I very much appreciate the opportunity to exchange views and thoughts with you about the work of the UN Volunteers programme on the basis of the report that we present today covering the period 2002 to 2003.

The Administrator has already given you the broad brush strokes of the main features of the biennium and, in particular, on how the Programme is closely aligned with UNDP’s priorities and strategic frameworks, including as these relate to the attainment of the Millennium Development Goals and support to the United Nations system at large.

I would like to follow up on that by in fact taking a step back and reminding ourselves that UNV, at its core, is about people and, more specifically, about people at the centre of development.

The ethos of volunteerism is inherent in all societies and the contribution that volunteerism makes, economically as well as socially, is now better understood and more recognized. But as Sharon, whom indeed we greatly miss, said so eloquently back in 2002 at the World Summit on Sustainable Development:

“The fact that good deeds grow in the wild does not free us from the obligation to cultivate them.”

Not cultivating those means missing opportunities. Opportunities to explore and benefit from a powerful and indispensable resource for development. That is why, Mr. President, we have done a lot of cultivating over the reporting period!

The Administrator’s report, in combination with the new 2003-2004 UNV Annual Report which we launch today, describes the main achievements over the biennium and points to directions that the programme continues to pursue with vigor.

One such direction concerns the role UNV can play as a promoter of volunteerism for development. It has become a lot clearer that this role can not only live side by side with our volunteer placement work but, in actual fact, is -and should be- an integral part of it. Only then is the outcome of UNV’s work being enriched and its effectiveness enhanced. It is indeed about two sides of the very same coin – reinforcing one another.

Clearly one important indicator of a healthy, relevant and, let me emphasize, a demand-driven UNV is its size. In this respect, I am pleased to report a continuing steady growth in numbers of serving UN Volunteers and assignments

over 5800 in 2003, a seventh consecutive record breaking year; from more countries of origin and working in more countries of assignment than ever before;
with a steady rise in the proportion of UN Volunteers drawn from developing countries themselves, reinforcing the point that the programme is a very concrete expression of South-South collaboration;
the financial equivalent of all UNV activities is now well over US$ 100 million per year.
But citing numbers barely touches the surface of the contribution of the individuals involved - and certainly not of the UNV programme as a whole. With a focus on service lines where we feel volunteerism and volunteers provide real value added, we are involved and contribute to outcomes in programmes in every one of UNDP’s strategic goals. The same applies to our involvement in the activities of the UN itself and other UN Agencies, Funds and Programmes.

To make sure that the whole of it is much more than the sum of the individual volunteer assignments, UNV, in the post IYV period, has become especially intentional in further strengthening the volunteerism or “V” dimension of all aspects of its work – from the close collaboration with partners in the design of programme interventions, through to job descriptions, the selection of candidates, and the content of orientation training, monitoring and evaluation methodologies.

In this connection, harnessing the potential of local voluntary action for development is increasingly becoming integral to the work of UNV. This is fully in line with the growing recognition of the positive energy unleashed when citizen action is channeled into development initiatives through voluntary action. This is what we see as constituting a very important and true part of sustainable capacity. UN Volunteers, again in the context of broader and demand driven programmes, are able to provide an on-site presence to help mobilize and catalyze local people, complimenting the technical skills that they themselves bring.

But this is not enough. There are challenges out there. A favorable environment is needed within which volunteerism can flourish. General Assembly resolutions around IYV have clearly established the legitimacy and the rationale for governments and the UN system alike to take steps to enhance this environment. UNV itself has adapted to take on the responsibility to help drive this process forward, in collaboration with an increasingly diversified group of partners across all sectors. Again, the Administrator’s report touches on some of the principle initiatives UNV is taking.

These include

measurement of the economic contribution of volunteerism and promoting volunteer related national and international legislation;
the IT connection including the considerable growth of on- line volunteering which is bringing down some of the barriers to volunteer opportunities;
the development of volunteer infrastructure in programme countries, including the establishment of volunteer centers and volunteer schemes;
volunteering as a component of corporate social responsibility and engagement.
They also include:

the promotion of a culture of volunteerism among young people, the generation which will take over from us in the years to come, but which also constitutes a vast resource for the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals;
and then keep on trying to make the connections. Many developed countries recognize the critical role of volunteer action in their own societies, and extend direct support accordingly. Yet it has been a challenge to gain acceptance by some of those countries of the importance of their concrete support for volunteerism and volunteer action in developing countries.
To meet these challenges, UNV’s Special Voluntary Fund remains an extremely valuable resource. It enables UNV to pursue emerging opportunities, as well as to support innovative areas for programme interventions. The SVF is small and does not need to be large. But I want to be the first to echo what the President of the Executive Board stated yesterday morning in his opening remarks, and what we have heard from the Administrator this morning.

Increased support to the Fund is needed, especially by countries which do not yet contribute but which do subscribe to what the programme is and what it represents, or want to make the connection between the recognized role of voluntary action in their own society with the role it can play in programme countries.

Mr. President

Central to our work is indeed the premise that the ingenuity, solidarity and creativity of millions of ordinary people, channeled through voluntary action, are key to achieving the Millennium Development Goals. We look forward very much to seeing this link reinforced at the 60th session of the UN General Assembly next year when the Secretary General will report both on progress made in implementing the Millennium Declaration and on the Follow-Up to IYV 2001 .

I would like to end by returning to the point made at the outset - UNV is all about people:

Some of them are the thousands of global citizens engaged every year as UN Volunteers, who make valuable contributions and whose lives are often deeply affected by their experiences. And let me take this opportunity to pay special tribute to all of them who are out there, as I speak, representing us all, often in neither the easiest nor the safest conditions and circumstances. In that regard I always feel inspired, like I am sure you would be, when I meet a group of UN Volunteers like, for instance, the one on page 8 of our new Annual Report.
But, as I said, these are some of the people that UNV is about.

Others are the hundreds of thousands of people in programme countries touched by the work of UN Volunteers and whose living standards are, as a result, changed for the better.
And yet others are the many millions of people for whom volunteerism signifies opportunities and hope for a safer and better future - through inclusion, active participation and thereby ownership.
We therefore need to continue efforts to pursue the objectives of the IYV: the Recognition, Facilitation, Networking and Promotion of volunteerism. We need to make sure that UNV remains a programme that, as the Joint Inspection Unit concluded in its recent and extensive review, is dynamic and responsive to changing and expanding demands, with a high degree of commitment to continuous improvement. Opportunities to volunteer for development need to be broadened further - opening doors to people in every country and from the broadest possible set of backgrounds. That is precisely why we chose “Opening Doors” as the theme for our 2003-2004 Annual report.

The UN Secretary General made the point during IYV that “at the heart of volunteerism are the ideals of service and solidarity and that volunteerism is the ultimate expression of what the United Nations is all about”. With your invaluable support, encouragement and continuous guidance, we intend to take on the challenges and ensure that the vital contribution of the volunteer aspect of the United Nations – in other words the “V” in UNV” , is fully understood and acted upon to benefit people who are after all at the centre.

Mr. President

Trying to achieve the MDGs may be highly ambitious. But so are volunteers.

Thank you