On the occasion of International Volunteer Day (IVD) 2006, UNV Executive Coordinator Ad de Raad marks the fifth anniversary of the International Year of Volunteers and salutes the millions of volunteers around the world for their social and economic contributions. Read

Nairobi, Kenya: Fighting poverty and the attainment of the Millennium Development Goals is a global responsibility where everyone has a role to play. Governments’ efforts can only complement what ultimately will depend on the full involvement of people all over the world, stressed UNV Executive Coordinator Ad de Raad in his address at the Stand Up Against Poverty Concert in Nairobi. Read

Geneva, Switzerland: UNV programme's Executive Coordinator Ad de Raad reports at the UNDP Executive Board meeting, emphasizing the achievements UNV has made for since the last Board meeting two years ago. Read

Bonn, Germany: Fours years ago today the International Year of Volunteers (IYV) 2001 came to a close. The Year itself ended on a high note, as the four pillars of IYV – greater recognition, promotion, facilitation and networking – generated a momentum that raised the profile of volunteerism and volunteers to a level never seen before. Read

Beijing, China: "It is a great honour to be invited to address this International Forum on Volunteer Service and People’s Olympics. The Games themselves are an ancient tradition and, in many respects, so is volunteering." Read

Ten years and two days ago, Kobe and its surrounding region suffered a terrifying earthquake killing over 6.400 people. It injured some 40.000 and left over 300,000 homeless. Over a million people responded by volunteering their time, skills, energy and compassion to help out. Read

Islamabad, Pakistan: Being together here today in Islamabad, against the backdrop of the beautiful Margalla Hills, I am reminded that human settlements have been found on this site dating back at least 3000 years. That would mean that traditions of volunteerism date back as long. Read

Bonn, Germany: While global momentum behind the Millennium Development Goals increases, more people must be provided with volunteer opportunities if the international community is to meet the targets of the Goals, Ad de Raad, Executive Coordinator of the United Nations Volunteers (UNV) programme, expressed today in his message on International Volunteer Day. Read

Maastricht, Netherlands: We live in an increasingly inter-connected and inter-dependent world. Any debate on European issues impacts in one way or another on events beyond the region. So UNV being here has everything to do with making the case that we should not be blind to the fact that many of the issues covered at this Conference are equally relevant to poor countries and societies of the developing world. It is about making sure that what often seems to be a “blind spot” becomes a “hot spot”. Read

Turin, Italy: The volunteer movement forms an important part of global social capital and has to address the challenge of finding ways to strengthen the potential of local voluntary action, Ad de Raad, Executive Coordinator of the United Nations Volunteers (UNV) programme, said in a speech at the official closing ceremony to mark the first centenary of the foundation of the Associazione Nazionale Pubbliche Assistenze (ANPAS), the Italian National Association of Public Assistance Groups. Read