VOLUNTOURISM
GIVES ENHANCED RECOGNITION OF VOLUNTEER SERVICE
The first aim of IYV 2001 is that volunteers' service locally,
nationally and internationally be more recognised as an important
part of civil society. Some questions:
Have the contributions of volunteers first and foremost, volunteers
from your own society to welfare and development in your country
been inventoried?: e.g. contributions to
- emergency relief or civil defence, or to health and social welfare
provisions
- facilitating local development in your villages and towns
- conflict prevention and resolution, and peace-building, or to
- promotion of respect for human rights and of democracy
A country study might be made, at government, private or joint
instigation, to describe and quantify such contributions. Have
you a university faculty, research institute or Ministry which
could undertake such a study?
Such
a "report to the nation" on volunteer service could
go further, to indicate measures which government and society
might take to enhance and optimise those contributions in the
future
Major
studies of this kind have been carried out in recent years - particularly
in industrialised countries - by governments, national statistical
bodies or universities. Can you access them? Would you welcome
help to do so?
Has
your country issued a national Human Development Report, perhaps
with the assistance of the UN Development Programme? Could the
contribution of volunteer service and voluntary action to your
country's development be an appropriate element of a future national
HDR? (It has been suggested that the UNDP-authored global Human
Development Report for 2000 or 2001 might be partly based on such
country studies).
If
it is not already the case, would it be relevant to designate
a specific Ministry with responsibility for recognition and facilitation
of volunteer service and voluntary action, and to provide it with
a budget to this end?
In
what broad ways might volunteer service best be recognised - or
further recognised - in your country in the course of IYV 2001
and beyond? Are there negative stereotypes to be addressed?
To
honour active volunteers, annual awards might be instituted for
the best examples of individual, small group, local community
and national NGO service and action. This could extend to awards
for excellence in the leadership and administration of such work
(e.g. transparency of reports and accounts), or in training or
promotional work
Recognition
requires visibility. To identify volunteer activity and make it
visible, regular press columns and radio and TV programmes might
be sought out which would be willing to profile volunteers, volunteer
service and voluntary action topics regularly or in depth
It
could be appropriate to draw the volunteer sector into consultation
in the establishment of the nation's policies and priorities for
such areas as health, education, culture, environment
Ways
might be sought in which volunteers and activists who have made
an impact at local level could be enabled to express their continued
commitment by taking on higher or wider responsibilities: e.g.
involving them in training newcomers, or placing them in positions
which give effect to policies of "national execution".
7
ENHANCED RECOGNITION OF VOLUNTEER SERVICE
The first aim of IYV 2001 is that volunteers' service locally,
nationally and internationally be more recognised as an important
part of civil society. Some questions:
Have the contributions of volunteers first and foremost, volunteers
from your own society to welfare and development in your country
been inventoried?: e.g. contributions to
- emergency relief or civil defence, or to health and social welfare
provisions
- facilitating local development in your villages and towns
- conflict prevention and resolution, and peace-building, or to
- promotion of respect for human rights and of democracy
A country study might be made, at government, private or joint
instigation, to describe and quantify such contributions. Have
you a university faculty, research institute or Ministry which
could undertake such a study?
Such
a "report to the nation" on volunteer service could
go further, to indicate measures which government and society
might take to enhance and optimise those contributions in the
future
Major
studies of this kind have been carried out in recent years - particularly
in industrialised countries - by governments, national statistical
bodies or universities. Can you access them? Would you welcome
help to do so?
Has
your country issued a national Human Development Report, perhaps
with the assistance of the UN Development Programme? Could the
contribution of volunteer service and voluntary action to your
country's development be an appropriate element of a future national
HDR? (It has been suggested that the UNDP-authored global Human
Development Report for 2000 or 2001 might be partly based on such
country studies).
If
it is not already the case, would it be relevant to designate
a specific Ministry with responsibility for recognition and facilitation
of volunteer service and voluntary action, and to provide it with
a budget to this end?
In
what broad ways might volunteer service best be recognised - or
further recognised - in your country in the course of IYV 2001
and beyond? Are there negative stereotypes to be addressed?
To
honour active volunteers, annual awards might be instituted for
the best examples of individual, small group, local community
and national NGO service and action. This could extend to awards
for excellence in the leadership and administration of such work
(e.g. transparency of reports and accounts), or in training or
promotional work
Recognition
requires visibility. To identify volunteer activity and make it
visible, regular press columns and radio and TV programmes might
be sought out which would be willing to profile volunteers, volunteer
service and voluntary action topics regularly or in depth
It
could be appropriate to draw the volunteer sector into consultation
in the establishment of the nation's policies and priorities for
such areas as health, education, culture, environment
Ways
might be sought in which volunteers and activists who have made
an impact at local level could be enabled to express their continued
commitment by taking on higher or wider responsibilities: e.g.
involving them in training newcomers, or placing them in positions
which give effect to policies of "national execution".
