10 March 2000

BONN: If International Volunteer Day 1999 is to be taken as a dress rehearsal it augurs well for IYV 2001. Twelve months before the start of the International Year of Volunteers, people around the globe were already gearing up. In Suriname and Kyrgyzstan, roundtable discussions among a wide range of volunteer organizations sketched out objectives for IYV 2001. In Mali, a national committee was established to prepare for the Year.

In China, a compendium on volunteer organizations including policy recommendations as a step to promote volunteerism towards 2001 was launched. Similarly, a publication on IVD activities in Nepal will form part of the springboard for planning IYV. Drawing competitions encouraged children and students in Fiji and Ethiopia to contribute their ideas to IYV posters and calendars.

In Spain, the Volunteer Award of Catalunya was presented during a conference on "Volunteering in the 21st Century". Press conferences and events around the world alerted the media. On 5 December 2000 volunteers on all continents will celebrate the beginning of the IYV 2001. Given the enthusiasm with which preparations are already under way, it will without doubt spark a firework of activities. It is our Year -- let's seize it!