Volunteerism is a tradition. (System Watch).

Convinced that the need for volunteer effort is greater than ever in light of the myriad problems the world is facing, the General Assembly in 1997 proclaimed 2001 as the International Year of Volunteers (IYV). It also designated as focal point the United Nations Volunteers programme (UNV), based in Bonn, Germany, which sends out some 4,000 volunteers each year to assist in community and technical development, humanitarian relief, human rights, electoral support and peace-building processes. Sharon Capeling-Alakija, Executive Coordinator of UNV, talked to the Chronicle.

On the International Year of Volunteers

The purpose of any UN Year, whether it's the Year of Women, the Child or Volunteers, is to galvanize the constituency, draw attention to a particular issue or provide the legitimacy to a United Nations platform. The goal of IYV is to recognize, facilitate and promote volunteerism through networking. The reason this is important is because volunteerism is really the glue that holds our society together. New York would be a catastrophe if volunteers stopped contributing even for one day. But I think we take volunteers for granted. We often do not recognize the real contributions they make in every aspect of our daily lives. Here at the United Nations, volunteers are incredibly important in supporting the work of the Organization, not only the more formal organization of which I'm the head, but also, of course, the many volunteers who provide the skills, experience and talent to many UN funds, programmes and agencies.

Are volunteers truly international?

I challenge the whole notion that there are societies where volunteerism is not a tradition. One of the things I've been happy to learn, or have become more conscious of; is that there is no society, culture or ethnic group that does not have a tradition of volunteering. It might not be called volunteering. What we would consider mutual aid or self-help finds expression in such concepts as minga (Quechua word that describes collaboration among Andean communities on specific responsibilities, such as harvesting and habitat construction) in Latin America, shramadana (Sanskrit for donation of labour) in Asia, or harambee (Swahili for teamwork) in Africa. What we in the UNV are using as a cornerstone in the Year of Volunteers is raising awareness of both forms of volunteering. That is the root of volunteering as we have come to know it in the North. It's important to build on traditions in societies rather than replace them with foreign concepts.

Why join UNV and not national programmes?

UNV is an international volunteering programme and, while it is very much included in the IYV, it is actually an International Year of Volunteers, not a Year of International Volunteers. We are really a small minority of the millions and millions of people around the world who volunteer every day--ordinary people who are making extraordinary contributions in their societies. So it is not an either/or proposition. Some people, for many reasons, are not going to be able to travel to another country in order to serve as a volunteer. They might not have the right experience or qualifications, but they may have important qualities to contribute in their own society and, of course, millions do every day. Most volunteers happen at the national, state and local community levels. The Year is as much to honor this form of volunteering as it expresses itself in every country in the world and to acknowledge the volunteers who travel internationally to serve.

We have over 2,000 inquiries on our Web site alone every month from people who want to be UN volunteers and who are prepared to step outside their normal careers for one or two years. I think that's very powerful. If anything, the number of people who want to volunteer is growing. They have 5 to 10 or more years experience, usually a master's degree or equivalent training in their field, and speak a minimum of one or two languages. They range mostly from age 30 to 50, but some are between 25 and 30, and many are between 50 and 60. Most UN volunteers are in their main career years, between 30 and 50, and yet are willing to step outside their careers and make a contribution to the United Nations. If anything, those of us who live and work in the United Nations do not realize what respect people really have for the Organization and how much they want to be associated with us and are willing to do so.

On security and safety

Six months ago, in West Timor, three staff of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) were killed. In the history of UNV, we have had between 20,000 to 30,000 volunteers over the last 30 years; 2001 is our 30th anniversary as well. In this time, four volunteers have been killed due to what I would consider violent action. In percentage terms, far more have died from health problems and automobile or airplane accidents than actual violent action. However, that is not to be complacent. We have invested heavily on the security of volunteers. They receive a manual, video and security briefing and workshops at all key volunteer postings. We come under the UNSECOORD (United Nations Security Coordinator) security umbrella and are constantly doing what we can to ensure not only placing volunteers in places where security is managed well, but also to make them aware of how to take responsibility for their own security.

There are all kinds of daily habits that volunteers can use which at some point can save a life. We're conscious of it. Has it affected our recruitment? I don't think so. It makes volunteers more aware. Let's take East Timor for example-its people have struggled for 25 years for their independence and are, continuing to live under difficult and brutal conditions. I think it is the sense of solidarity with the people that inspires volunteers to put themselves at some risk. People are not foolhardy; they are not naive. They have a sense of what is appropriate. Are there ironclad guarantees? There never are. When a volunteer dies for any reason, all of us lose a little bit of ourselves. I would like to underscore that we have been fortunate; the number who have met death in that way has been very, very small.

I just came back from East Timor where I attended the last day of a security workshop. They are trained on things like looking under the car every day, looking into the car before getting in, taking different paths and not developing a routine and so on, and what to do when their car is stopped by people. We had spoken to volunteers who had gone through the training and who said that when they were stopped by militia, they were able to actually apply what they had learned during the training and were able to talk their way through the situation.

On volunteers for peacekeeping

We at the UNV were particularly gratified by the hugely complimentary comments in the Brahimi Report (on peacekeeping operations) about the work of UN volunteers. This has come as a wonderful surprise to all of us. With respect to the increased use of volunteers, what's interesting is that the people of the Panel understood and got the added value of UNV, because they "increase and strengthen the use of volunteers without corrupting the programme".

What they meant was that volunteers should not be seen as cheap labour but as professionals who bring a plus. They are there, and they have a job to do, but they also bring a sense of solidarity, a sense of commitment to the community and a sense of engagement that adds a real plus.

A concrete example is that we have close to a hundred volunteers in the peacekeeping operation in Sierra Leone, and they are there doing some fairly routine peacekeeping jobs like radio operation, civil aviation and logistics, and so on. They're playing a very important role in a peacekeeping mission, but in addition--what normally UN staff wouldn't do--they have created a Web site. And they have created a voluntary action programme. In their off-duty hours, volunteers are working with people who are traumatized, or have lost their limbs during the civil war. They counsel people, get them engaged in sports, run special programmes like cleaning up the beaches and all kinds of things that are not in their job description, but it is the added value that they bring because of the spirit they come to the mission with.

The Brahimi Panel sees this and does not want to lose that element of the programme, so that the volunteers do not see this as just a job but an expression of volunteerism and solidarity. The implication to us as an organization is the question of how big can we grow. In 2000, we had the most number of volunteers. This, to some extent, is a management issue--being able to deliver quality people who are well supported by over 30 UN agencies and non-governmental organizations. Could we grow in numbers? Definitely. We have a roster of close to 3,500 applicants and, as I mentioned, over 2,000 inquiries every month. We don't have a recruitment problem. The issue is financial. People are ready to pay, because we are a funding organization. We recruit people to serve in other people's programmes. The second issue is to be able to manage the large number of people in a manner that is meaningful. It's possible, but there should be a real understanding throughout the UN system that support to UNV is important.

Again, in East Timor, we have an excellent support unit. Right now, we have close to 500 volunteers, and the number will increase to 950 by next March, when we bring in an additional group of volunteers to participate in the elections, scheduled for August. East Timor will be by then the largest UNV programme in history, and the support unit is very important.

We are willing and able to grow as the needs are identified and as long as we are able to negotiate, for example, with DPKO (Department of Peacekeeping Operations), in order for us to do this in a way that we think is appropriate and consistent with a volunteer programme, and that we can gear up a support unit in order to do that properly. Then we are willing to grow. But those are big "ifs". I have come back with my spine even stiffer now on the issue of a support unit. It is essential for us.