THE INTERNATIONAL YEAR OF VOLUNTEERS 2001

A Catalyst for Pro-Volunteer Policies and Legislation

by Diana Perez-Buck,
Looking Beyond 2001 IYV is a powerful springboard, a starting point, which we hope will lead to further discussions and concrete, sustainable action in the years to come.

 Throughout the world, IYV 2001 committees have formed in around 120 countries, 75 states and 6 cities. As the year draws to a close, we are encouraging these to become permanent in order to facilitate continued discussion, advocate with policymakers and coordinate initiatives in support of volunteerism. Indeed there is already a legal base for many of these IYV committees (from a Royal Decree in Spain to a Government Decision in the Czech Republic and a Decree by the Prime Minister of Russia), which set a precedent for the legal establishment of permanent bodies.

Examples of countries that have already moved in this direction are: Portugal, where a Permanent National Council for the Promotion Volunteerism is foreseen in Government Resolution 50/00; Italy, where, in addition to the national Observatory of Volunteerism inscribed in Law 266/91, an Ombudsman for Volunteering position is currently being created; Luxembourg, which plans to set up a permanent Council of Volunteer Commitment; and Spain, which is launching this year a new State Plan for Volunteering with measures and funding to put into action its 1996 Law on volunteerism.

UNV will continue advocating for enhanced pro-volunteer policies beyond 2001 in inter-governmental for such as the UN and European institutions. UNV is currently supporting preparations for the plenary sessions the UN General Assembly will devote to volunteering on December 5, 2001, including the drafting of the UN Secretary-General’s Report on Government and UN system support for volunteer activity.

UN will cooperate with the Council of Europe and the European Union institutions, as well as with European civil society organisations, to support pro-active follow-up of the proposals made in the relevant Resolutions such as the ratification of conventions related to volunteering, the exchange of information on enhancing the mobility of volunteers, the inclusion of volunteering policy objectives in the EU’s youth policies and increased research into volunteers in the European Union. UNV will specifically propose a European conference on pro-volunteer legislation and policies.

We will furthermore encourage the EU to examine in greater depth the contribution of volunteers and voluntary organisations to its various sectors of activity (social, development, youth and environmental policy, the promotion of human rights, public health, education and training, etc.) and will advocate for the inclusion of volunteering in Union legislation (building on Amsterdam Treaty Declaration No. 38, which “recognises the important contributions made by voluntary service activities to developing social solidarity”).UNV will, for example, encourage Member States to include volunteering in the Commission and Council Joint Report on Social Inclusion to be adopted at the Brussels-Leaken European Council of December 2001.

More broadly, we plan to encourage increased research into volunteering to ensure policymakers have access to academic and statistical evidence quantifying the full economic and social impact of volunteerism. We intend to provide online access to surveys as well as national and international laws related to volunteering. Our first step in that direction was the production of Measuring Volunteering: A Practical Toolkit, a guide to produce empirical data on volunteering.

We hope this year will have only been the beginning of a powerful and transformational journey to ensure volunteers continue to be the very reservoirs of energetic solidarity that enable and empower society.

(contunued from the previous nember of Civic World, taken from SEAL – Social Economy and Law, Autumn 2001)