08 March 2002

Rome, Italy: Fifteen UN Volunteer Interns recruited and fielded in countries around the world have completed assignments under a new initiative promoting the skills of young Italian professionals in development. Several of these volunteers will discuss their experiences at a special debriefing session in Rome. Journalists are invited to attend a reception to meet the UN Volunteers.

Date/Time: Monday, 11 March 2001; 5:15 p.m.
Venue: HRIC/UNDESA
Corso Vittorio Emanuele II, 251
00186 Roma

UN Volunteer Interns taking part in this 12-month internship scheme started their assignments in February 2001 in Brazil, China, Ecuador, Egypt, Guatemala, India, Mali, Namibia and Rwanda. All of the 23 to 27-year-olds have earned university degrees in development studies related to poverty reduction, information and communication technology, law or human rights.

"There is recognition of the value that these young people contribute to development," said William Adrianasolo, head of UN Volunteers' Research and Development Unit. "They have proved themselves -- feedback from their supervisors has been overwhelmingly positive."

The programme was developed between the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the United Nations Volunteers (UNV), with the active support of the UN Human Resources for International Cooperation (UNHRIC). The Government of Italy pays the full cost of the scheme, including administrative support, while host organizations and programmes provide working facilities, guidance and supervision. Those completing the programme are given certificates and professional references.

Interest is growing in the initiative, as there were 100 applications for the first group of UN Volunteer Interns; for the second group that went out in early January, over 300 young graduates applied for 20 posts. According to Adrianasolo, the pilot phase showed that there was sufficient demand from the field with such UN organizations as the UN Development Programme, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, the World Food Programme, the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization and UNV field offices. Several host organizations have requested extensions or new contracts for the Italian UN Volunteer Interns.

Another group of 20 Italian UN Volunteer Interns under the scheme's third phase will be fielded in October.

Additional Italian support to UN Volunteers

During 2001, 191 Italian UN Volunteers served around the developing world with UN agencies and under other initiatives, such as the Special Voluntary Fund for new approaches to development stressing volunteer action, as well as the following:

Full Funding
Since 1997, Italy fully funds 10 Italian nationals per year. Presently, there are 14 Italian fully-funded UN Volunteers serving in Albania, Bosnia, Egypt, Lebanon, Morocco, Mozambique, Slovenia, Somalia, Sudan, Uganda and Yugoslavia (Kosovo). These UN Volunteers are serving in activities such as poverty alleviation, communication/advocacy and public relations, good governance, human rights, assisting physically handicapped, gender and adolescence health and cultural heritage. To identify candidates for these posts, UNV is assisted by two Italian non-governmental organizations: Coordinamento delle Organizzazioni non governative per la coop. Internazionale allo Sviluppo (COCIS) and Federazione Organismi Cristiani Servizio Internazionale Volotario (FOCSIV).

United Nations International Short-Term Advisory Resources
Since 1996, Italy has also funded advisory missions in support of small and medium enterprise development under the UNV's United Nations International Short-Term Advisory Resources (UNISTAR) activities. The Italian volunteers who undertake these missions are retired managers and professionals. They bring a wide range of business and management skills as well as technical expertise for a variety of industries in the developing countries. Every year, some 50 Italian nationals carry out short-term advisory missions in countries such as Albania, Argentina, Chile, China, Colombia, Côte d'Ivoire, Ecuador, El Salvador, Ethiopia, Jordan, Kenya, Nepal, Niger, Ukraine, Viet Nam, Yugoslavia and Zambia. In this endeavour, UNV works closely with Seniores Italia and Volontari Senior Professionali.

The International Year of Volunteers
The Italian Government supported volunteer activities during the International Year of Volunteers (IYV 2001) by funding a project focusing on ways governments and the UN system can support volunteering and by commissioning a researcher to produce a background note on the topic of volunteerism and social inclusion. It also supported IYV outreach to Arab speaking countries to develop the IYV web site in Arabic and enabled volunteers in Lebanon, Mozambique and India to promote national youth projects. A government-sponsored workshop for volunteer experts and practitioners is to take place in Rome later this year.