27 June 2003

Brussels, Belgium: A year-long campaign to raise awareness within the institutions of the European Union on the importance and value of voluntary activity and to secure increased support for its development at a social, legislative and financial level, officially started this week in Brussels.

Launched at the European Parliament on 24 June, the Manifesto for Volunteering in Europe 2003 was developed by the European Volunteer Center (CEV) network. The manifesto outlines the importance of volunteering, as well as ways European stakeholders can best foster it.

Speaking on behalf of the United Nations at the launch, UN Brussels Liaison Office Director Omar Bakhet referred to volunteering as being "at the heart of the work and mission of the United Nations" and key to attaining and sustaining the Millennium Development Goals, agreed to by the international community.

The volunteering campaign is rooted in two UN General Assembly Resolutions. The first (A/RES/56/38) proposes recommendations on ways in which governments can effectively support volunteerism and the second (A/RES/57/106) invites all key stakeholders to continue to acknowledge the important role of volunteerism and to support it as a strategic tool to enhance social and economic development.

European Parliament Members Richard Howitt and Michael Cashman expressed their support for the creation of a "White Paper on Volunteering and Citizen Engagement in Europe" as an important tool in reviewing the scale and importance of voluntary activity in Europe and to examine strategies that could be implemented by the Community and Member States to support it.

The White Paper will be at the center of the advocacy campaign, which will be organized and led by CEV in the coming months.