by Anna Klissouras

05 December 2006

Bonn, Germany: Every day, countless citizens volunteer their time, energy and skills in response to crises or people in need. International Volunteer Day (IVD) was instituted to make visible and recognize the contribution of these unknown heroes, who, by their engagement, bring their countries one step closer to the Millennium Development Goals.

IVD is an important day for volunteerism worldwide. On this day, volunteer-involving organizations, government bodies, UN agencies and committed individuals around the world gather to jointly show how their voluntary contributions impact on development change.

Since its adoption by the General Assembly in 1985, International Volunteer Day (IVD) has offered a unique opportunity for various volunteer related organizations to work together to attain common goals. Every year on 5 December, millions of supporters of volunteerism engage in various voluntary initiatives at local, national and international levels.

Rallies, parades, community volunteering projects, environmental awareness campaigns, free medical care and advocacy campaigns are among the activities that mark IVD.

At the 2000 UN Millennium Summit, world leaders committed themselves to the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), a set of eight targets that aim to end extreme poverty and illiteracy, and combat diseases, environmental degradation and discrimination against women by 2015.
Beyond the engagement of governments and international organizations, achieving the MDGs most importantly requires the participation of millions of people through voluntary action. This is why many IVD themes in recent years have focused strategically on voluntary actions contributing to achieving the MDGs.

“Volunteering is an effective and an essential means to achieve the MDGs. These goals can only be achieved with the full involvement of people all over the world” said Ad de Raad, UNV Executive Coordinator, in his IVD message.

The International Year of Volunteers (IYV) in 2001 brought about a boost for IVD – it significantly increased international recognition of and debate around volunteerism. The year led to a much better appreciation of the impact of volunteerism and the importance of civil society and policy support in governments. Since then, worldwide engagement on IVD has risen steadily.

Today marks the fifth anniversary of IYV and more than ever, volunteer-involving organizations, community groups, governments, UN agencies, as well as private sector companies, media and academies are actively promoting volunteerism.

Within the UN system, UNV has been declared the focal point for IVD. All over the globe – from Asia, Africa and Latin America to the Carribean - UNV’s country offices have partnered with other organizations to celebrate IVD 2006 in recognition of the volunteer contribution to development.

One example comes from Sri Lanka, where UNV has joined hands with dozens of partners to celebrate IVD – main partners are the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), Ministry of Sports and Youth Affairs, Ceylon Tourist Board, national and international volunteer organizations, Business for Peace Alliance and major schools in Colombo. Together, they will recognize the contributions to development by thousands of volunteers, especially in the context of post-conflict and post-tsunami rehabilitation.

In the face of ongoing conflicts in Sri Lanka, peace promotion is a major focus of the activities.
The programme titled ‘Let’s Volunteer For Peace and the MDGs’, among other activities, includes a peace concert, an Ethnic Fashion Show, video presentations and the unveiling of a Peace Monument. The events aim to stimulate voluntary engagement towards peace and reconciliation and the MDGs. More than 92 artists and celebrities as well as local school children from different ethnic backgrounds will participate and support the event.
3000 people are expected to attend the programme, which will be broadcasted to reach more than two million television viewers in Sri Lanka and abroad.

With nearly every second citizen being a youth, youth volunteerism is an untapped potential in Malawi. The local organizing committee, supported by the UNV office, selected Youth Volunteerism as the main theme for this year’s IVD activities. These activities aim to promote youth engagement.
In Lilongwe, the capital, UNV volunteers together with youth groups will clean the pediatric ward of Kamazu Central Hospital, while officials from Volunteer Service Agencies (VSAs) will visit and present gifts to patients in the children’s ward and donate essential medical supplies to the ward. A local youth group from Salima will perform an educational drama on youth volunteerism at the hospital.
The UNV country team together with the UN Population Fund (UNFPA) and the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) will exhibit its work in the area of youth and HIV/AIDS and commemorate IVD together. VSA chairman Dickson Ngwende, UNDP Resident Representative Michael Keating and the guest of honour, Minister of Youth Ms. Ket Kainja are among the key speakers who will call attention to the role of youth as the future of the nation. UNV partnered with Orphan Care, Salima AIDS Society and the Ministry of Health to carry out the activities.

The third example comes from the Americas. In Brazil, attention is being drawn to both World Aids Day on 1 December and IVD to show the impact of volunteerism and importance of civil society engagement for the combat against AIDS.
UNV joined the activities of the NGO Conceição Macedo to campaign against AIDS and mobilize new volunteers during a big concert with local musicians in Pelorinho, the old town of Salvador. Some 100 volunteers, including UNV volunteers, volunteers from the partner NGO and the private university Faculdades Jorge Amado, participated in the event.
During the Health Fair Solidariaids, UNV volunteers, NGO representatives and local health workers sensitized the visitors on HIV/AIDS through medical information, free HIV tests, distribution of free condoms and educational videos.

On IVD, volunteerism is in the public spotlight. But volunteerism is a social capital that requires attention, support and participation beyond just one day. In its 2003 resolution, the UN General Assembly called on governments to “acknowledge the valuable role of volunteers and further support voluntary activities”, and invited the private sector to “support volunteerism as a strategic tool to enhance economic and social development”.
IVD should be a day that never ends.