Mr. President, distinguished Delegates

It is with great pleasure that I address the World  Assembly on Ageing from the perspective of volunteering and older persons. The motive for this Assembly is a “society for all ages” and one area of human endeavour which crosses all age groups is voluntary action. Indeed, we now know that volunteering in one’s youth is a fairly reliable predictor of volunteering later on in life. The continuity of volunteering, from youth to old age, as well as the intergenerational aspects of voluntary activity were themes referred to regularly by his royal highness the prince Felipe of Spain in his capacity as an eminent person designated by the united nations secretary general for the international year of volunteers or IYV 2001.

There is nothing new about volunteering. Many older people in all Cultures, far from withdrawing from participating in society, continue to contribute actively to their community through formal service volunteering in connection with NGOS, governments and increasingly, private sector led programmes. Many more older people are actively engaged in voluntary action through mutual aid activities which go under such names as MINGA and MUTURAO in South America, SHRAMADANA and GOTONG RAYONG in Asia, HARAMBEE in Africa and TAAWUN WAL TAWASUL in Arab States. Volunteering of course makes a vital economic and social contribution to society. The wealth of knowledge and skills that older people can share with others is well documented – the UN secretary general himself in his opening remarks at this assembly referred to the Africa proverb that when an old man dies a library vanishes. Equally important is the impact volunteering has on providing opportunities for older persons to maintain their self-respect and dignity through continued active participation in society. 

While volunteering is not new, what is new and has received tremendous impetus during the international year of volunteers is an acceptance by the international community of the need to approach voluntary activities strategically as a means of enhancing resources, addressing global concerns and providing opportunities for all societal groups to participate. Indeed, the general assembly resolution on volunteering adopted on 5 December last year at the close of IYV, went further. In agreeing to an extensive list of ways volunteering could be supported, governments warned that neglecting to factor volunteering into the design and implementation of polices “....could entail the risk of overlooking a valuable asset and undermining traditions of cooperation that bind communities together”.

As the focal point for IYV, the united nations volunteers is very pleased to note how the draft international plan of action on ageing 2002, currently under discussion, builds upon last December’s General Assembly resolution on volunteering in at least three respects. First, one of the central themes running through the text is the empowerment of older persons to fully and effectively participate in the economic, political, and social lives of their societies, including through voluntary work. This recognition was absent from the international plan of action on ageing adopted at the First World Assembly on Ageing in Vienna 20 years ago. Second, the text makes explicit the point that voluntary activity in the community is one area where older persons make valuable contributions which are not measured in economic terms but which contribute to the growth and maintenance of personal well-being. This recognition of the reciprocal benefits derived from voluntary action is only now beginning to be widely recognized and the wording of your document will no doubt help considerably to consolidate this concept. Third, the text expands on the 5 December General Assembly recommendations on government support to volunteering with its perspective on older persons. Specific areas of action cited include access for older persons to volunteer opportunities; questions of public recognition; gender considerations; the use of information technology by older persons; voluntary action as a means of tackling social isolation and mental illnesses; and responsibilities of employers towards older persons, especially those with disabilities, who are capable of volunteering. 

I opened my statement with a quote from the Secretary General. I would like to close with an observation made by the President of the Assembly, also at the opening session on Monday. He stated that a country which fails to offer opportunities for active participation to its older people is a country missing opportunities. Nobody would disagree with this sentiment. But he went much further to state that such a country is preventing many useful and capable people from continuing to contribute to the well-being of others as well as from gaining a sense of satisfaction in their own lives. In this way he captured very succinctly the need to address the many issues around volunteerism in a strategic and pro-active way and not to consider voluntary action as a phenomenon, like motherhood, which we all cherish but which happens anyway and does not require any official support beyond words of encouragement. The International Year of Volunteers was a watershed in many of the ways volunteerism is perceived by all sectors of society, including governments. It is with great satisfaction that we note how governments here at this important assembly are building on the momentum created by IYV 2001 as far as older persons are concerned. By incorporating volunteering into the international plan of action on ageing 2002, you are providing an inspiration to governments and other stakeholders around the world that volunteering is a key way that older persons can remain active and productive and can maintain their self-esteem. 

Thank you.