The Country Director of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), Mr Kamil Kamaluddeen, has said the weakening of the “spirit of volunteerism” among the youth is a disturbing feature for national development.
He said the current trend where people expect financial gains for actions undertaken was gradually taking away the spirit of volunteerism.
Speaking at the launch of the International Year of Volunteers (IYV+10) under the theme: “Volunteerism: a Tool for National Development” on Tuesday, Mr Kamaluddeen urged all to recognize and to celebrate the achievements of volunteerism by actively engaging in activities to highlight its importance in national development.
He said volunteerism is the lifeblood of every society and it was imperative to consolidate the success attained over the years and to build on the momentum in the transformation of peace and national building.
Mr Kamaluddeen said volunteerism helped to strengthen trust, solidarity and reciprocity among individuals as well as created opportunities for participation.
Also, he said, volunteerism was needed to achieve the Millennium Development Goals.
Through volunteerism, the UNDP Country Director said, the United Nations peacekeeping in some 11 countries worldwide, had received support.
Minister of Youth and Sports, Clement Kofi Humado, urged the youth to rekindle volunteerism and indicated that the National Youth Policy adoption was a step in that regard.
He said Government remains committed to the cause of volunteerism as it provides avenues to channel resources to other sectors of the economy.
Pastor Chris Nyame, Chairman of the National Planning Committee, said the celebration was to evaluate the achievements as a country in the area of volunteerism and critically examined the quest of achieving the objectives namely Recognition, Promotion, Facilitation and Networking of volunteer efforts worldwide.
He appealed for the formulation of a volunteer policy that would outline the framework in which organizations could provide volunteer services.
He said the time was right to recognize the contributions of volunteers in national development and also in the attainment of the Millennium Development Goals by 2015.
Mrs Sedina Tamakloe Attionu, National Coordinator of the National Youth Authority, urged the youth to make themselves available for volunteerism as part of their contribution towards national development.
The National Planning Committee has lined up activities including tree planting, blood donation, workshops and awards ceremony on December 5, 2011 to coincide with the International Volunteers Day.