When the UN General Assembly proclaimed by consensus IYV 2001, it also designated UNV as international focal point for the Year.

The successful passing of the UN Resolution was in no small measure due to the energetic leadership of the Government of Japan. Thanks indeed to the generosity of Japan and also of France, Germany and the United Nations Association in Canada, a team in charge of IYV preparations (Team IYV 2001) was formally constituted at UNV's Bonn headquarters in March 1999. The team has since grown and is now also represented in Brussels and in New York.

Team IYV works under the supervision of the UNV Chief of External Relations and Resources and is composed of seven members. It also welcomes internships, and thus far six interns have made valuable contributions to the work of the Team.

Team IYV 2001 pursues the following main objectives:

• Assisting the process of consultations with international non-governmental organizations (INGOs), governments and UN agencies
• Promoting IYV 2001 and supporting the setting up of National IYV Committees
• Furthering and - where relevant - implementing specific IYV activities at the global, regional and national level, in the preparatory period and following the IYV launch December 5 2000.

As the focal point for the IYV 2001, UNV is supporting the building up of a network of governments, international and non-governmental organizations (NGOs), universities and associations as well as a large knowledge base on the field of volunteerism.

UNV, the only UN programme concerned exclusively with volunteering, supports sustainable human development globally through the promotion of volunteerism and the mobilization of volunteers. The programme is universal and embraces volunteer action in all its diversity. UNV places more than 4,000 volunteers from over 145 countries in some 150 countries every year. @

Team IYV 2001