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The
International Year of Volunteers 2001
Helping to Build Cohesive Societies
By
Natasha Mistry
Volunteerism
benefits both society and the individual. It brings societies
together, mends differences between people, enhances social
inclusion and strengthens citizenship. The UN-designated
International Year of Volunteers (IYV) 2001 aims to achieve
increased recognition, promotion, facilitation and networking
for volunteers worldwide.
In the words of Shantum Seth, Team Coordinator for IYV 2001 in
India, "The International Year of Volunteers is about
recognizing the role that volunteers play in society. It is
also deepening the understanding of what volunteering is all
about."
Indeed, IYV 2001, with the United Nations Volunteer (UNV)
program as the UN-designated focal point, has been important
in establishing a platform for advocacy and creating dialogue
between governments, civil society and the United Nations
system.
Platform
for Campaigns
In Nepal, UN Volunteer Bhuvan Silwal explains that
"Nongovernmental organizations should be taking full
advantage to set up legal support for volunteering . . . . it
is the right time to work on long-term strategies for
volunteerism."
Some volunteer organizations have joined together to lobby for
a legal status for volunteers. The IYV Joint Action Campaign
involves five umbrella volunteer organizations which have
joined forces to promote a "volunteer visa" to help
volunteers who currently do not fit the visa categories of
many countries. Campaigns on issues ranging from combating
poverty to strengthening citizenship have also been initiated
by some of the 123 national IYV committees established to
promote the Year.
Despite political upheaval, the national IYV committees of
Botswana, Burundi, the Central African Republic, Gambia,
Rwanda and Zambia stated their joint determination to combat
the HIV/AIDS epidemic during 2001. The former president of
Ghana, Mr. Jerry Rawlings, an IYV ambassador, has also been
focussing on the role that volunteers play in combating the
virus.
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![The persistence of local volunteer community workers has kept these Brazilian chidren off the streets. [Gregory John Smith / Children at Risk Foundation]](../../../../common_images/quarterly/0110/13.jpg)
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The
persistence of local volunteer community workers has
kept these Brazilian children off the streets. [Gregory
John Smith / Children at Risk Foundation]
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The contribution
of volunteer work to the economy often remains beneath the
statistical radar. The need to quantify volunteer outputs was
stressed by UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan, at the opening
ceremony for IYV 2001 in New York. He stated, "The
important contributions that volunteers make are often
overlooked in both developed and developing countries. Indeed,
most countries do not take their services into account when
calculating national output. In the few countries where they
have been measured, it is estimated that volunteer activities
make up between 8 and 14 percent of the Gross Domestic
Product." In a national survey of giving, volunteering
and participating in Canada, the contributions of volunteers
have been valued at $16 billion per annum.
To address the lack of information, the UNV program, in
conjunction with the nonprofit coalition INDEPENDENT SECTOR,
launched the Measuring Volunteering Toolkit in order to
quantify the economic value of volunteer contributions within
developing countries. In Asia, the Kit is currently being used
in China and the Lao People's Democratic Republic.
"Counting is important now because it affects policy. The
economics of volunteering will strengthen the move for
pro-volunteer policies," said Shantum Seth.
Establishing
Dialogue
With its mandate of networking, facilitating, promoting and
recognizing volunteers, IYV 2001 also aims to encourage
dialogue on the role of volunteers. Conferences have been held
debating the respective roles of the state and the volunteer
sector, from the Netherlands to Indonesia. Certainly there is
a growing need for volunteers in many fields.
Each society is best placed to define what might stimulate
volunteering--ranging from giving public servants leave of
absence for volunteer activities to making volunteer service a
possible alternative to military service.
The Year will culminate in the UN General Assembly session on
December 5 which also marks the closing of the year and
International Volunteer Day. The secretary-general will
present a report on ways for governments and the UN system to
support volunteering, and the outcome of the session will be a
resolution that will set the stage for volunteering in the
years to come.
WWW.iyv2001.org
(Now www.worldvolunteerweb.org)
The IYV web site (http://www.worldvolunteerweb.org)
carries information on policies, research, media and volunteer
organizations worldwide.
This is the first UN International Year to use the Internet as
a main medium of global communication. Since the launch of the
IYV 2001 web site in 1998, there have been more than 17,000
subscribers, 189 country profiles detailing volunteer
activity, 1,204 volunteer events listed and 2,500 volunteer
pictures entered. The IYV web site has also inspired further
development of 50 national IYV websites to date.
The many accomplishments during the Year lead to questions
about volunteering beyond 2001. Some national IYV committees
have begun planning to operate as permanent volunteer centers.
In Guinea-Conakry, for example, the IYV committee is already
operating as the national volunteer center. In South Africa
the government has decided to relaunch IYV during 2002 and
host an African regional conference to discuss volunteering in
the African context.
The UNV program will continue to play a pivotal role in
advocating pro-volunteer policies, furthering research,
sharing the best practices of volunteer activity and
continuing the dialogue.
2001 is the beginning of a powerful and transformational
journey to ensure that volunteers continue to be the
reservoirs of energetic solidarity that enable and build
cohesive societies.
UNV is the volunteer arm of the UN system. It extends
hands-on assistance for peace and development in nearly 150
countries.
| Natasha
Mistry is a Promotions Specialist at Team IYV, the focal
person for volunteer activities in Asia and the Pacific.
She is also developing a Young Volunteer CD ROM Kit. |
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The
World of Volunteers
"Volunteerism offers women and men a means to
participate. They learn to accept responsibility for
shaping the world in which they live, rather than
being shaped by it. People learn the benefits of
working together and develop a sense of responsibility
beyond themselves. I think of volunteerism like
'active learning' in the environment of the local
community," says Kasem al-Shab, president of the
Arsal Rural Development Association in Lebanon.
Broadly defined as nonprofit, non-wage and noncareer
action carried out for the well-being of one's
neighbors, community or society, volunteering makes a
major contribution to many areas of life in every
country of the world. While the emphasis in the
industrialized world is often on organized
philanthropic activities, in developing countries
volunteering often takes the form of informal support
networks and self-help.
In France, 19 percent of adults say they volunteer
their time, and a striking 33 percent in Ireland,
where reasons given for volunteering include
enjoyment, having the time to spare, believing in the
cause, helping others, meeting people and developing
their skills.
In South Korea, where 14 percent of adults say they
volunteered time in 1999, those who did not volunteer
said this was because they were too busy (65 percent),
but many respondents said rather that they had not
been asked or did not know how to join such
activities.
Many volunteers report amazement on the part of
friends and family when they decide to donate their
time. Gafar Ajao, a volunteer community theater worker
in Nigeria, remembers, "Some of my close
relatives asked me often, 'Are you crazy?'" He
finds this strange, given that a community-based
tradition of volunteering has historically existed
within his culture.
Matthew Perrement, a British volunteer working through
Voluntary Service Overseas (VSO) in Jishou, China,
says, "My friends were dismissive in a way that
insinuated that experiencing a different culture would
be of no value to me." He says he has gained a
great deal from his experience in China.
Volunteers often benefit from their involvement in
intangible ways. Ludek, a 20-year-old volunteer with
the Czech program "PitP"--Big Brothers, Big
Sisters, helps advise a young boy who was adopted and
has identity problems. Ludek's parents' initial
skepticism at his decision to become involved with
PitP has been replaced with respect as Ludek himself
has gained in self-confidence, and he has found among
the other volunteers young people with similar
interests and values to his own.
Compiled from the IYV 2001 web site, (Now www.worldvolunteerweb.org).
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