China Promotes Int'l Exchanges on VolunteeringChina will host a series of activities to push forward international exchanges of volunteer service in the International Year of Volunteers (IYV), said Chinese senior officials Wednesday.Vice Minister of Foreign Trade and Economic Cooperation (MOFTEC) Long Yongtu and Secretary of the Secretariat of the Central Committee of the Communist Youth League (CCCYL) Cui Bo announced that the China National Committee for IYV 2001, sponsored by the MOFTEC and CCCYL, has been established. With State Councilor Wu Yi as its president, the committee plans to carry out major activities including "2001 International Conference on Volunteering," the "Philanthropic Performance for IYV 2001," and the "Seminar on Volunteer Services and Implementation of Overseas Volunteer Service Project," Long said. MOFTEC, representing the Chinese government, is in charge of volunteering programs of the United Nations in China and international exchanges on volunteering service, he said. Since 1981, United Nations Volunteers (UNV) has sent to China over 200 volunteers who specialize in education, health, science and technology, environmental protection and poverty reduction. In return, China, through UNV, has sent more than 160 volunteers specializing in agriculture, water conservancy and health care to over 30 developing countries. Cui Bo noted that in recent years, the China Youth Volunteers Association has developed good relations with some international and regional volunteer organizations like the Coordinating Commission of International Volunteer Services and the European Volunteers Union. Thousands of people have been sent to Europe and southeast Asian countries for study tours and participation in volunteer service events. At the same time, volunteers from more than 10 countries like Japan, Singapore and Korea have been mobilized to come to China to participate in activities such as environmental control, poverty alleviation and community development. In November 1997, the 52nd UN General Assembly adopted a resolution to designate 2001 as the International Year of the Volunteer. |
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