Service Civil International (SCI) has started dialogue on the IYV in Bangladesh. Participants gathered from the BMSF, the Bangladesh Scouts, the FCHD, the YMCA and FEMA in order to adopt basic principles for the establishment of a future IYV National Committee. There is a 4 September meeting planned with many other volunteer organizations to further discuss development of the Committee.

Since the establishment of the National Committee this past January, Brazil has been establishing a small executive group that includes specialists in fields such as communication, the Internet, non-profit and volunteer management.

The Committee is planning to announce major partnerships with organizations and business groups to help promote IYV. One such initiative is the pilot programme for capacity building of volunteer organizations throughout Brazil in order to engage larger IYV involvement in the country.

On 14 August Cambodia inaugurated its National Committee at its first IYV meeting that included 26 organizations including the Cambodian Red Cross, the Girl Guides, and members from UNESCO.

On 4 August 2000, the National Committee Secretariat IYV 2001 (NCS-2001) was officially inaugurated by the Minister of Manpower of the Republic of Indonesia, Mr. Bomer Pasaribu. A press conference was held before the inauguration of the National Committee Secretariat where representatives from the press were present to pose questions concerning IYV 2001 in Indonesia.

Last year, the Department of Social Community and Family Affairs announced that they would be the lead Department for the Year in Ireland. In April, the Volunteer Resource Centre (Carmichael Centre for Voluntary Groups) and National Youth Council of Ireland submitted a joint proposal to the Minister for Social Community and Family Affairs regarding possible ways of progressing the Irish IYV programme for 2001. After lobbying, representatives of the Volunteer Resource Centre and National Youth Council were invited to meet with the Officer of the Department. The Officer agreed to set a substantial amount of funding (£500,000+) to develop the Year 2001.

Over half of the fund will go into a grant to which individual organizations will be able to apply. The rest of the money will go towards setting up a temporary office, the recruitment of four temporary paid staff, promotions and the organization of a limited number of centralized events.

The Ministry of NGO Affairs Voluntary Work Department held 20 meetings during the first three months of its establishment in order to build an overall perspective on volunteer work needs in Palestine. The meetings also gathered feedback on the concept of volunteerism in Palestine. The meetings concluded with a draft national action plan for volunteer work in Palestine.

Plans underway include the appointment of a government official to act as a focal point for volunteer work in each of the 114 municipalities.

Other initiatives are to include volunteer work as a pre requisite for university graduation and to organize a one hour live television programme for the promotion of volunteerism. Also, the department with the help of the Palestinian Center for Voluntary Work organized a seminar at Al Najah University in which 200 Palestinian syndicates attended.

Attendees included Ghassan Al Sahkaa'h, PLO Executive Committee member and Dr. Fathi Arafat, President of the PRCS. The seminar's purpose was to introduce the Ministry's national plan for volunteer work. At the seminar, attendees agreed to the documentation of the history of volunteerism in Palestine and called for the establishment of a specialized database on volunteer work in Palestine.

The Philippines commitment to volunteerism has been guided and supported by a Presidential Proclamation and an Administrative Order. Former President, Mr. Corazon Aquino issued Proclamation Nº 194 declaring every 5 December as the 'International Volunteer Day for Economic and Social Development in the Philippines," signed on 7 December 1987. On 5 December 1998, President Joseph Ejercito Estrada has signed Presidential Administrative Order Nº 55 "Declaring the Month of December Every Year as the National Volunteer Month".

Since 1998, both the National Volunteers Month (NVM) and the International Volunteer Day (IVD) have been celebrated in the Philippines. These celebrations have been spearheaded by the Philippine National Volunteer Services Coordination Agency (PNVSCA).

A National Volunteer Month (NVM) Steering Committee has been organized in that same year, representing at least fifteen (15) government line agencies, NGOs and foreign volunteer organizations.

The theme for this year's National Volunteer Month in December is "Energizing Volunteerism Towards the next Millennium." A publicity plan has been presented to both radio and television stations to be aired starting this November. Radio plugs will go out to at least 200 stations, 50 cable and 5 national television stations. A press conference is planned on 27 November to kick-start volunteer month in the Philippines.

IYV 2001 National Committee in the Philippines developed a working framework: Bayanihan: "building locally, bonding globally" that will guide the type of volunteer/volunteerism work to be highlighted throughout the year and years to come. Specifically, IYV 2001 will promote Philippine community growth through building skills, gaining information, improving access to resources, as done by the preceding volunteers.

At their latest meeting on 17 August the Rwandan National Committee has decided that the central theme of the year will focus on the combat against poverty. Proposed activities will focus on the promotion of women, youth and the fight against the AIDS epidemic.

Two commissions have been established within the Rwandan National Committee.

The first commission, Public Relations, has drafted a letter of proposal, describing IYV, which will outreach to potential partners within Rwanda. The second commission, Communications, is in the process of creating an information brochure that will be published in Kinyarwanda, French and English. Both commissions are also preparing for the press conference to be held on 15 September.

Volunteer Development Scotland (VDS) has drawn up an Action Plan. It has joined with its partner the UK Volunteering Forum to establish the UK IYV Committee. In Scotland, VDS is taking the lead role in establishing a national IYV committee.

The launch of IYV 2001 in Scotland will take place at the First Volunteering Convention on 5 December 2000 in Glasgow. Two thousand delegates are expected to attend. Plans are underway to highlight IYV 2001 during National Volunteers Week, 1 -7 June 2001.

At the 31 July meeting of the USA National Committee it was agreed that all Committee members should whenever possible make themselves available to speak on IYV related events around the country upon invitation. In preparation for this a set of key messages for speakers on IYV would be prepared and a training session held back to back with the October meeting of the Committee.

It was also agreed that letters would go out to all State Governors and City Mayors requesting their support for the Year and suggesting that in every case an IYV proclamation be made in an appropriate manner. National organizations of both Governors and Mayors would also be approached for their support.

Because the US did not sign up for the ECOSOC resolution on IYV, it was agreed that the Government representative on the US National Committee would investigate the reason. If no internal solution can be readily found, then the Committee will write to the Government.

These past few weeks Team IYV has seen increasing numbers of announcements of National Committees being formed worldwide. Since our last issue, we have the pleasure of introducing twelve new National Committees:

• Burundi (24 August)
• Botswana (4 August)
• Cambodia (14 August)
• Cameroon (16 August)
• Indonesia (4 August)
• Liberia (24 July)
• Madagascar (31 August)
• Namibia (9 August)
• Nepal (1 August)
• Philippines (5 July)
• Syria (24 July) and
• Wales (5 September) @