Mayor of Turin
Representatives of the Region of Piemonte and Province of Turin
President and Vice President of ANPAS
Presidents of volunteer organisations represented here
Fellow Volunteers

First and foremost, thank you for inviting me to be with you today. It is an honour to be on this platform alongside such distinguished colleagues, to be part of this magnificent event, and to share some of my thoughts.

I wish all of you gathered here could have the opportunity to stand where I am right now. It is a wonderful sight to see so many thousands of you coming together to celebrate and recognise volunteer action. It is in itself a reaffirmation of the spirit of volunteerism and the enormous positive force and resource that it represents.

There is a school of thought suggesting that volunteerism is on the decline, that factors such as unemployment, natural disasters and civil conflict lead to more self-centered behaviour as people concentrate on dealing with their own immediate problems of survival. Here today, I challenge that school of thought. Instead, I would say that such hardship catalyses social ties and draws people and their communities together; that it inspires the traditions of engagement, trust, solidarity and reciprocity that exist in every society; that it draws together key actors – non-governmental organizations, governments, the private sector, academia and the media – in the concerted effort to provide support and relief to those in need.

There is no doubt that the movement we all belong to forms an important part of what is in fact global social capital. It is the “glue” that holds society together. It is the force that constitutes a vast resource for the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals. Indeed, the solidarity and creativity of millions of ordinary people worldwide, channelled through volunteerism, are key to meeting the MDG targets. And in our work at the United Nations Volunteers, we continually challenge ourselves to find ways to further harness the potential of local voluntary action for development, to unleash the positive energy that comes with citizen engagement. Of course, it is not always an easy task. But you help us to make the case, to convince those who may be sceptical, that the spirit of volunteering exists all over the world, not only in developed countries but also in developing countries. And at the core of it the notion that while voluntary action often happens without official sanction or support, the fact that good deeds grow in the wild does not free us from the obligation to cultivate them.

In providing services such as emergency medical care, social programmes for the vulnerable, healthcare programmes and disaster prevention and relief - not only here in Italy but also abroad - ANPAS exemplifies the ideals of volunteerism and global solidarity at its best. Through your work, you bridge what in many countries is a divide between local and international volunteer action. You are an inspiration to us all.

I would also like to take this opportunity to express my sincere appreciation to the government and the people of Italy for their support to the UNV programme. Under that programme, close to 6000 fellow volunteers are engaging themselves every year to support the causes of peace and development under the blue UN flag. They come from 160 countries and serve in some 140 developing countries. They are true global citizens, very much like you. And with the support of our cooperating organizations, FOCSIV, COCIS and Seniores Italia, many hundreds of Italian nationals have served with UNV in areas ranging from elections, emergency relief, human rights, HIV/AIDS, environmental protection, democratic governance and private sector development. Demonstrating its commitment to and belief in volunteer action, the people of Italy also provide invaluable support by contributing financially to our Programme as well as making statements in key fora such as the UN General Assembly. Such support is highly, highly valued…….not only by colleagues in UNV itself, but also our partners in development.

In closing…….much has been achieved in the last years in gaining recognition of the role and contribution of volunteerism and the myriad of ways in which voluntary action can be encouraged and supported. The trail has been blazed – now we have to go down it because it leads to a safer, more prosperous and equitable world for all. If all the energy and creativity we have seen at this event is representative of what the volunteer movement can offer – and I believe it is - , just imagine what together we can achieve.

Once again, my very sincere thanks for this invitation to be with you and celebrate this International Volunteer Day. I feel enormously inspired and also humble. It is a memory that I will always treasure and hold dear to my heart.

Grazie di cuore a tutti voi.