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We ifop feel really happy to have this day as the International Volunteer Day for all of us on the basis of Social and Economic Development programs of the UN. This year is the beginning year and enjoy fully with the day, especially our youths.
On 2 December 2008, the UN Secretary General said in his message that December 5 would be observed as International Volunteer Day. This year marked by rising food and fuel prices, accelerating climate change and turmoil in world financial markets. There have been many calls for resources to combat these problems. However volunteerism is absent with us. Our potentially vast and powerful resource cannot engage people in the pursuit of peace and development. Yet the UN Volunteers programme deployed 7,500 volunteers every year to support national development efforts. Millions more may contribute their time and energy in their own way.
He said, “Recently I learned of a 70-year old woman who travelled halfway around the world from New Zealand to volunteer in Liberia with the UN’s peacekeeping mission and join local people in supporting the Government’s new national youth volunteer scheme. Every day, people across the world contribute their knowledge and energy as volunteers. Through facilities such as the UNV Online Volunteering service, everybody can volunteer for peace and development without being limited by time or physical constraints. The cultural form and definition of a volunteer may change depending on circumstances, but the underlying principle never wavers: every individual can make a difference in society. Beyond helping to promote the greater good, volunteers enrich their own lives. As one volunteer recently put it, “I feel as though I am able to make a difference in the world and use my skills. It allows me to genuinely feel as though I am part of the world community. The altruistic spirit of volunteerism is immense and renewable. On this International Volunteer Day, I urge all members of our global community to tap this great reserve of energy and initiative.”
On this auspicious day of volunteers the Planning Commission and the UN have signed a Joint Programme on Convergence to help India’s backward districts achieve the Millennium Development Goals by better utilisation of government resources. Currently, each district receives about $75 million per year from a large number of government schemes. However, the absence of convergence leads to poor utilisation and results. The Joint Programme on Convergence aims to address this lacuna through improved district planning, better budgeting and collaborative implementation where departments do not duplicate efforts.
The programme also provides for better monitoring of outcomes from government programmes. State governments and district administrations are the key partners in this exercise. The UN has committed about $15 million for selected backward districts in seven states for the programme. Infrastructure and expertise will be provided to state governments and District Planning Committees so that planning becomes more participatory and effective linkages are established between planning, budgeting, implementation and monitoring. Various agencies of the UN are to provide assistance in areas of their relevance.
Dr S R Mangang
President, ifop
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