International Conference on Voluntary Service

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Volunteer service has been a part of virtually every civilization and society. It was in 1997 that the United Nations General Assembly declared the year 2001 as the International Year of Volunteers (IYV), which provide a unique opportunity to highlight the achievements of millions of volunteers worldwide.

In China, as the transition to a market based economy advances, non-profit and non-governmental organizations have also grown rapidly taking an increasingly important role in such areas as social development, poverty eradication, environmental protection, women in development and disaster relief assistance. Volunteerism is a new thing in China, but is developing very fast. However, the voluntary, non-profit organizations and non-governmental organizations in China is still in a nascent stage. IYV 2001 brings historic opportunity to the development of volunteering service in China.

International Conference on Voluntary Service will be one of the major events for China during IYV 2001, which will provide an opportunity for volunteer organizations and relevant organizations from China and around the world to share their views about volunteerism, to present the development trends and challenges of world wide volunteering services. The conference is expected to represent a grand gathering for international exchanges of volunteer services.

The conference will be held at Asia Hotel on May 26-28, 2002.

Conference Language

English and Chinese

Participants

Invitation Letter

Purpose of the Conference

In commemoration of the IYV 2001, the 2001 International Conference on Volunteering will contribute to the creation of organizations, inside and outside China, which will be the best encouragement and support to the people willing to volunteer in volunteering services such as caring aged and disabled, helping disadvantaged, providing relief services, and protecting environment. This will be done by facilitating international exchange on volunteerism, promoting recognition, facilitation and developing volunteering service among the different countries, different culture and different sectors in the face of globalization.

Objectives of the Conference

To this purposes, the Conference aims at:

·Raising people's awareness and recognition on the important contribution being made by volunteers to their society;
·Facilitating the creation of an enabling policy and legal framework to stimulate volunteering both in China and in other counties;
·Providing an opportunity for international and national volunteer organizations to exchange visions and experiences in promoting and
managing volunteer activities and services in different countries and societies;
·Developing and publicizing the Beijing Joint Declaration on IYV 2001.