"Working as a young UN Official with UN Volunteers along the Cambodian border opened my mind, not just to the UN and all the things it was doing in the world, but also to the whole notion of giving back."

UNV plays an increasingly pivotal role in mobilizing volunteers and promoting volunteerism. The 5,090 UN Volunteers who served in 2001 throughout the developing world and in countries in economic transition represent development cooperation at its finest.

I have seen first-hand the incredible work UNV is doing in East Timor, with UN Volunteers from nearly 100 countries supporting elections and other aspects of the transition to democratic governance.

And I saw how, after the devastating earthquake hit in Gujarat, India, UNV quickly deployed a wide range of specialized professionals, and thousands of local volunteers, to help lead the recovery effort. Earthquake-resistant demonstration houses are now being built in some 300 villages, and they are influencing the design and implementation of a host of similar projects by civil society organizations, government agencies and the private sector.

Through UNITeS, UNV sent Information and Communications Technology volunteers to more than a dozen developing countries last year, including through Cisco's Networking Academies for Least Developed Countries.

In Peru, UN Volunteers worked with the Office of the Ombudsman last year in reaching out to rural indigenous communities to make them aware of and safeguard their rights.

In Lesotho, UN Volunteers assisted the Government in its plan to create jobs in a locally-owned, labour-intensive scheme through which workers have built roads, dykes and bridges and dug drainage ditches.

These and other UNV initiatives are wonderful examples of how development cooperation works best when the beneficiaries take ownership over the process. Two-thirds of UN Volunteers are from developing countries and many serve in their home country. UN Volunteers work directly with self-help groups and community associations, promoting local capacity and putting people in charge of their own development plans.

At the Millennium Summit in New York two years ago, world leaders pledged to halve the proportion of people living in extreme poverty by 2015. But that is not a goal that governments can simply legislate. It will require broad-based national and global efforts that include volunteers from all parts of the world and all walks of life. From helping to give young people new skills for today's competitive, knowledge-driven job market to simply working to break the stigma of people living with HIV/AIDS, volunteers will, in many cases prove the difference between success or failure in meeting the Millennium goals. So I am proud that UNV is administered by UNDP, and enthusiastically support its ongoing efforts.

Mark Malloch Brown