01 December 2000

BONN: Promotional tools available on the IYV web site are being used to help market the year in countries around the world. IYV supporters in Chile, Indonesia, Mali and New Zealand, for example, have used resources such as the IYV logo to create banners, bookmarks, letterheads, medals and stamps.

IYV 2001 in cyberspace
IYV 2001 is the first international year to be driven by the Internet. According to web statistics, the number of monthly hits on the IYV web site has grown from 18,000 to well over 265,000-an increase of close to 1,500% over the past year.

The number of online contacts increases daily as volunteer organizations sign up to list their group in the IYV country profiles. The IYV network contains more than 10,000 volunteer organizations and individuals.

The web site (www.worldvolunteerweb.org) -- in English, French and Spanish -- has developed into an interactive portal or central source for news and networking in connection with the International Year of Volunteers. Visitors to the site can register their organizations and list their activities for the coming year. The web site features country profiles, information tools, web graphics, slide presentations, a media room, a photo library and soon, a youth section.

Country Profiles
Country profiles offer seven links including a general overview, partner organizations, volunteer opportunities, events, news and links, an online national photo database, IYV national focal points as well as all IYV documents and information tools submitted by IYV promoters worldwide. As of 5 December, there were more than 100 profiles available online.

Information Tools
This section provides easy access to IYV information that can be downloaded and distributed. The brochures, posters, banners and fact sheets can be printed out in black and white as well as in colour.

IYV Logo
The IYV logo is downloaded more than any other resource on the web site. More than 60 styles of logos are available in seven languages and three graphical formats. The logo can be used for local publications, such as brochures, banners and posters. The IYV 2001 logo was designed by a volunteer graphic artist, Sandra Rojas of Argentina.

Slide Presentations
Slide presentations focus on planning IYV activities at the national level. There is a general presentation on the objectives of the year, another on setting up national committees and a third on planning for IYV activities. There is also a listing of slide presentations created by different countries. The national committee in Bhutan, for example, has created a slide presentation on what other countries are doing for IYV. Volunteers in the Philippines have three slide presentations describing their IYV initiatives.

Media Room
The Media Room contains global IYV press releases, media contacts and the official online press kit for use by journalists and IYV promoters. It also includes photos and information about the official IYV opening ceremony at UN Headquarters in New York on 28 November 2000.

Photo Library
On 5 December, as part of the worldwide launch of the International Year of Volunteers, Team IYV launched a photo library that showcases 1, 500 volunteer photographs sent in from all over the globe. The photos have formed the basis of the IYV online photo library. Voluntary organizations are encouraged to send in pictures of volunteers in action for inclusion in an electronic tapestry and as part of volunteer news sections.

Youth volunteering site
Super 'V', a cartoon character designed at UNV, is poised to become the featured mascot on a new youth volunteering section of the IYV 2001 web site in the coming months. With content designed for young people, the new web pages will encourage young people to submit their volunteer contributions, connect with other volunteers and get in contact with other youth organizations from around the world.

IYV 2001 Documents
Updated information kits include fact sheets on planning, IYV 2001 background and volunteer facts. Other promotional materials include flyers, posters, pocket calendars, pins, balloons and stickers. Several countries have contributed their own IYV promotional items. In India, for example, there is a volunteer post card. The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in Indonesia has produced volunteer bookmarks. In Kyrgyzstan there will be a 2001 volunteer calendar to be launched at the beginning of the year. In Nepal, a Nepalese language brochure is intended to reach out to the public and spread recognition to rural areas. And in the Philippines local IYV banners promote the volunteer theme of "Building Locally, Bonding Globally."

The IYV 2001 Global Update
UNV produces and distributes a fortnightly electronic newsletter in English, French and Spanish with information on IYV preparations around the world. Some editions are also translated into Arabic, Japanese, Portuguese, Russian and Turkish. The Global Update features country preparations, volunteer stakeholders, workshops, calls for contributions and a volunteer star of the month.