International Volunteer Day encourages youth to be help Egypt achieve the Millennium Development Goals

Cairo, 10 December 2005 – Over 3000 Egyptian youth are gathering today at Al Azhar Park to explore how and where they can volunteer to help Egypt achieve the Millennium Development Goals by 2015. Organised by the United Nations Volunteers Programme under the patronage of the Ministry of Youth, the 2005 International Volunteer day aims to channel the energy of Egypt’s large youth population to bring development forward. Celebrating its fourth year in Egypt, IVD is promising to become a cherished tradition on the Egyptian civil society agenda.

From natural disasters to ‘silent crises’ such as poverty and disease, volunteers are making a difference across the globe and helping the international community achieve the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan  expressed in his message on International Volunteer Day.

“Promoting volunteerism, strengthening the support provided to volunteers, and recognizing the contributions of volunteers, are all vital if the Goals are to be realized in the next decade,” said Mr. Kamal Dervis, UNDP Administrator “I encourage governments of both rich and poor countries, as well as other stakeholders and the entire UN system, to create more opportunities for people to contribute to development in tangible ways through volunteerism.”

IVD 2005 is featuring several workshops to engage youth including a workshop on volunteerism and the MDGs. Another creative workshop is the arts for development workshop where participants will create kites reflecting the MDGs . In addition, Non-Governmental-Organizations will be given the chance to show documentaries related to different development topics alongside its annual exhibition showcasing the work of volunteers throughout the country. The exhibition will include booths for 40 volunteer-organisations including NGOs and international and bilateral organizations.
Events of the day will culminate in a concert featuring young musical bands including Basheer, Conspirience, Ehaab Abdou, Massar Egbari, Resala and Wust Al Balad.
IVD 2005 will launch a series of events during 2006 which aims to raise awareness on the Millennium Development Goals and create adequate channels for youth to contribute to achieving these Goals through volunteerism

International Volunteer Day for Economic and Social Development (IVD) was initiated by the United Nations General Assembly through adapting Resolution 40/212 on 17 December 1985. Since then, governments, the UN system and civil society organizations have successfully joined volunteers around the world to celebrate the Day. IVD provides an opportunity for volunteer organizations and individual volunteers to work together in projects and campaigns bringing added visibility to their contributions to economic and social development at local, national and international levels.

Thanks to successful partnerships forged, several private sector companies and organizations contributed to this year’s event namely Vodafone, P&G, the AGA KHAN Trust for Culture, Daghash Tents, DAG Egypt and the National Council for Childhood and Motherhood, Nile FM and Mobise.

Inaugurating the events of the day will be H.E. Dr. Mamdouh Beltagi, Minister of Youth, H.E. Ambassador Moushira Khattab, Secretary General of the National Council for Childhood and Motherhood and Mr. Antonio Vigilante, UN Resident Coordinator.

For more information please contact UNDP at 5784840-6.

Administered by UNDP, UNV is the UN organization that supports sustainable human development globally through the promotion of volunteerism, including the mobilization of volunteers. As a part of its activities, each year, UNV provides the opportunity for more than 5,500 skilled and experienced professionals, 70 percent coming from developing countries, to support peace, relief and development initiatives in some 140 countries.