21 December 2004

Ottawa/Bonn: The United Nations Volunteers (UNV) programme and the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) today announced the establishment of a Canada Corps-UNV Trust Fund to place Canadian UN Volunteers in UN supported governance and peacebuilding initiatives.

The CDN $1 million Trust Fund is part of the Government of Canada's response to the recommendations of the UN High-Level Panel on Threats, Challenges and Changes. It also builds on earlier agreements put in place in March 2004 between UNV, the World University Service of Canada (WUSC) and the Canadian Centre for International Studies and Cooperation (CECI) to promote awareness of the UNV programme in Canada and seek collaboration with other Canadian organizations.

“This new partnership strengthens Canada’s commitment to the promotion of volunteerism for development, including the mobilization of Canadian nationals to support development cooperation initiatives overseas,” says Ad de Raad, UNV’s Executive Coordinator. “The Trust Fund highlights Canada’s commitment to and its support of the UNV programme as a strong advocate for the whole concept of volunteerism for development."

Throughout 2005, the UNV-administered Trust Fund is anticipated to support the placement of more than 35 Canadian UN Volunteer specialists in governance and peacebuilding transition programs.

Outside of this initiative, Canadian UN Volunteers are currently supporting UN development and humanitarian activities in a number of countries, including Afghanistan, Burundi, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Haiti, Kosovo, Liberia, and Sierra Leone.