22 August 2002

Johannesburg, South Africa: The United Nations Volunteers programme (UNV) has joined forces with the Johannesburg World Summit Company (JOWSCO) to mobilize and train 5,000 volunteers to assist with virtually every aspect of planning and logistics at the World Summit on Sustainable Development, which will be held from 26 August to 4 September.

"This is the first time that the United Nations has involved volunteers in such numbers to help implement a UN event," said UNV Executive Coordinator Sharon Capeling-Alakija. "JOWSCO and UNV have partnered to mobilize volunteers so that more people of South Africa will have a greater opportunity to be part of this event and so that the legendary hospitality and warmth of South Africans will create the best atmosphere possible for a successful world conference."

The UN Volunteer team that has supported the WSSD volunteer programme include: Dr. Bonga Maphalala, who holds a PhD in finance and is responsible for the programme's finances; Sibusiso Masuku and Nokwanda Dambuza, who have degrees in human resources and journalism respectively, are responsible for the recruitment, placement and coordination of all the volunteers. They will also compile a report on their experience for use in mobilizing volunteers for future UN conferences and summits.

Since starting their nine-month assignments in April, the UN Volunteers have conducted presentations and workshops on volunteering opportunities during WSSD at companies, universities, townships and churches. They have also been interviewed on several television and radio programmes. According to Nokwanda Dambuza, "The people were very excited about getting this chance to volunteer. Many of them thought that volunteers are only unemployed people with nothing else to do. Now they understand that volunteering is making a difference in one's country. As a result, we are hoping to have more volunteers in South Africa."

The 5,000 volunteers were selected from among 17,000 applicants ranging from business executives to the unskilled and unemployed. A large percentage of the volunteers are university and technical college students, many of whom are studying tourism. Sixty per cent of the volunteers are women. Wearing a locally designed WSSD uniform, the volunteers will work in two shifts, from 06h00 to 14h00 and 14h00 to 22h00.

The volunteers will interact directly with the delegates in the various venues of the summit and places of logistical importance, such as the airport, hotels, the Civil Society Forum, the main exhibit area at Ubuntu Village, information kiosks, the immigration help desk, call centres and translation services.

Training on volunteerism conducted by UNV has heightened the interest of the WSSD volunteers, according to UNV Programme Officer Akua Dua-Agyeman. "It has built the idea in them to advance volunteerism in their communities," she said, adding that there has been a significant increase in inquiries about the UNV programme since the start of WSSD volunteer recruitment.

"With just a few volunteers, UNV has helped mobilize thousands of people to get involved at WSSD," said Kwabena Asante-Ntiamoah, UNV's volunteerism specialist who helped to conduct the volunteer training. "This demonstrates a huge potential for even a small group of volunteers to act as catalysts to multiply the impact of volunteer action many times over."

President Thabo Mbeki declared 2002 the National Year of the Volunteer for Reconstruction and Development in South Africa. Each month has been dedicated to themes such as education, health and youth. In addition, government officials volunteer each month in local communities around the country.