03 December 2004

Next year marks the fifth anniversary of the Millennium Declaration, and takes us a third of a way to the 2015 deadline of the Millennium Development Goals and their overarching target of halving extreme poverty. It is a year that we hope and believe will be marked by concrete action by Governments and people everywhere, North and South, to put in place the policies and partnerships and support needed to meet the MDGs.

In this global effort, volunteers and volunteerism are indispensable. The contributions that ordinary men, women and children all over the world make to development through voluntary action, both as individuals and through organizations, are a critical foundation on which we have to build if the Goals are to be attained. From the community worker who distributes HIV/Aids awareness information in her village, to the retired teacher who devotes her time to disadvantaged children, to the activist leading an environmental campaign to prevent indiscriminate deforestation activities, expressions of volunteerism are as varied as the individuals themselves, but they all share the same end: building better lives for themselves and the communities they live in.

Next year the UN General Assembly will review the progress towards meeting the Millennium Development Goals. It is increasingly clear that significant changes need to be made if the political will, the resources and the policy changes will be in place to achieve the Goals. On this International Volunteer Day, UNDP congratulates volunteers everywhere for their hard work and dedication and encourages those who do not yet give their time, energy and expertise to do so as part of this wider global effort to build a better life for all. The critical role citizens play through voluntary action has never been more vital and with the continued and growing support of volunteers everywhere, we have a real chance of making the MDGs not just an aspiration but a reality.