29 April 2009

Bonn, Germany: Development and the environment are intertwined, and volunteers are essential to both, says
UNV Executive Coordinator, Flavia Pansieri.

During the seventh International Science Conference on the Human Dimensions of Global Environmental Change (IHDP), Ms. Pansieri also introduced the UNV theme for International Volunteer Day (IVD) 2009, ‘volunteering for our planet’. openmeeting2009.org

Addressing a plenary session on ‘social challenges and demographics’, she explained how, in the context of combating and adapting to climate change, volunteerism can be a driving force for social inclusion.

During the speech, Ms. Pansieri referred to UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s International Volunteer Day statement at the time of the Bali climate change conference in 2007: “We need people everywhere to volunteer for this challenge,” Mr. Ban said at the time, “and to help communities mitigate and adapt to the effects of climate change. Voluntary action is also critical to build domestic solutions for sustainable economic growth, and to develop capacities to prepare for and respond to natural disasters.”

Emphasising how volunteerism has been at the core of the environmental movement from its earliest stages, she pointed out that the poor are both “caretakers of the world’s most endangered resources” yet stand to suffer most from environmental degradation. “They must be seen as part of the solution rather than part of the problem,” she stressed.

The Executive Coordinator further discussed ways in which volunteerism improves social inclusion, especially for youth. Moreover, the “commitment, inspiration, positive energy and new ideas” that youth could contribute would be instrumental in addressing environmental problems, she said.

UNV volunteers and others are already at work on environmental issues, and Ms. Paniseri called on scientists to research further “the role and impact of volunteerism on addressing the global challenges of environmental change, and how positive results are being achieved.”

In the conclusion to her speech, Flavia Pansieri took the opportunity to talk about International Volunteer Day. “We think that this year is extremely relevant as IVD falls in the same month as the United Nations Climate Change conference in Copenhagen,” she said.

“Therefore,” she continued, “we decided that the theme should be ‘volunteering for our planet’... UNV would welcome opportunities at the global and national levels to work with partners to make 5 December 2009 a day for highlighting volunteers and their environmental action.”

IHDP is an international, interdisciplinary science programme, dedicated to promoting, catalysing and coordinating research, capacity development and networking on the human dimensions of global environmental change. It is a joint programme of the International Council for Science (ICSU), the International Social Science Council (ISSC) and the United Nations University (UNU).