24 October 2001

Bonn, Germany: Sharon Capeling-Alakija, Executive Coordinator of the United Nations Volunteers programme (UNV) today signed the Golden Book of the City of Bonn to mark UN Day.

"This is an expression of the enormous hospitality that the City of Bonn has extended to the United Nations Volunteers programme and the other UN organizations based here on the Rhine," Ms. Capeling-Alakija said after signing the book that also includes Kofi Annan's autograph.

She said since UNV moved to Bonn in 1996, the programme has had its fourth straight record year with close to 5,000 United Nations Volunteers now serving annually for peace and development around the world. "And in 2001, the International Year of Volunteers of which the City has been an ardent supporter, we are already aiming at the fifth record year."

Bonn Mayor Bärbel Dieckmann said the city's Golden Book, started in 1926, now comprises three volumes and is "one of the most famous collections of autographs in the world".

Four years ago, the first representatives of UN organizations based in Bonn signed the Golden Book on the occasion of the UN Day. They were Michael Zammit Cutajar, Executive Secretary of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), and Ms. Capeling-Alakija's predecessor, Dr. Brenda Gael McSweeney.