Promote volunteerism in China Through the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games

Promote volunteerism in China Through the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games

July 25, 2007

A Project Launched to Support Olympic Volunteerism as a
Resource for Development in China


    BEIJING, July 25 /Xinhua-PRNewswire/ -¨C A project was
launched today to strengthen volunteerism in China through
the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games by providing trainings to
Olympic volunteer leaders and organizing volunteer-led
environmental awareness campaigns.

    (Logo:
http://www.xprn.com/xprn/sa/20061107113358-34-min.jpg )

    Entitled "Strengthening Volunteerism for
Development in China through the Beijing 2008 Olympic
Games", the US$1.4 million initiative is designed to
enhance the capacity of Olympics volunteers and through
this process, to demonstrate volunteerism as an effective
tool to achieve China's development targets.

    The project was signed today between the Beijing
Olympic Games Volunteer Work Coordination Group Office, the
Beijing Committee of the China Communist Youth League, and
the China International Center for Economic and Technical
Exchanges (CICETE) under the Ministry of the Commerce, the
UN Development Programme (UNDP) and UN Volunteers Programme
(UNV).

    "UN Volunteers is proud to be part of the 2008
Olympic volunteer effort," said Ad de Raad, Executive
Coordinator of UNV at the signing ceremony. "The world
will see the remarkable dedication of volunteers at the
Games next summer. Through this project with the Government
of China we are hoping to illustrate how the ingenuity,
solidarity and creativity of volunteers can contribute to
achieving the nation's development targets."

    The project is to conduct pre-games volunteer trainings
for a core group of 10,000 Olympic volunteer leaders,
managers and trainers in volunteer recruitment, management
and recognition. It will also launch volunteer campaigns to
raise environmental awareness in Beijing in support of the
"Green Olympics" concept with various activities
ranging from promoting energy efficiency and recycling to
educating school children on how to live more
environmentally sustainable lives.

    The 3-year project is also aiming at continuous efforts
in the post-games period by creating opportunities for
Olympic volunteers and committed citizens to volunteer in
several development fields.  Volunteers will be encouraged
to take on assignments in the areas of poverty alleviation,
health, education, gender equality and HIV/AIDS.

    "Harnessing the talents and determination of
Chinese citizens on a large scale through volunteerism
would have an enormous impact on the social and economic
development of the country," said Subinay Nandy, UNDP
Country Director in China. "It is our hope that we can
inspire Olympic volunteers to lead this effort and assert
volunteerism as a valuable tool towards achieving the
Millennium Development Goals and the Xiaokang
society."

    UNDP fosters human development to empower women and men
to build better lives in China. As the UN's development
network, UNDP draws on a world of experience to assist
China in developing its own solutions to the country's
development challenges. Through partnerships and
innovation, UNDP works to achieve the Millennium
Development Goals and an equitable Xiao Kang society by
reducing poverty, strengthening the rule of law, promoting
environmental sustainability, and fighting HIV/AIDS.  
http://www.undp.org.cn


    For more information, please contact: 

     Ms. Zhang Wei
     Communications Officer
     UNDP China
     Tel:   [phone]
     Email: [e-mail]