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I. Background
Volunteers contribute significantly to the public welfare and progress
of developed and developing countries, as part of both national and international
programs of humanitarian assistance, technical cooperation, social welfare,
environmental protection and promotion of human rights, democratization
and peace. In recognition of the above, the United Nations General Assembly
in its 52nd session on 20 November 1997 in Resolution 52/17, co-sponsored
by 123 countries, decided to designate 2001 the International Year of
Volunteers. With its main objectives of enhanced recognition, facilitation,
networking and promotion of volunteering, IYV provided a unique opportunity
to highlight the achievements of millions of volunteers worldwide and
to encourage more people globally to engage in volunteer activities. The
UN secretary-general Kofi Ann a declared the official launching of IYV
2001 at the UN headquarters on November 28th, 2000. With the active promotion
of the United Nations, IYV Committees have been established in more than
120 countries and five cities by now, including U.S.A., UK, Germany, Japan,
Russia, Australia, New York and Hong Kong.
United Nations Volunteers (UNV), which belongs to UNDP, is an international
focal point of IYV 2001 that is assigned by the UN General Assembly. Consigned
by the Chinese government, the Ministry of Foreign Trade and Economic
Cooperation (MOFTEC) is fully responsible for implementing UNDP and UNV
projects and for the international exchanges of volunteers. UNV started
its cooperation with China in 1981. Over the past 20 years, UNV has sent
over 180 international UN Volunteers to China, whose specialty concentrate
in education, health care, science and technology, environmental protection
and poverty alleviation. China has also sent more than 160 Chinese UN
Volunteers through UNV to over 30 developing countries in the field of
agriculture, water conservation, medical care, computer and economic management.
The Central Committee of the Communist Youth League of China launched
and implemented Chinese young volunteers program of all over the country
at the end of 1993. The program has scored outstanding achievement in
the past 7 years in many fields, such as poverty alleviation, education
and illiteracy elimination, environmental protection, providing volunteer
service for large events and community development. More than 80 million
young people have provided volunteer services of over four billion hours.
The volunteer service has become an effective way for most youths to participate
in economic development, so as to contribute to social stability and to
the improvement of people's living conditions. This work was fully ascertained
by the Central leaders. President Jiang Zemin offered his autograph of
Chinese Young Volunteers at the end of 1997. In January 2000, President
Jiang made an important comment: "Young volunteer service is a noble
cause in modern socialist China. It has a full display of the traditional
Chinese virtue of taking pleasure in helping people and poverty alleviation.
It is a cause full of promise. Trying to go well along this cause will
be in favor of building up new era trends of dedication, fraternal love,
mutual help and progress in the whole society. I hope you will press ahead
in the new century, to carry forward the glorious tradition of our nation's
youths, namely to strive steadily, to create continuously and to advance
courageously, so as to make greater dedications for the great revival
of the Chinese nation." Some other leaders have also shown their
interests in volunteer services. They made comments respectively or participated
in volunteer activities personally. Volunteer service initiatives has
also obtained great support from State and government ministries and functionaries
including the Organization Department, Publicity Department, and State
Development Planning Commission, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry
of Personnel, Ministry f Finance, Ministry of Education, Ministry of Science
and Technology, etc.
Taking advantage of IYV, MOFTEC and the Central Committee of Communist
Youth League of China initiated to set up the China National Committee
for IYV 2001 as the focal point of IYV 2001. The committee will plan and
coordinate volunteer service activities during IYV, and to coordinate
and instruct volunteer organizations of all levels and various types in
China, to strengthen international cooperation to advance volunteer services
in China. On March 8th, 2001, the State Council officially agreed to establish
the Committee. With the approval the State Council, State Councilor Wu
Yi took the position as the President of the Committee.
II. Organizational Structure
1. President:
¡ñ State Councilor, alternate member of the Political
Bureau of the CPC Central Committee, Md. Wu Yi,
2. Executive President:
¡ñ Mr. Shi Guangsheng, Minister of MOFTEC
¡ñ Mr. Zhou Qiang, First Secretary of the CYL Central
Committee
3. Executive Vice President:
¡ñ Mr. Long Yongtu, Chief Negotiator, Vice Minister
of MOFTEC
¡ñ Mr. Cui Bo, Secretary of Secretariat of the CYL
Central Committee
4. Vice President:
Vice-Minister equivalent official from each of the following closely related
units have been agreed to assume the post.
¡ñ Organization Department, CCCPC
¡ñ Publicity Department, CCCPC
¡ñ the Central office of the Steering Committee for
Moral-building,CCCPC,
¡ñ General Office, State Council
¡ñ State Development Planning Commission
¡ñ Ministry of Foreign Affairs
¡ñ Ministry of Finance
¡ñ Ministry of Personnel
¡ñ Ministry of Education
¡ñ Ministry of Science and Technology
¡ñ Ministry of Public Security
¡ñ Ministry of Civil Affairs
¡ñ Ministry of Health
¡ñ Ministry of Culture
¡ñ State Administration of Radio, Film and Television
¡ñ State Environmental Protection Administration
¡ñ National Bureau of Statistics
¡ñ State General Administration of Sport
¡ñ General Control Commission, CCCPC
¡ñ Legislative Affairs Commission, Standing Committee
of the National People's Congress
¡ñ Population and Environment Resources Commission,
CPPCC
¡ñ People's Daily
¡ñ Xinhua News Agency
¡ñ China Central TV Station
¡ñ Chinese People's Institute of Foreign Affairs
¡ñ Municipal Government of Beijing
¡ñ Municipal Government of Shanghai
¡ñ Ms. Kerstin Leitner, Resident Representative of
UNDP China Office
5. Commissioners:
¡ñ Director equivalent officials in relevant Ministries
and functionaries
¡ñ Chinese civil society organizations, such as
- China Charity Federation
- China Retired Science and Technology Association
- China Red Cross Society
- China Federation of the Disabled
- China Social Workers' Association
- China Young Volunteers Association
¡ñ Other relevant functionaries of major journalism
units
¡ñ Eminent persons, specialists, scholars, entrepreneurs
shall assume the posts of Commissioners of the Committee.
6. Specially Invited Commissioners:
Personnel with high reputations and great achievements in different fields
shall be invited as the Specially Invited Commissioners.
7. Secretariat:
Consists of Secretary General and its functional departments, shall deal
with daily affairs of the Committee.
a) Dept. of Administration
b) Dept. of Large Scale Activities
c) Dept. of International Cooperation
d) Dept. of Publicity and Promotion:
e) Dept. of Research and Design
III. Major Functions:
1. Coordinating and instructing various types of volunteer organizations
at all levels to carry out IYV related activities
2. Performing all kinds of publicity under the title of IYV 2001.
3. Carrying out international exchanges of volunteer services.
4. Solemnly honoring the advanced communities and persons for their contributions
to volunteer service.
IV. Major Activities:
1. 2001 International Conference on Volunteering
Sponsored by China National Committee for IYV 2001 and UNV/UNDP, organized
by MOFTEC and the Central Committee of the Communist Youth League of China,
the Conference will be held in Beijing from November 7th to 9th, 2001.
The main contents of the conference include:
(1) Keynote speeches
(2) Theme panels on recognition, facilitation and development of volunteer
services;
(3) Exhibition of domestic and foreign volunteer services projects and
events;
(4) Visits to volunteer service sites;
(5) Participation in volunteer services;
(6) Develop and pass through the Beijing Joint Declaration on IYV 2001.
More than 200 people will be invited to the conference, including Chinese
government officials, some former leaders of foreign countries, the principals
from UNV headquarters, representatives of international volunteers' organizations
and international organizations, Chinese volunteer organizations and NGOs.
2. The Philanthropic Performance for IYV 2001
Organized by the Central Committee of the Communist Youth League of China,
MOFTEC, and sponsored by China IYV 2001 Committee, the performance shall
take place on 5th December 2001 (International Volunteers' Day). Many
national and international singers and actors will be invited to perform;
3. Seminar on Volunteer Services
Sponsored by Central Committee of Communist Youth League of China and
other related institutions, the seminar is to be held in mid September
of the year. Specialists and functionaries of advanced units in volunteer
services will be invited to attend the seminar and submit papers. Topic
will include the relationship between ruling the country by virtue and
volunteer services, volunteer spirit and moral building, volunteering
behaviors and cultural and ethical progress of the people, volunteering
organizations.
4. Implementation of Overseas Volunteer Service Project
The implementation of this project will be organized and operated by China
Youth Volunteers Association and MOFTEC. The pilot project will be implemented
through exchange and cooperation between young volunteers from China and
foreign countries.
V. Volunteering Service in China
Over the past years, the Central Committee of Communist Youth League of
China has actively involved in volunteering service works. Great accomplishments
achieved in promoting the development of volunteering service.
1. Participate actively in poverty elimination
The Youth Volunteers Poverty-Alleviation Relay Project has been carried
out since 1996 in cooperation with the Central office of the Steering
Committee for Moral-building, CCCPC, Ministry of Education, Ministry of
Health, Ministry of Science and Technology, Ministry of Agriculture, Ministry
of Personnel and the Office for Western Region Development of the State
Council. Young volunteers have been organized to go to poor areas to provide
a six months to two year service in basic education, health care, the
extension of agriculture technology and many others fields. The young
volunteers are recruited among the general public and they relay the process
so as to sustain this effort. Over the past five years, about 30 provinces,
autonomous regions and municipalities in China have implemented this plan.
Among the 200 thousand volunteers registered, 6810 were selected to aid
as many as 160 poor counties. The beneficiary regions have been extended
to the 12 provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities in the western
part of China. The assistance mainly involving mainly the fields of teaching,
medicine and health, the assistance was carried out in the following patterns:
transprovincial cooperation and developed areas supporting less developed
areas in the same province. Currently, 2310 volunteers in education and
300 medical volunteers have completed their service. The newly recruited
3,200 volunteers would be dispatched very soon to serve in the poverty-stricken
areas in the Midwest. Besides, nearly 1 million on-holiday college students
have launched a variety of short-term projects, popularizing knowledge
in the fields of culture, science and technology and hygiene, etc., in
the poor countryside.
2. Participate actively in community development
This involves mainly three aspects: first, "one helps one" youth
volunteering service was initiated from early 1994. Acting as go-betweens,
many young volunteer's organizations help each young volunteer or young
volunteer's service team identity a poverty-stricken family to provide
them with regular service. So far, there have been more than 2.5 million
"one-helps one" teams. Second, college and middle school students
volunteers have started services for community development since 1996.
Making use of their spare time, college and middle school students come
deep into the community to provide the local residents with various professional
services free of charge. Many university students also take some positions
in the neighborhood committees, propagandizing education, science and
technology, and culture for the local residents. Third, Young Volunteers'
Community Service Stations were set up in 1995, and now there are as many
as 24,000 service stations in the whole country, which are basic organizations
for community youth volunteers, responsible for organizing and coordinating
volunteer service activities at grass roots level.
3. Participate actively in environment protection
Save the Mother River-The Youth Volunteers Green Work camp Project has
been implemented by the CYL Central Committee and together with the State
Administration of Environment Protection. With "work, exchange and
study" as its theme, this project was Initiated in June 1999. Setting
up many green action bases, this project organized young volunteers to
carry out some environmental protection service, such as planting trees,
fathering deserts, decontaminating polluted water, and removing white
rubbish. At present, the environmental protection projects in Fengning
of Hebei and Dalinoer of Inner-Mongol. Other projects will also be carried
in execution successively in Wanjiazhai of Shanxi Province, Guang'an -
Deng Xiaoping's former residence in Sichuan Province, Nanxijiang and Taizhou
of Zhejiang Province, Yanji of Jilin Province. In addition, many volunteering
service actions for environmental protection such as planting trees, removing
illegal posters and retrieving used battery, etc. were widely carried
out.
4. Providing volunteer service actively for large-scale social activities
In recent years, millions of Chinese youth volunteers have been providing
service of high quality for the fourth World Women Conference, Shanghai
Fortune Forum annual meeting, Kunming World Horticulture Fair, and APEC
meeting. Now, more than 40,000 Rainbow Volunteers are serving the 21st
Universiade. With China's successful bid for the 2008 Olympic, ten thousands
of volunteers will participate in serving the Olympic Games in the next
few years.
5. Develop extensively public service.
Young volunteers often visit service bases such as homes for the aged,
welfare homes, orphan asylums, recovery centers, etc., providing the aged,
orphans, paralyzed, with living attendance, medical treatment and health
protection, entertainment, etc. They often go to communities to repair
household electrical appliances, propagandize law information, give training
courses on network, and provide entertainment performance. You can also
find many young volunteering narrators in memorials, museums, exhibition
centers and science and technology centers. Besides, in facing great disasters
such as flood, earthquake, young volunteers play the role of commando
in helping the displaced people rebuild their homes.
6. Upgrading the international exchange on volunteering service.
Over the past years, China Youth Volunteers Association has developed
good relationship with some international and regional volunteer organizations
like the Coordinating Commission of International Volunteer Services and
the European Volunteers Union, etc. Thousands of people have been sent
to Europe and the South- East Asian countries for study tour and participation
in volunteer service events. At the same time, volunteers from more than
10 countries like Japan, Singapore and Korea have been mobilized to come
to China to participate in activities such as environmental control, poverty
alleviation and community development. International exchanges of volunteering
services have become an important channel for international cooperation.
7. Forming the management network of volunteering service
In order to promote the development of youth volunteer service in China,
China Youth Volunteers Association was founded officially on Dec. 5, 1994,
which is the first nationwide public organization engaged wholly in volunteering
service in China. Later, 35 provincial associations were set up successively.
8. Upgrading the legislation progress of volunteering service
The People's Congress in Guangdong,Shandong and Nanjing carried through
regulations on youth volunteering service. Fujian, Henan, etc. have also
taken volunteering service into legislation programming schedule. The
People's Congress in 5 provinces and 8 cities as Beijing, Tianjin, Shanghai,
Hunan, Inner Mongolia, Nanjing , Shijiazhuang, Hangzhou, Xiamen, Shenyang,
Shantou, Jinan and Guangzhou passed though special resolution, in which
legal protection has been provided to those middle school students aged
from 16 to 18 to engage in volunteer services. All these have promoted
the legislation progress for China's volunteering service.
Following such a train of thought as "government supporting, Volunteers
undertaking and operation socialized ", China is strengthening its
volunteer service project construction, organizational building and volunteering
team construction, and upgrading the great cause of volunteering service
in the new century.
Attachment I
The whole composition of the sign of "China National Committee for
IYV 2001" is a modeling that four hearts surround. In the middle
of the pattern is the Chinese Great Wall. In the middle of each heart
are hands and a dove of peace, which are shaped like Y - the first letter
of the English word "Youth". It is a sign of the young Chinese
volunteers. The whole sign implies "We all move toward the Great
Wall", -- Hands and hearts of the Chinese and foreign volunteers
are all linked. They assemble in the Great Wall, which symbolizes the
Chinese civilization. They are ready to present the best of intentions,
stretch out the friendly hands and create a bright future for the mankind
together.
This is a unified sign for "China IYV 2001", which will be
made into chest badge, souvenir badge (insignia), banner and other publicity
materials for the use of activities and publicity to take place during
IYV 2001. The copyright of the sign belongs to the China National Committee
for IYV 2001.
Attachment II
Website Commissioned for
China National Committee for IYV 2001
The official website of China National Committee for IYV 2001(http://zyz.people.com.cn)
co-sponsored with www.people.com.cn puts out formally from today.
Www.people.com.cn is one of the domestic biggest news websites established
and managed by the People's Daily. It releases news on a 24 hours ongoing
basis, boasting over 1000 topics and a database of 20 billion Chinese
characters and updating 3000 pieces of daily information. This informative
website features timeliness, authoritativeness, good data availability
and interactiveness.
The website contents fall into three major categories: news, data and
on-line interaction. The first category includes such columns as latest
news, international trends, authoritative voice, special event, volunteer's
heartfelt wishes and insight into volunteer services. It will offer prompt
and overall reports relating to the activities and events arising from
China National Committee for IYV 2001.
The data centre offer profiles of the theme activity, the National Committee,
the Chinese young volunteer program, well-known international volunteer's
service organizations, etc. in an overall, abundant, full and accurate
manner.
Interaction is one of the characteristics of the network, which this
website will leverage on. Through various forms, such as volunteer's communicating
with net explorer on line, guest's interview, net explorer's comments,
will be employed to increase the influence of China for IYV 2001 and to
make the volunteering spirit rooted in the hearts of the people.
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