02 December 2004

It is reassuring to note that increasing numbers of concerned citizens are playing their part in the development process by making a conscious decision to volunteer. Next year the international community will review the progress made towards achieving the aspirations of the Millennium Declaration adopted at the Millennium Summit in 2000 at the United Nations. But it is not at the United Nations that the Millennium Development Goals will be achieved. It will require the joint efforts of governments and people. Indeed, reaching the targets set will call for the involvement of citizens everywhere, young and old, representing all nationalities, ethnicities, creeds, and religions. Together, through volunteerism, they constitute a tremendous force in helping to make the realization of the Goals a reality.

Volunteering on the ground in communities, or online at home, is a vital channel for ordinary people to perform extraordinary tasks. In doing so, they express the wealth of human solidarity that needs to be harnessed if we are to reach our common objectives. Such action is vital in the fight to eradicate poverty, hunger, disease, illiteracy, environmental degradation and discrimination against women. The strength of volunteerism is its universality: countless acts of volunteerism happen every day, in the North and in the South. For people who want to join in, all that is required is a willingness to share time helping out, or a skill that is missing, or a good idea that will change the status quo for the better. There are no formal prerequisites or courses to take. This is why I see volunteerism as having such a vital role to play in global, national and local agenda.

I expect to be able to report next year on some important progress being made on the road to meeting the challenges of the MDGs. I also expect to report on the enormous work that still remains to be done. In this respect, I believe that more opportunities must be provided for citizens to volunteer time and that this can only be accomplished by recognizing the tremendous contributions volunteerism makes to development and by promoting environments which are favourable inclined towards more people having the opportunity to volunteer. It is imperative that we continue to keep the power of volunteerism at the forefront of the range of debates on development issues. .

Let us make sure this International Volunteer Day highlights what volunteers are doing to promote a safer and sustainable future and helps reach a higher understanding of what more can be done, by governments and civil society, to ensure that the positive impact of volunteerism is maximized.