On Wednesday 9th April, Members of the European Parliament (MEPs), Marian Harkin (IE), Gisela Kallenbach (DE), Emmanouil Angelakas (GR), Mieczyslaw Janowski (PL) and Joel Hasse Ferreira (PT) launched a written declaration in the Parliament to propose 2011 be designated the European Year of Volunteering. If it is adopted it will make a significant contribution to the campaign to have the year designated.
(WOSM)
Geneva, 3 April 2008 – Youth are a powerful resource for development and are critical actors in the realization of the Millennium Development Goals. This was one of the key messages of the World Youth Report 2007, which was presented in Geneva on 3 April 2008 at an event hosted by the CONGO Committee of Youth NGOs which is currently chaired by the World Organization of the Scout Movement (WOSM). The event was also attended by representatives of international youth organizations and UN agencies.
“There has never been a generation that was more likely to volunteer and be involved in community causes than this one,” declared Ms. Patience W. Stephens, the Team Leader and Focal Point for the United Nations Programme on Youth, as she presented the United Nations World Youth Report 2007. Unfortunately, volunteering is still a luxury that most young people cannot afford in the world, due to socio-economic difficulties. Volunteering is a window of opportunity for young people to be sensitized to worldwide issues, to become pro-active in them and to set foot in the job market, so it should be further encouraged amongst all layers of the world’s population, through financial support for example.
(WOSM)
MSGP
