29 December 2010

Kathmandu, Nepal: ‘Volunteering for the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs)’ was the theme of the conference held on 5 December in Kathmandu to celebrate International Volunteer Day (IVD) 2010.

The program started with the lighting of the traditional lamp (Sukunda) by chief guest Dr. Jagadish Chandra Pokharel, honourable Vice Chairman of the National Planning Commission of Nepal. Special guest Ms. Naheed Haque, UNV Deputy Executive Coordinator, lit ten candles to mark the launch of the 10th anniversary of the International Year of Volunteers (IYV+10).

The organizers included the National Planning Commission (NPC) of Nepal, the National Development Volunteer Service (NDVS) of Nepal, the United Nations Volunteers (UNV) programme in Nepal, the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), Voluntary Service Overseas (VSO), National Youth Organization Federation Nepal (NYOFN), and the Returned United Nations Volunteers Association of Nepal (RUNVAN).

Both guests thanked the organizers and participants in the conference for their efforts to celebrate IVD and raise the profile of volunteerism and the contributions of volunteers in Nepal. In his speech, Dr. Pokharel urged the Nepalese volunteers to share their stories and experiences so as to inspire Nepalese youth. He called on participants to reflect on how volunteers were being utilized and to identify areas of importance that remained untouched or yet to be explored.

“Through volunteerism, we can push Nepal from a Least Developed Country to a developed nation, but we need more progress in the economic side and to deepen our progress in the Human Development Index”, said Dr. Pokharel. He ended his speech by saying “Long Live Volunteerism”.

Ms. Haque reiterated the importance of voluntary action by pointing out that volunteers were the agents of transformational change towards the achievement of the MDGs, peace and development in Nepal and across the globe. She stated that the voluntary sector contributes almost US $400 billion per year to the global economy.

It is important to note that, according to the 2010 MDG Progress Report, Nepal is on its way to meeting most of its MDG targets by 2015. In this light, Ms. Haque requested that Nepalese volunteers share their MDG success stories and lessons with the rest of the world. She also emphasized the importance of addressing challenges related to urban-rural, gender and ethnic MDG disparities. Finally she announced the launch of IYV+10 in Asia that day, 5 December, International Volunteer Day 2010.

One of the significant outcomes of the conference was a list of possible short- and long-term policy guidelines related to volunteerism and the MDGs. This has been strengthened by statistical references for promoting and managing volunteers in the public sector in the upcoming year. The state of volunteerism has also been contextualized with regards to developing countries as well as industrialized countries. The establishment of a Nepalese National Steering Committee for IYV+10 was announced at the conference. The conference has encouraged dialogue among scholars and practitioners across disciplines, government and volunteering organizations.

Despite challenges in the economy and the areas of education, health and governance, Nepal has made significant progress in the Human Development Index in the last 30 years, and participants at the conference agreed that volunteerism has contributed to this ongoing process.

The conference was considered a success thanks to the active cooperation of all organizations and individuals, who were entrusted to uphold the cause in the future.