庆祝国际志愿者日
2009-12-08 23:41阅读:
12月5日,是国际志愿者日。我们援利青年志愿者邀请了援利医疗队一起,以自己的方式庆祝了这个节日。我作为援外志愿者的一员,自己的工作能得到大家的肯定,是对我最大的鼓励。
今天,利比里亚最大的报纸《Daily
Observer》发表社论,庆祝国际志愿者日,转一下。
Celebrating International Volunteers Day
Saturday, December 5, 2009 was
International Volunteers Day, and Liberia was not left out in
marking this important day. Under the theme, “Volunteering for our
Planet,” local youth groups came together to demonstrate the spirit
of volunteerism and educate the public on various aspects of
volunteerism. The jamboree, organized by the Monrovia City Council,
was climaxed by a series of events, including a five-kilometer run
for peace, the cleaning of the PHP beach and a debate on “the
importance of our environment” by student groups representing the
15 counties of Liberia.
The United Nations General Assembly
established the IVD in 1985. It is now celebrated worldwide with
thousands of volunteers involved in a range of initiat
ives including clean-up campaigns, conferences, exhibitions and
morning teas, all aimed at highlighting the role of volunteers in
their communities. The Day offers an opportunity for volunteer
organizations and individual volunteers to concretely showcase
their contributions to peace and development.
Over the years, rallies, parades, community volunteer projects,
environmental awareness, free medical care and advocacy campaigns
have all featured prominently on IVD.
Recognizing the crucial role
volunteers play in addressing environmental issues, the United
Nations Volunteers (UNV) program often invites people to join its
“Volunteering for our Planet” campaign.
Together with UN’s “Seal the Deal”
movement, the campaign aims to gather the number of volunteering
hours and report this at the United Nations Climate Change
Conference (7-18 December) in Copenhagen.
Indeed, the General Assembly’s act of
establishing volunteerism was in the right direction. All the
member states need do now is to support volunteerism, as it serves
as an indispensable force in human development and nation building,
something that has not been accorded due recognition in Liberia.
There is no doubt that the UN is keen on strengthening volunteerism
around the world and that is probably why the world body
spearheaded a series of campaigns that led to the re-launch of
volunteerism in early 2008. Our local volunteer organizations need
to form a strong network that will ensure that the contributions of
volunteers to Liberia’s Gross Domestic Product are quantified and
recognized.