With the same imagination, we will see youth club members joining hands
with secondary level and college students all around the country (the
thousands of VDCs scattered in all corners) all committed in that
particular day to help someone in need or improve their own school or neighborhood. This is a vision that would nourish new fertile ground
for genuine well being in the society and foster community development
and social cohesion.
This could become a reality if new momentum is created for the
celebration of the 10th anniversary of the establishment of the first
International Year of Volunteerism back in 2001. All around the world,
preparations are underway to reinvigorate and re-launch in 2011 a global
call to make volunteerism and civic engagement embedded in our habits
and ways of living. The IYV+10, the abbreviation for this global
campaign, will offer a great opportunity to redefine the role and
contribution of volunteerism in development agenda of many emerging
countries.
These global efforts will be gunews_ided by a vision that embraces
volunteering as "universal and inclusive, and recognises volunteering in
all its diversity, with a firm belief in the values of equality, solnews_idarity, civic engagement as well as indivnews_idual and collective freedoms".
Under the leadership of United Nation Volunteers-UNV, the focal point for IYV+10, a Global Call for Action encourages all he stakeholders to "recognize and celebrate the achievements of volunteers by actively inspiring the volunteer in you".
A global summit on Volunteerism and MDGs will be held in March 2011 to
follow up and continue the path initiated by the pioneering conference
held in Islamabad in December 2004. The UN General Assembly will
dedicate two sessions to IYV+10 in December and a first State of World's
Volunteerism Report will be launched in the same period. The momentum
is building up.
Within the UN System, UNV is trying to get bolder and stronger, with a
better defined relationship with UNDP, its mother organisation. A
complete shake up of the organisational structure has been promoted with
new divisions and departments better positioned to maximise the
effectiveness of UNV.
Also in other parts of the world, volunteerism and civic engagement are
enjoying quite a moment. During the commemorations for the victims of
Sept. 11th, Presnews_ident Obama and Vice Presnews_ident Joe Bnews_iden tirelessly
promoted the spirit of service and altruism. Besnews_ides, The National
Conference on Citizenship, a body affiliated to the US Congress,
recently released the American Civic Health Report 2009 that tested and
measured the impact of the global economic downturn on American people
and ways of engaging with the community and the society. Despite the
fact that 72 percent of Americans sanews_id they cut back on time spent
volunteering, data suggests that almost 125 million exchanged favours
with their neighbours at least once a month and between 2007 and 2009;
about 62 million volunteered through an organisation each year.
In Western Africa, the ECOWAS, the regional equivalent to SAARC,
promoted a volunteering programme within its member countries. Why not
start a similar campaign in South Asia? South Asian leaders should
engage in a similar initiative to promote social cohesion and at the
same time promote common values through people-to-people contacts. This
kind of soft action can make South Asian people more united and
committed to their common destiny. The SAARC Secretariat can start
making some homework for tabling the establishment of a South Asian
Service Corp. I'm sure that this news_idea will not be dismissed by the
regional leaders. If a SAARC University is being established, a regional
volunteering service can also be set up. At the same time, it is
important to clarify that the promotion of volunteerism is not only for
youth or for those who have full time experience in volunteering, but
mostly for normal people.
In the EU, the European Voluntary Service is one of the most successful
examples of people to people solnews_idarity. Indeed, volunteerism and civic
engagement foster social engagement and social capital and can have a
strategic role in redefining the relationship between the state and its
citizens. At the same time, the private sector should be involved.
Microsoft UK launched the Go Mad-Make a Difference campaign, offering
three days of additional annual leaves for those employees willing to
volunteer. In Nepal, there are some remarkable examples of corporate
sector initiatives like the walkathon promoted by Standard Chartered
Bank but much more could be done. But what is most important is to think
strategically on how to establish a genuine culture of volunteerism in
Nepal through IVY+10 initiatives.
We should create a national movement to promote effective IVY+10 with
doable policy level agenda. The National Planning Commission should
reinvigorate and re-launch the NDVS programme for the promotion of
volunteerism and civic engagement. Because volunteerism is not yet in
the development agenda of external development partners, the American
and British Embassies should take the lead in promoting civic
engagement. Both, in fact, boast a terrific national framework that is
strongly supported by national legislation, a result of a strong
bipartisan commitment in the promotion of volunteerism. UNV obviously
has a privileged role in supporting the establishment of a strong
national volunteering system. It can do this also by taking stock of its
experience at the policy level in emerging countries. There are several
experiences where UNV facilitated a national dialogue on volunteerism.
Let's also do this in Nepal. For this purpose, an international
conference should be organised to share successful experiences in
mainstreaming volunteerism not only in the development agenda but also
in community-building.
The National Chapter of the UN Global Compact, the charter that
envisions socially responsible business practices all around the world,
should brainstorm the corporate role in promotion of volunteerism and
advocate for incorporation and inclusion of volunteerism in the Compact.
The terrific youth movement active in Nepal is already engaged in
promoting the news_idea of a National Service but needs to be coached and
adequately supported. International NGOs like VSO or Bilateral Donors
like JICA, KOICA and the Australian Youth Ambassador Programme that are
promoting volunteering experiences, should also play a leading role.
However, all these efforts will be fruitless unless the government takes
the driver's seat.
Maximising the efforts and strategically coordinating and promoting
indivnews_idual initiatives under one national framework will be of paramount
importance for a real and lasting change on the road to making
volunteering a daily habit for millions of people. Remember, imagination
can become reality, if we want. A National Service Day can be the right
start.
{The author is deputy country director of CCS Italy (Nepal), an INGO which works for the benefit of Nepali children}