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The following is a listing of activities undertaken by volunteers around the world in marking International Volunteer Day over the 10 years 1988-1997, which may provide ideas for IYV 2001.
Since the UN General Assembly in 1985 designated 5 December as International Volunteer Day (IVD), a day for marking the achievements of volunteers everywhere, UNV received reports from all over the world showing volunteers activities and creativity. It is hoped that this comprehensive listing will help inspire planning by governments, state bodies, international and national non-governmental organizations, community groups and individuals to make IYV 2001 the success it deserves to be. The listing is not exhaustive, but reflects the range of activities carried out worldwide. Some of these and additional events can be organized for IYV 2001. |
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·Providing health checks and medical services free for the needy on 5 December
·Visiting the sick in hospitals
·Helping doctors administer medicines and treatments
·Donating blood
·Free vaccination campaigns
·Helping those who need physical rehabilitation
·Visiting children in orphanages
·Providing free legal advice
·Providing friendship services such as support and counselling
·Collecting and distributing used clothes, shoes, toys or food to poor families
·Providing a meal to the poor
·Helping out single mothers and pensioners
·Establishing and participating in a hot-line for those in distress
·Tailors and seamstresses sewing clothes for the needy
·Helping a farming community harvest, plant, or tend to animals
·Visiting a juvenile detention centre
·Providing the elderly in need with letter-writing services, companionship, health checks and free hair-cuts Civic and Developmental Actions
·Renovating institutions for the disabled, orphans, pensioners
·Renovating civic and community centres, schools, hospitals, libraries
·Reconstructing old or damaged housing
·Building a community room in a poor settlement
·Building roads or paths with help from volunteer experts and donated materials
·Adding a classroom to a school
·Making a court or playground for city children
·Cleaning schools, community centres, hospitals
·Constructing wooden benches at school bus stops.
·Building or repairing facilities for the use of all, such as a public bath, solid waste disposal, drains, pipelines
·Restoring or improving water sources
·Conducting a work camp for a week or two
·Sprucing up homes for the elderly and providing them meanwhile with a day of special care and entertainment
·Tidying up the local zoo for children to enjoy
·Cleaning up a historical site
·Helping build or renovate churches and temples of worship Environmental Activities
·Participating in "Clean and Green" initiatives
·Cleaning up beaches, rivers, parks, nature reserves
·Cleaning public streets and pruning the trees
·Planting a garden, collecting and potting seedlings, weeding
·Tree-planting
·Campaigning for the environment
·Getting children involved and informed about nature and the environment Educational Actions
·Transferring technical skills and providing vocational training through free lectures or workshops
·Doctors and other professional experts holding free training sessions
·Offering maternity and infant child-care workshops
·Road-building led by a volunteer engineer
·Journalists teaching youngsters writing skills
·Volunteers teaching reading
·Organizing awareness campaigns on such topics as the environment or HIV/AIDS
·High school students being enabled to visit volunteer projects which match their areas of interest: e.g. those interested in animals mixing
·vaccines and helping feed animals at a farm
·Using a zoo to teach children to care for nature
·Street-side awareness campaigns through posters or information stands
·Teaching horticultural techniques
·Making IVD a "no smoking", "no alcohol" day
·Using IVD as "kick-off" for literacy and reading programmes
·Debating competitions on issues related to volunteering
·A historian or writer tracing the history of national volunteering Raising funds, Securing Sponsorship
·Donating classroom materials and hospital supplies
·Donating machinery or instruments
·Raising funds to buy and donate wheel chairs or a Braille machine
·Raising funds to provide spectacles for orphans or poor villagers Awarding grants for scholarships or research to support youngsters with no means or access to higher education
·Opening savings accounts for orphans as deposits on future homes, so that the account reaches the level for purchase of a home by the time the orphan is 21
·Telecommunication companies offering a discount package on mobile telephones and pagers to volunteers as part of a promotion by which large corporations pay tribute to volunteers
·Organizing a charity dinner or an auction of donated items to raise funds
·Having the private sector finance the making of a film documentary or reportage on IVD or on volunteer projects
·A women's association donating vitamins, food, clothes to widows and orphans
·Pharmaceutical companies or pharmacies donating basic medicines |
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Recognition：
·Presenting prizes, awards, certificates for volunteer and solidarity actions
·Holding a "Recognition Ceremony" to award "volunteer service medals"
·The Head of State presiding over IVD celebrations
·The First Lady, or a high-ranking government official, presenting an award or certificate to deserving voluntary service organizations in the country
·Celebrating with a "Volunteer Ball" to mark the achievements of volunteers
·Presenting a book or report on the history of volunteer work in the country
·NGOs and volunteers using IVD to "re-dedicate" themselves
·Announcing and recognizing the "Volunteer of the Year", honouring the "NGO of the Year"
·Making and advertising a list of all the services which would not exist if it were not for volunteers
Facilitation - Recruitment
·Establishing a national centre or foundation to promote volunteering
·Holding a volunteers recruitment rally, ideally supported by the media
·Setting up an information phone line on the range of national volunteer activity and the opportunities to participate
·Inaugurating a service or training camp for volunteers
·Holding workshops on volunteer service or skills transfer
·Launching of a national directory of volunteer organizations
·Conducting a "time-donation" campaign by which people pledge hours of voluntary service to specific projects
·Tying decorative tags on prominent Christmas or other trees to publicize the number of hours given to volunteering by members of the community Facilitation - Government Support
·Announcing legislation designed to facilitate volunteering
·Providing messages of support from high-ranking officials
·Designating a national focal point for cooperation between NGOs and Government
·Signing framework agreements between state structures and volunteer associations
·Postal authorities arranging to postmark letters with a special cancellation marking the celebration of volunteerism
·Postal authorities issuing commemorative stamps to mark IVD
·Government bringing together community leaders of different religious, ethnic or interest groups to exchange experience and ideas
·High-ranking Government officials receiving a "courtesy call" from directors and representative groups of domestic and foreign volunteer organizsations
·Ministries donating materials, or funds for purchasing materials, to be used in volunteer projects and activities
·Including special volunteer-related articles in Ministry newsletters
·Government-supported "refresher courses" for volunteers in necessary skills
·A Government Minister posting seasonal greetings cards to national volunteers serving abroad, as a gesture of recognition covered by the media
·Setting land aside where each tree planted will represent a new volunteer Networking and Exchanging Experience
·Holding a conference or symposium on volunteering with the presence of NGOs, volunteers, Government representatives and interested individuals
·Inviting volunteers, NGO representatives, researchers and others from neighbouring countries to come and share their experiences.
·Holding a round-table discussion
·Organizing informal, community-wide presentations and lectures by volunteers on their experiences
·Telephone and video link-ups between volunteers in different sites
·Coordinating a region- or continent-wide celebration of IVD through telephone and video link-ups.
Promotion
·Broadcasting live or taped interviews with volunteers on radio or TV
·Including features on volunteers in the TV News on IVD
·Broadcasting a radio or TV programme: "A Day in the Life of a Volunteer"
·Live broadcasts on volunteer-related events, courtesy of local radio and television stations
·Screening/ broadcasting clips/films/documentaries on volunteers
·Children interviewing volunteers on the radio
·Broadcasting a panel discussion on the role of volunteering in national society
·Newspapers sponsoring volunteer events through free advertisements
·Newspapers publishing articles or supplements featuring volunteer service
·Producing a trainer video on volunteering
·Producing a song or jingle to promote volunteer work
·Having a prominent designer design a uniform for volunteers
·Prominent figures volunteering publicly
·Prominent figures broadcasting public service announcements on volunteering
·Holding press conferences
·Including features about volunteerism in journals and newsletters of bodies such as sports authorities, the Scouts and Guides, Youth Hostel Association, and in publications by state ministries
·Taking journalists "on tour" to development projects
·Placing posters and banners in streets, schools and universities or airports
·Raising a road-side notice board on IVD/ volunteer work
·UN and Government Information Centres facilitating press releases on the days leading up to IVD
·Organizing a contest on "the best volunteer project"
·Organizing a contest on composing a volunteer anthem Information
·Holding exhibitions in libraries, cultural and community centres or universities on volunteer work
·Holding well-publicized information sessions on volunteer service
·NGOs having "open days" or having an "NGO week" at the university
·Organizing a photo exhibit documenting volunteer action Engaging Tomorrow's Volunteers: Children and Youth
·Running a school essay contest on volunteerism or on the topic: "What can I do to make my village, my neighbourhood a better place?"
·Children painting their "vision for a better world" and designing posters
·Organizing a contest of stories from children to promote ideas of |
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·Organizing sporting events and games (tug-o-war, badminton)
·Celebrating local folklore, music, dancing and cuisine
·Organizing an exhibition of art done by volunteers
·Providing popular theatre performances, musical entertainment, choir concert
·Providing a literature programme (reciting poetry, reading short stories accompanied by a slide presentation)
·Mounting poster, crafts and art competitions
·Street parades and marches
·"A Walk for Peace", maybe involving fund-raising by sponsorship per kilometer
·Organizing games with children
· Forming an "International Link of Friendship" (a gesture of joining palm to palm with hands held high)
· Small children parading in a "V" formation and posing for a commemorative photo against a representative local backdrop
· Participating in a "marathon run"
· Holding special religious services to honour community-level volunteering and encourage more
More facts and surveys on volunteering available at http://www.iyv2001.org in the research and policy section, or contact:
Ms. Li Dan
Tel: 010-6532 3731-239
Fax: 010-6532 2567
Email: dan.li@undp.org
Beijing International Volunteers Association
Tel: 86 10 62016342、62371935、62371946、62371948
Fax: 86 10 62380927、62011328
Email: wangmiao@civa.org.cn |
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