by
Jayne Cravens, www.coyotecommunications.com


International Year of Volunteers 2001:
A review of what it was, what it did, what it accomplished

IYV 2001 was an amazing phenomenon to behold - but so much of what happened regarding the year has been scrubbed from the Internet. Unless you know the URLs of long defunct web sites created in association with IYV 2001, so you can look them up on archive.org, you can't access much information online at all regarding this incredible global phenomenon. I put together a page on Wikipedia about the International Year of Volunteers 2001, and event that happened while I was working at the United Nations Volunteers program, part of UNDP. A page on Wikipedia for IYV2001 had been created by other people, and later deleted, at least twice before, because of perceived copyright violations, so I'm always quite worried that the page I created will be deleted, despite my efforts to ensure all copy was original or properly cited.

So I decided to create a page here on my web site to also capture what the year was and what it accomplished. All of the information from the Wikipedia IYV 2001 page is here, and I've added much more.

About IYV 2001

International Year of Volunteers was designated for 2001 by the United Nations General Assembly. The IYV 2001 initiative aimed to increase recognition, facilitation, networking and promotion of volunteering, to highlight the achievements of the millions of volunteers worldwide who devote some time of their lives to serving others, and to encourage more people globally to engage in volunteering.

The concept for a United Nations year to recognize volunteerism first emerged within the UN system at a 1996 policy forum in Japan. The forum was organized and lead by the United Nations Volunteers (UNV) program and United Nations University (UNU). A February 1997 proposal of the Government of Japan was transmitted through the UN Secretary General be placed on the agenda of the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) in July 1997. ECOSOC, in its resolution 1977/44 of 22 July 1997, recommended to the UN General Assembly that it adopt the resolution proclaiming 2001 the International Year of Volunteers. The UN General Assembly, in its 52nd session on 20 November 1997 in Resolution 52/17, co-sponsored by 123 countries, passed the ECOSOC resolution, thereby proclaiming 2001 as the International Year of Volunteers.

UNV, part of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), was designated in the resolution as the international focal point.[2]

Objectives of IYV were:

Sharon Capeling-Alakija was the Executive Coordinator of United Nations Volunteers during IYV 2001. As the international focal point, UNV, based in Bonn, Germany, took the lead in all organizing and promotion regarding the year internationally. Within UNV, there was a dedicated staff of five to seven full-time employees working on IYV2001. In case you are wondering, I wasn't part of that dedicated staff; I was across the hall, running the Online Volunteering service, moving it from NetAid to fully under the management of UNV, as well as being one of the managers of the UNITeS initiative (United Nations Internet Technology Service).

The IYV Web Sites

The official IYV web site, www.iyv2001.org, launched in December 1998 by UNV, provided extensive resources for United Nations organizations, non-governmental organizations and governments to recognize the year in some way. The resources provided by the site included:

The IYV logo was a creation and volunteer contribution from Argentine designer Sandra Rojas, and was provided in the six official UN languages as well as a composite logo that combines all six in one.[6]

UNV also launched www.worldvolunteerweb.org as a result of IYV2001. The site provided a global one-stop-shop for information, resources and organizations linked to volunteerism. It aimed to represent the diversity of volunteerism in all of its cultural forms, bringing global ideals to local voluntary actions. It had a goal to mobilize individuals, organizations and networks to help achieve the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). The June 2004 versions of the web site archived at archive.org are best for current reference. The web site was updated in 2007 and then stopped being updated, and eventually UNV gave up ownership of the URL. 

Other organizations and several countries also created their own IYV web sites to celebrate the year and provide resources to members / citizens.
 
Activities For the Year

On April 20 and 21, 1999, the Canadian IYV Leaders Forum in Montebello, Quebec held the first nationwide conference in the world on IYV. Volunteer stakeholders examined the history of successful UN-designated international years, and drew up a plan for IYV 2001 based on proven approaches from past UN years. In June 1999, the first National IYV Committee was established in the Netherlands, set up to organize IYV-related activities. By the end of IYV 2001, there were 123 National IYV Committees on six continents. The IYV committees were bodies composed of government representatives, the media, the private sector, academia and civil society. Some committees used IYV to focus on a particular issue; for instance, in Rwanda, the National IYV Committee focused on efforts to combat poverty, and in Kenya, volunteer contributions to eradicate malaria were highlighted (malaria is the number one cause of death in Africa). Other committees, such as the one in Guinea, formed what were supposed to be permanent national volunteer centers.

The first IYV Regional Workshop, in Paramaribo, Suriname was 19-21 August, 1999, and gathered representatives from governments, civil society and the UN within the Caribbean region to set an agenda for the Year's activities. This and other IYV regional workshops were organized by UNV and funded by the Government of Japan. Six additional regional workshops took place in 2000, in: Hua Hin, Thailand (3-4 May 2000), Pretoria, South Africa (27-29 June 2000), Rabat, Morocco (5-6 October 2000), Lagos, Nigeria (26-28 October 2000), Guatemala City, Guatemala (26-27 October 2000) and Dhaka, Bangladesh (2-3 November 2000).

The New York Association for Volunteer Administration and UNV established the first IYV City Committee in October 1999. By the end of 2001, there were nine other IYV city committees, in: Buenos Aires, Argentina, Choibalsan, Mongolia, Hong Kong, Special Administrative Region of China, Madrid, Spain, Munich, Germany, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Prague, the Czech Republic, Braj (parts of Uttar Pradesh) and in Hyderabad, India.

In its final report in the summer of 2000, the UN General Assembly Special Session on the Outcome and Follow-up to the World Summit on Social Development, convened from 26 June - 1 July in Geneva, Switzerland, recognized volunteering as an area of concern in the field of social development. These deliberations followed a round-table discussion of the UNV-convened Expert Working Group. Meeting from 29 to 30 November 1999, the Group had formulated recommendations based on a paper on volunteering and social development written by Dr. Justin Davis Smith of the UK-based Institute for Volunteering Research.

Volunteer support by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) stemmed from a symposium held from 24 to 26 November of 1999 in Lausanne, Switzerland. The IOC pledged to recognize the role of volunteers at the Olympics and in the world of sports. During the prelude to the Sydney Olympic Games, in the Fall of 2000, a UN Volunteer ran with the Olympic Torch.

UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan officially opened IYV in November 2000 in New York. Other speakers at the event included Capeling-Alakija; Felipe VI of Spain (then Prince of Asturias); Nadia Comaneci, Olympic Gold Medalist; representatives from the governments of Japan, Uganda and Brazil; Dr. Astrid Heiberg, then President of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC); Anita Roddick, then CEO of The Body Shop; Bernard Kouchner, then of UNMIK in Kosovo; Sergio Vieira de Mello, then of UNTAET in East Timor; UN Volunteers from the Philippines and Nigeria; and representatives from NetAid.[7]

Annan also appointed the former President of Ghana, Jerry John Rawlings, as the first IYV Eminent Person, to help raise the profile of millions of volunteers working for peace and development around the world. Other IYV Eminent Persons named for the year included Spain's Crown Prince Felipe of Asturias, the founder of the Body Shop, Anita Roddick, and the former Executive Director of the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), Dr. Nafis Sadik.

At the Word Volunteer Conference in Amsterdam, in honor of IYV, the International Association for Volunteer Effort re-issued a revised Universal Declaration on Volunteering, first issued in 1990 during the World Volunteer Conference in Paris. "This Declaration supports the right of every woman, man and child to associate freely and to volunteer regardless of their cultural and ethnic origin, religion, age, gender, and physical, social or economic condition." [8]

Individual countries also created their own national IYV websites, and events were held around the world to promote the goals of IYV, such as the official launch event in New York City.[9][10]

In the USA, the Points of Light Foundation and the Association of Junior Leagues International (AJLI) partnered to convene and lead the IYV USA Steering Committee. Members of the committee included the National Council of Volunteer Centers, National Council on Workplace Volunteering, Association for Volunteer Administration, National Parents and Teachers Association and Make A Difference Day. The USA's IYV web site, www.iyv2001us.org, was launched in September 2000.[11]

On 29 March 2001, the United Nations Postal Administration (UNPA) issued a set of six commemorative stamps and a souvenir card in honor of IYV.[12]

Four IYV 2001 Stamps were issued by the Bhutan Post on June 15.[13]

Charles, Prince of Wales unveiled the design of a 10-cent Canadian circulation coin commemorating IYV in April 2001. The coin went into circulation later that year. It was produced by Royal Canadian Mint and adapted from a photo provided by the March of Dimes.[14]

Another IYV Regional Workshop, this time in Almaty, Kazakhstan, was held 10-11 May 2001.

According to a press release by UNV in October 2001, lawmakers in France, Germany, Spain and the UK passed pro-volunteer legislation in 2001, and new laws were proposed in Argentina, Colombia, Ecuador, Madagascar, Mozambique, Nepal, Senegal and Tanzania. Also for the year, UNV and the Independent Sector released "Measuring Volunteering: A Practical Toolkit," a survey guide to measure the economic contribution of volunteering. The press release says the toolkit was adapted for use in Botswana, China, Lao PDR, Kazakhstan and Mongolia, and that research on volunteering had begun in Cambodia, Madagascar, Namibia, Sri Lanka and Tanzania.[15]

Solicited by UNV, musicians from around the world donated and wrote songs about volunteerism, submitting them to UNV for possible inclusion on the IYV2001 website and in a CD. Chosen songs were offered via the website to download for free. UNV also offered a CD with 27 songs in nine languages, by musicians from 18 countries, in celebration of IYV. The CD featured Jamaican reggae star Tony Rebel, who donated the song, "Not all about money", and Portugal's Paulo de Carvalho, who donated the song "Vai e faz" (Go and Do). Most of the songs praised the virtues of volunteers, but the last song, by Dave Greenfield of Canada, was meant to provoke political debate and question social issues about volunteers.[16]

The United Colors of Benetton's communication campaign for autumn 2001 was produced in collaboration with UNV and honored IYV. Instead of professional models, the campaign featured photos of volunteers, such as a tattooed former member of a street gang who volunteered in anti-violence activities, a young lawyer volunteering to promote and defend human rights, a trans-gendered person who volunteered to distribute condoms among prostitutes, and an elderly tap dancer who entertained residents in homes for the elderly. The campaign was promoted throughout Europe, the USA, South America and parts of Asia, in newspapers, magazines, and billboards. A special issue of Benetton's magazine Colors was published for the campaign in November 2001.[17][18]

The final event for the year by UNV, the International Symposium on Volunteering, was 18–21 November 2001 in Geneva, Switzerland. The event was attended by representatives from most of the IYV national committees, and provided workshops to discuss the outcomes of IYV 2001.[19][20]

Pope John Paul II issued a statement on on December 5, 2001, noting, "At the end of the year, that the United Nations dedicated to Volunteer work, I wish to express my heartfelt appreciation for your constant dedication, in every part of the world, in going to meet those who live in poverty. Whether you work individually or gathered together in special associations, you represent for children, the elderly, the sick, people in difficulty, refugees and the persecuted a ray of hope that pierces the darkness of solitude and encourages them to overcome the temptations of violence and egotism."[21]

The UN General Assembly marked the closing of IYV on December 5, 2001 by adopting a resolution on recommendations for volunteer action, commending the ongoing contributions of all volunteers to society, and encouraging all people to become more engaged in voluntary activities. The assembly also decided that two plenary meetings at its fifty-seventh session on 5 December 2002 should be devoted to the outcome of the IYV and its follow-up. Specific recommendations on ways governments and the UN system could support volunteering were contained in an annex to the resolution.[22]

Worldwide volunteer activities of the Vienna based NGO community were presented at the Vienna International Centre on 11 December 2001 to mark IYV 2001 and the International Day of Human Rights, jointly organized by the United Nations Information Service Vienna (UNIS) and CONGO (Conference of NGOs in consultative relationship with the UN).[23]

Results

It's hard to say what IYV accomplished. Did it increase recognition, facilitation, networking and promotion of volunteering? Did it raise awareness of the achievements of the millions of volunteers worldwide who devote some time of their lives to serving others? Did more people volunteer as a result of the year? Did more organizations start involving volunteers, and did more organizations increase the number of volunteers they involved? Did it create a climate of public and official opinion even more supportive of voluntary action? I don't know of any research that was done to see if any of this happened. Certainly while the year was happening it felt this way by myself and most UNV staff. But those feelings aren't enough to say in any provable way that any of those goals were met. There are some after-year reports, like this one from Moz.

The European Year of Volunteering (EYV) was in 2011, launched by the European Commission, the government of the European Union, to celebrate the volunteerism efforts of Europeans, and it was chosen to correspond with the 10th anniversary of IYV. In 2011, ten years after IYV, the United Nations IYV+10 was recognized and promoted by UNV to renew the goals of the original IYV and to encourage people’s contributions to peace and the Millennium Development Goals through volunteering.

If you use thise URL in archive.org, you can see an excellent chronology of UNV documents regarding IVY2001:
www.unv.org/en/news-resources/archive/unv-news/unv-news-december-2001/doc/iyv-2001-a-chronology.html

 

Also see


The Last Virtual Volunteering Guidebook

available for purchase as a paperback & an ebook
Completely revised and updated, & includes lots more advice about microvolunteering!
Published January 2014.



 
  • Studies and Research Regarding Online Volunteering / Virtual Volunteering
    While there is a plethora of articles and information about online volunteering, there has been very little research published regarding the subject. This is a compilation of publicly-available research regarding online volunteering, and a list of suggested possible angles for researching online volunteering. New contributions to this page are welcomed, including regarding online mentoring programs.
     
  • Incorporating virtual volunteering into a corporate employee volunteer program (a resource for businesses / for-profit companies)
    Virtual volunteering - volunteers providing service via a computer, smart phone, tablet or other networked advice - presents a great opportunity for companies to expand their employee philanthropic offerings. Through virtual volunteering, some employees will choose to help organizations online that they are already helping onsite. Other employees who are unable to volunteer onsite at a nonprofit or school will choose to volunteer online because of the convenience.
     
  • Creating One-Time, Short-Term Group Volunteering Activities
    Details on not just what groups of volunteers can do in a two-hour, half-day or all-day event, but also just how much an organization or program will need to do to prepare a site for group volunteering. It's an expensive, time-consuming endeavor - are you ready? Is it worth it?
     
  • Recruiting Local Volunteers To Increase Diversity Among the Ranks
    Having plenty of volunteers usually isn't enough to say a volunteering program is successful. Another indicator of success is if your volunteers represent a variety of ages, education-levels, economic levels and other demographics, or are a reflection of your local community. Most organizations don't want volunteers to be a homogeneous group; they want to reach a variety of people as volunteers (and donors and other supporters, for that matter). This resource will help you think about how to recruit for diversity, or to reach a specific demographic.
     
  • Using Third Party Web Sites Like VolunteerMatch to Recruit Volunteers
    There are lots and lots of web sites out there to help your organization recruit volunteers. You don't have to use them all, but you do need to make sure you use them correctly in order to get the maximum response to your posts.