On Saturday 23 February 2013, hundreds of youth flocked from all parts of Egypt to celebrate International Volunteer Day (IVD) organized by UNV Egypt, in cooperation with several UN agencies, government entities, private sector, and national and international NGOs.  The theme used for IVD 2012 in Egypt was “3afer” – the 3 represents the Arabic guttural letter ?a, and the word is pronounced ?aafer.  The word “3afer” in the Egyptian connotation implies persistence and hard work.