For a three-month period in 2002, UNV, along with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) country office, provided a fully-funded logistics and events officer to assist with the preparation of the World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD) in Johannesburg in September. Three additional national UN Volunteers were recruited and rallied nearly 3,000 local volunteers to support the Summit as greeters, ushers, tour guides, assistants at information kiosks, information technology specialists, general practitioners and assistants in various fields.

UN Volunteer's current contribution to South Africa
Currently, there are eight UN Volunteers serving in South Africa. Two anesthesiologists and a general practitioner are supporting the health care sector in rural areas by building local capacity to respond to regional health care needs; two statisticians are working with the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) processing and analysing 2001 census data; one international UN Volunteer is enhancing business and community relations in a joint project by UNV and the New Academy of Business. The UN Volunteer is based at the African Institute for Corporate Citizenship and investigates the process of involving multinational corporations and national companies in local development initiatives and the possible role for volunteers in this process; one national UN Volunteer supports the Cisco Networking Academy Programme in South Africa as an IT specialist managing a 280-hour, web-based curriculum programme that teaches students to design, build and maintain computer networks; and a Japanese international UN Volunteer works as a business and human rights specialist in a project to support sustainable development and humanitarian relief work.

South Africa's contribution to UN Volunteers
There are four South African UN Volunteers working abroad. Two are providing support to United Nations Missions Sierra Leone (UNAMSIL) as a mechanic and district electoral officer. One is an electrician with the United Nations Observer Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUC). An additional UN Volunteer works as an administrative assistant in finance with the United Nations Mission in Ethiopia and Eritrea (UNMEE).

Promotion of volunteerism
Under the direction of South African President Thabo Mbeki, 2002 was designated Year of Volunteers in South Africa. As a continuation of the International Year of Volunteers (IYV) in 2001, the Government made a commitment to its people to continuing promoting the value of volunteerism and its contribution to society. Also in 2002, a regional conference on volunteerism was held involving more than 250 delegates from Botswana, Lesotho, Mozambique, South Africa, Swaziland and Zambia. Since the conference, the national volunteer committee has been working towards institutionalizing Volunteer South Africa (VSA) to promote volunteerism and mobilize volunteers in the country. Strategies are under way to seek financial support from Government, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), and the Mott Foundation to cover the operational cost and to strengthen the provincial structures established during IYV.