And it’s become so entrenched in contemporary Norway that in 2004 dugnad was voted Norway’s word of the year.
如今，志愿服务意味着在一个团队中为地区、国家或国际事业进行无酬劳的工作。志愿服务的精神已经深入到当今每个挪威人的骨髓里，2004年“dugnad”获选挪威年度词语。
“Last week I had four different dugnads, because of my kids’ football teams. Next week we’re going to have a garden dugnad at work,” says Hanne Hoff, who is one of the organisers. She has no problem with working for free. “It brings us parents closer, and it´s a good feeling that we can do something together for our kids.”
霍夫（Hanne Hoff）是组织者之一，她说：“为了孩子参加的足球队，我上周有四个志愿服务活动。下周，我们还有一个做园艺的志愿服务项目。"义务劳动对她来说不成问题。"通过志愿服务，家长之间更亲近了，能一起为孩子们做些事，我们非常开心。”
In urban areas, dugnad is generally associated with outdoor spring cleaning and gardening in housing co-operatives. Dugnads are also common in nursery and primary schools to complete various types of maintenance.
在城市，春季户外清洁和住房合作社的园艺通常需要志愿服务来完成，幼儿园和小学的各类维护也需要志愿服务。
While in rural areas, neighbours also sometimes help fix up each other’s houses or garages. When it comes to sport, however, almost every parent in the country puts in an appearance to support their children’s activities.
在乡村，邻里之间不时互相帮忙修房子、车库。然而，一说到体育运动，则几乎每位家长都会参与志愿服务以支持孩子们的活动。
These sport-related dugnads can help small teams save on expenses that members might otherwise have to cover themselves, such as transport, half-time drinks or officials like referees and pitch-side first-aiders. This means dugnad has become a crucial resource for sports teams and, because it’s meant to be social, fun and voluntary, is seen as strengthening the team community.
体育运动相关的志愿服务能够帮助小型运动队节省开支。原本需要运动队自己承担的交通、中场休息时的饮料、请裁判员和场边医护人员的开销都能省下来。志愿服务对于运动队来说已经成为一种至关重要的资源，因为它意味着社交、兴趣和自愿活动，是增强运动队社群凝聚力的重要方式。
And this doesn't have to be small scale. Norway may only have around 5.3 million inhabitants but Norwegians take great pride in setting world records – and harnessing the spirit of dugnad has been integral to both the world´s largest youth football tournament and the world´s largest charity telethon.
如果你认为志愿服务只是小打小闹就错了。挪威只有约530万居民，却创下了让挪威人引以为傲的世界纪录——凭借着志愿服务的精神，挪威有着世界上最大规模的青少年足球赛和马拉松式电视慈善募款。
The football tournament attracts youth teams from all over the world. Participants say that it's impossible to tell which job or income bracket the volunteers involved come from. Whether a bus driver or a CEO in a big company, for almost a week everyone dresses the same, carries bags for their team, cheers the kids on and sleeps on mattresses on school floors.
足球赛吸引着来自世界各地的青少年球队参加。参赛者说根本看不出志愿者原本的职业是什么。无论是公交车司机还是大公司CEO，在几乎一周的时间里，大家都穿着同样的服装，为球队拎包，给孩子们加油鼓劲，睡在临时铺设在学校地板的床垫上。
The national telethon which raises money for charity also relies on the dugnad spirit. Every year, on a Sunday in October, 100,000 Norwegians knock on 2.3 million doors to shake a bucket for a charitable cause. In 2018 it’s about tackling loneliness across all sections of society.
马拉松式电视慈善募款同样需要依靠志愿服务精神。每年十月的一个周日，10万挪威人挨家挨户敲门拜访23万挪威家庭来为慈善事业筹款。2018年的主题是为了应对社会各界的孤独问题。
“Dugnad makes you feel like a good person, and it makes the world a better place,” Vibecke Ostby, head of the telethon, says. “Of course the amount of money collected is important, but the most important things is to get Norwegians engaged, working together for a cause bigger than themselves.”
电视慈善募款的牵头人奥斯比（Vibecke Ostby）说，“志愿服务让参与者觉得自己成为了更好的人，也让这个世界更加美好。筹集到的善款固然重要，但最重要的事是，挪威人携手为超越自身利益的事业而共同努力”。
Informal and flat structures have long characterised Norwegian working life which some attribute directly to the legacy of years of dugnad: an intentional lack of hierarchy which can leave foreigners struggling to work out who is an ordinary employee and who is a boss at a Norwegian firm.
挪威人友好平等的工作环境得益于志愿服务的传统：挪威公司没有上下级之分，外国人很难分辨出谁是老板谁是员工。
Surveys show that the number of volunteers in Norway and the amount of time they spend volunteering are high and increasing in some areas. A total of 61% volunteered for at least one organisation in 2014, figures from Statistics Norway show.
调查显示，一些地区志愿者数量和他们参与志愿工作的时间居高不下，并且持续增长。根据挪威统计局的数据，2014年，61%的挪威人参与了至少一个组织的志愿服务工作。
Dugnad is also a significant economic contributor. The value of voluntary work in Norway's non-governmental organisations (NGO) sector, for example, is estimated at just under £6.5bn ($8.8bn) – more than the £4.8bn of paid work in the sector - around 5% of GDP for mainland Norway in 2014.
志愿服务对经济的贡献同样不容小觑。例如，2014年，挪威非政府组织（NGO）志愿工作的价值约占挪威大陆GDP的5%，约为65亿英镑（88亿美元），高于该领域48亿英镑有偿工作的价值。
Research professor Karl Henrik Sivesind, of the Institute for Social Research in Oslo, has been studying dugnad for almost two decades. He says higher earners and the better educated are generally more involved. “It is a paradox that people not active in the labour market, who would have the most to gain by joining dugnad, contribute the least,” he says.
奥斯陆社会研究院的研究教授茜芙辛德 （Karl Henrik Sivesind）研究志愿服务已有差不多20年。他说薪酬高学历高的人中参与者更多，“很矛盾，在劳动力市场上不活跃，参与志愿服务最能获得好处的人，反而贡献最小。”
He says dugnad is a good opportunity for new people to make connections in the community such as refugees, immigrants and also unemployed people or people without an established social network. He says that while the main reason for taking part in a dugnad is to contribute to a good cause, doing so also boosts self-esteem and can even help develop new skills or connections useful for the job market.
他说，参加志愿服务是初来乍到者在社区内建立良好关系的好时机，比如难民、移民、失业者或者没有成熟社交圈的人。虽然人们参与志愿服务的主要原因是为了奉献社会，但是它同样能提升自尊心，甚至培养找工作所需的新技能和人脉。
“I remember the first time I was asked to contribute. I didn't know what dugnad really was, but I answered yes right away; I was so happy to be asked,” said Yvonne Nshimirimana from Burundi, a mother-of-two who came to Norway as a refugee 11 years ago.
希米里马纳（Yvonne Nshimirimana）是两个孩子的妈妈，11年前作为难民从布隆迪来到挪威，她说，“他们第一次问我的时候，我还不知道志愿服务到底是什么，但我立马就答应了；他们能问我，我实在是太开心了”。
Taking part has helped her make new friends and become an active member of the village community. For National Day she has to make three chocolate cakes. A small school in a small community means more dugnad responsibilities for everybody.
参与志愿服务让她结交了新朋友并成为乡村社区的活跃人士。国庆节她要做三个巧克力蛋糕。小社区里的学校也小，每个人要承担的责任就多了。
Tsegay Alem Gebretsadk, the Eritrean father, says he wants to meet his social obligations in his new home. “Of course, I want to support my kids and do what I'm expected to do. We do help each other in Eritrea too, but usually more with family and neighbours,” he says.
来自厄立特里亚的爸爸格布雷特萨克（Tsegay Alem Gebretsadk）说，他愿意承担在新家园的社会责任。他说，“支持我的孩子，做我应做的事，我非常乐意。我们在厄立特里亚也互相帮助，但大多是家人或邻里之间”。
One of the other parents, Gjoril Lerheim-Barsnes, says social media has helped make organising dugnads easier. “No one can say they didn´t get the messages any more, or that their kid lost the piece of paper about the dugnad,” she adds.
另一位家长莱海姆巴斯恩斯（Gjoril Lerheim-Barsnes）说社交媒体让组织志愿服务变得更加方便。她补充道，“没人能说自己没看到信息，或者孩子把关于召集家长志愿服务的那张纸弄丢了”。
Dr Sivesind says most people want to take part – and for those who don’t, life in small communities in particular can be a little uncomfortable. “If you don't attend, you know you will meet the same people at the stores, at school, at work or other activities,” he says. “You know you better meet up and do your share of work for your kids or community, otherwise you risk being labelled lazy and uncaring.”
茜芙辛德博士说，大多数人都愿意参加，—小部分不愿意参加的人在社区尤其是小社区里的日子不会太好过。“如果你不参加，在商店、学校、公司或者其它活动上还是会遇到这些人，"他说，"最好还是参加，为孩子或社区出一份力，不然你会被公认为懒惰又冷漠”。
Late the next day, National Day celebrations in the playground are over and the dugnad crew sweep into action. Within an hour everything is back to normal. The decorations are down, the rubbish has been picked up and the tables and chairs are back inside.
第二天晚些时候，操场上国庆节庆祝活动结束了，志愿服务团队马上又行动起来。不到一个小时，一切又恢复了常态。装饰去掉了，垃圾捡干净了，桌椅也放回了屋内原处。
The parents are happy – everything went well, the weather was good and the ice cream sales soared. The money will help pay for the school trip next year, so all the kids can go.
家长们很开心。一切顺利进行，阳光明媚，冰激凌生意很红火。赚的钱用来资助明年的学校旅行，这样所有的孩子都能参加。
“All the parents came; often both parents even if they were only asked to send one. It´s always a good feeling after a dugnad,” smiles Lerheim-Barsnes.
莱海姆巴斯恩斯笑着说，“所有的家长都来了；虽然只要求一位家长来，但通常爸爸妈妈都会来。参加完志愿服务总是心情愉悦”。
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