#iyvplus10

2011 marks the tenth anniversary of the International Year of Volunteers (IYV) and the movement has only gathered more momentum over the years. Now Fadhil Bakeer Markar, the National Coordinator for IYV+10 says they’re ready to take it to the next level. The ‘V’ force will bring volunteers from all over Sri Lanka together – providing a platform for them to network and coordinate their efforts. Soon they hope to have regional coordinating structures in place to further promote, facilitate and recognize the contribution of volunteers nationwide. Sitting down with Fadhil and Bhagya Ratnayake, an Operations and Communications Assistant at the U.N, we talked about the recently held ‘V’ Forum.

National Volunteer Week (NVW) is only 6 weeks away and will be celebrated across Australia from the 9 - 15 May 2011. NVW gives organisations the opportunity to highlight the role of volunteers in our communities and to say thank you to the more than 5 million Australians who volunteer.

THEY don’t usually seek publicity for their service, but the Tea Gardens Hawks Nest and Karuah clinic bus has been announced as Port Stephens Volunteer of the Year.

The major initiative of International year of Volunteers the IYV+10 steering Committee, the Volunteer Forum, commenced on Friday at the Galle Face Hotel under the motto "Celebrating the Great Diversity of Volunteers in Sri Lanka".

The event brought together around a group of 150 participants including a range of stakeholders from the private sector, civil society, youth organizations, academia and government, to network inspire, to inspire and foster a national dialogue towards strengthening the volunteerism spirit and actions in Sri Lanka.

The Minister for Police and Emergency Management, Lin Thorp, has thanked southern Tasmania’s State Emergency Service volunteers for their tireless work both locally and nationally over the past months.

Volunteering organisations are gathering in Quito for the first in a series of get-togethers aimed at paving the way for a World Volunteer Coalition.