On March 15, the Manual for Local Committees was officially presented in the city of Haarlem, the Netherlands. Around 100 representatives of Local Committees and organizations interested in establishing a Local Committee 2001 in the near future received a Manual from the National Committee IYV 2001.

This was in fact the first activity of the National Committee, which was officially installed only a few days before. Mrs Lodders-Elfferich, Member of the Senate, has agreed to be chairperson of this Committee. Mr Van Ham, former director of the Dutch Red Cross, and Mr Bosch, chairperson of the Dutch National Volunteer Centre NOV, are also members of the Committee. Mr Van Loon, who is director of the National Volunteer Centre will also act as director of the Committee.

The festive meeting was hosted by the Local Committee of Haarlem and by the mayor of Haarlem. In this region of the Netherlands, the first edition of the Yellow Pages including advertisements for the IYV2001 had just come out. Until mid-20002 all editions of the Yellow Pages in the whole of the Netherlands will contain full colour advertisements. The addresses of the Local Committees in the region of a particular edition will be included. In addition, the editions in 2001 will include a return form on which people can indicate their interest to take part in a number of national and local activities.

The Dutch Association of Municipalities VNG committed itself to co-operating with the Local Committees and the National Committee in the area of developing local volunteer policy.

The Manual for Local Committees 2001 contains background information on the IYV2001 and its goals and objectives as well as information on the planned national activities. The core of the Manual is formed by the many practical suggestions, ideas and hints for "local translations" of the national events and for local activities. It contains also checklists for the organization of events, hints for approaching sponsors, sample letters, and an outline of the communication style and how to use it.