매년 12월 5일은 '국제자원봉사자의 날'입니다.
올해 12월 5일에 있었던 유엔 사무총장인 코피 아난의
'국제자원봉사자'들의 노고를 치하하고 격려하는 메세지를 소개합니다.
- 국제워크캠프기구
The Secretary-General, Kofi A. Annan
message on the International Volunteer Day,
5 December 2003
Amid a daily dose of news stories about war, conflicts and other man-made
disasters, it is often a challenge not to lose heart when we see the
suffering inflicted on so many millions of people throughout the world. But
far away from the spotlight, there are millions of generous individuals
who, around the clock and around the world, roll up their sleeves and
volunteer to help in any way they can.
Working alone or as part of an organized movement, they care for the old,
the sick and the handicapped. They lend a hand to people living with
HIV/AIDS, and help remove the stigma unjustly attached to them. They teach
children to read, and young adults the vocational skills they need to make
a living. They build houses, clean rivers, dig wells and improve living
conditions in many other ways as well. They help to protect human rights,
build democracy, resolve conflict and maintain peace. They rush relief
supplies to people struck by calamity, and work with marginalized groups to
ensure that their needs are heard and met.
Volunteers do not ask, Why volunteer?? but rather When?? Where??and
How?? These dedicated and courageous individuals are important partners
in the quest for a better, fairer and safer world.
Information and communication technologies make volunteering simpler than
ever. Increasingly, volunteers go on-line to share their skills with those
in need. They build websites and databases, provide legal support, create
curricula for schools and take on a vast range of other tasks that can be
carried out from a home computer with access to the Internet. And through
the United Nations Information Technology Service (UNITeS), a qualified
corps of ICT volunteers works on-site in developing countries to help
people learn how to use the resources of the Internet and of information
technology for human development.
On this International Volunteer Day, let us recognize the contribution that
volunteers make to societies all over the world. Let us also pay tribute to
one of their greatest champions, the late Sharon Capeling-Alakija, the
Executive Coordinator of the United Nations Volunteers (UNV) who passed
away last month. And let us remember that each contribution 'no matter how
small' can help make a difference.
Kofi A. Annan
-------------------------
Message of Mark Malloch Brown,
Administrator of the United Nations
Development Programme (UNDP) on International Volunteer Day 5 December 2003
Taking our first steps into the 21st century, we ?the global community ?
have set our sights on a more prosperous, healthy and educated world by
striving to achieve a set of time-bound objectives called the Millennium
Development Goals (MDGs). Many volunteers have joined this massive effort,
and indeed, it would be difficult to accomplish without them.
The MDGs include targets to halve extreme poverty and hunger; make primary
education available to all; ensure gender equality; reduce child and
maternal mortality around the world; stop and reverse the spread of
HIV/AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis; strive for environmental
sustainability; and work for global cooperation in terms of aid, trade and
debt relief. The MDGs are ambitious, but with voluntary action taken on a
global scale, they are also achievable. International Volunteer Day
provides an opportunity to strategically support such action.
Today, committed volunteers throughout the world are working together with
leaders of civil society to promote the action needed to meet the MDGs. By
actively sharing diverse skills in support of the MDGs, they also gain
valuable skills and experience in return. Volunteers train doctors, home-
based care volunteers and birth attendants. They empower women decision-
makers through training and networking and assist teenage mothers in
furthering their education and learning skills to help them in the job
market. And they even replant forests. Wherever you look across the MDG
spectrum, you will find engaged volunteers.
Achieving the MDGs will take sustained political will, social mobilization
and a great number of individuals who are ready to take a stand and act for
the world's poorest people. A true advocate of the immense contribution
that volunteerism can play in meeting the challenges of the MDGs was the
late Sharon Capeling-Alakija, the Executive Coordinator for United Nations
Volunteers (UNV), who sadly passed away recently. In keeping with the
spirit of celebration on this Day, we honour this extraordinary visionary
and leader. Sharon recognized the unique opportunity that the International
Year of Volunteers (IYV) 2001 could play in impacting the global volunteer
movement and helping meet key development challenges. The tremendous
success of the Year is one of Sharon's greatest legacies. It is only
fitting that we continue to build on the momentum she helped create, and
continue to recognize and encourage volunteer involvement in the
achievement of the MDGs.
The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) salutes you, the volunteer,
on this International Volunteer Day for what you continue to do for
development and achieving the MDGs. Your actions are transforming countless
lives and communities around the world and helping to build a better world
today and an enduring legacy for tomorrow.
-------------------------
Message by Ad de Raad,
United Nations Volunteers Executive Coordinator,a.i.
International Volunteer Day - 05 December 2003
It's more than a day?
Every 5 December since 1985, people in countries around the world have
celebrated volunteerism and recognized the crucial work of volunteer
involving organizations and individual volunteers at local, national and
international levels. Over the years, rallies, parades, community
volunteering projects, environmental awareness, free medical care and
speeches by high-ranking government officials have all featured prominently
on International Volunteer Day (IVD). The largest celebration took place in
2001 at the close of the International Year of Volunteers (IYV) in over 100
countries. To many, that seemed to be the pinnacle. But don't be deceived:
volunteers of all ages, races and cultures, are still climbing.
The critical question is, however, what happens on 6 December? Newspapers
may turn their attention elsewhere and sound bites may fade away, but the
work of volunteers goes on with or without publicity and well-deserved
recognition. The spirit of IVD must live on as well. In its 2001 resolution
(57/106), the United Nations General Assembly called on 밽overnments, with
the active support of the media, civil society and the private sector, to
observe 5 December, IVD, and to include activities focused on following-up
on the
achievements of IYV?
Encouraging more people to volunteer is a 365-days-a-year task. If you
consider the committed work of volunteers of all ages around the globe,
carrying out every imaginable kind of activity, IVD should be a day that
never ends. Indeed, it cannot end, as the need for volunteers is greater
than ever. For example, to curb a recent polio scare, hundreds of thousands
of volunteers and health workers carried out a blanket immunization
campaign targeting 15 million children in the West African countries of
Benin, Burkina Faso, Ghana, Niger and Togo. Without huge contingents of
volunteers, a vital campaign of this magnitude would stand no chance.
The mass involvement of volunteers in this campaign illustrates the
importance of coordinating efforts and building alliances. To continue
making meaningful contributions in today's world, including towards the
Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), volunteer effort needs to be
recognized and supported. Collectively, we still have much to do: complete
and compile studies of national volunteerism, advance proposals for pro-
volunteer legislation and strengthen a global volunteer network. One place
we can now turn to share this information is the WorldVolunteerWeb.org
information portal on volunteering launched one year ago today in place of
the IYV web site. Support this with your documents and suggestions. It
belongs to all of us.
To us, who work for the UN Volunteers programme, International Volunteer
Day feels very different this year, without Sharon Capeling-Alakija, our
former Executive Coordinator, who sadly passed away on November 4th, after
a long and courageous battle against cancer. We will continue to support
IVD, building upon the platform and legacy left behind by Sharon. Her
commitment to volunteerism, in all of its diversity has left an indelible
impression with all of us. She would have been the first person to remind
us that IVD celebrations do not end at the stroke of midnight, but that
International Volunteer Day is about highlighting the continuous
contributions of volunteers in society and the immense benefits we derive
from these activities. Around the world. Every day.