17 May 2004

Bonn, Germany: The United Nations Volunteers (UNV) programme has announced the 2004 "Online Volunteers of the Year". The 10 individuals who come from Australia, India, Kenya, the Philippines, Spain, the United States and Zimbabwe, were recognized for their outstanding contributions to organizations in Asia, Africa and Latin America, via UNV's Online Volunteering (OV) service.

The 2004 Online Volunteers of the Year, their host organization and nationality are:

• Beatriz Iglesias, of Spain, nominated by the USA-based Shine a Light;
• Biswajit Dash, of India, nominated by People with Disabilities in Uganda;
• Blandina Musvoto, a Zimbabwean national living in Denmark, nominated by the Nigerian- based Mgbala Agwa Youth Forum;
• Claire Suzanne Holland, of the United States, nominated by Bureau for Reconstruction and Development, based in Afghanistan;
• Flavia Trevisani, an Italian living in The Netherlands, nominated by the USA-based Lawyers Without Borders;
• George Okello Gopal, of Kenya, nominated by the Canadian-based Centre for Research in Women’s Health;
• Ian Foster, of Australia, nominated by the British Gwalior Children’s Hospital Charity;
• Kalyani Suresh, of India, nominated by the USA-based Professional Education Organization International (PEOI);
• Maria Yvette Reyes, of The Philippines nominated by the Ugandan Centre for Rural Development and Training;
• William R. Wallace, of the United States, nominated by the Canada-based Refugee Education Sponsorship Program: Enhancing Communities Together (RESPECT).

Congratulating the Online Volunteers of the Year, Ad de Raad, Executive Coordinator a.i. of the UN Volunteers programme said, "For the third consecutive year, ten people have emerged as being particularly outstanding in contributing their time, expertise and creativity to others via the Internet. Their profiles show that volunteering online makes a real difference to communities in the developing world."

Some of the contributions made by these volunteers include:

• Translating hundreds of pages and a CD ROM from English to Spanish on topics such as desertification, HIV/AIDS and street children in Latin America;
• Contributing professional expertise in law, training and organizational consulting to a new Afghan-based organization working to facilitate community development;
• Producing a research report analyzing poverty reduction strategy papers on four Sub-Saharan African countries (Malawi, Rwanda, Tanzania and Cameroon) in view of gender and health issues;
• Editing and publishing a newsletter for an organization-serving people with disabilities in India;
• Re-designing a website to make it accessible for people with disabilities who are using assistive technologies.

The announcement comes on May 17, World Telecommunication Day (WTD). The UN General Assembly proclaimed WTD to focus the world’s attention on the strategic role that access to computers, the Internet and other information communications technologies (ICT) are playing in sustainable development efforts.

Each of these outstanding Online Volunteers will receive a certificate of recognition and a small gift from the UN Volunteers programme.

The Online Volunteering service allows volunteers around the world to contribute to issues that address the most critical problems facing developing countries. Online volunteers can make a difference from their computers at home, work, university or a community technology center. So far, more than 12,000 have signed up on UNV's Online Volunteer service since its launch in 2000. Online volunteers have helped more than 400 organizations in 60 countries through their engagement with OV.