"YES WE CAN":
LAUNCHING IYV 2001 IN JAPAN

ADDRESS BY

SHARON CAPELING-ALAKIJA
EXECUTIVE CO-ORDINATOR
UNITED NATIONS VOLUNTEERS

(TOKYO, 7TH NOVEMBER, 2000)

CHECK AGAINST DELIVERY
SALUTATION:

I WANT TO BEGIN BY TELLING YOU HOW PLEASED I AM TO BE HERE-AND HOW HAPPY I AM TO BE WITH YOU AS YOU MARK THE BEGINNING OF THE INTERNATIONAL YEAR OF VOLUNTEERS.

IT IS A SPECIAL PRIVILEGE TO LAUNCH THE YEAR HERE IN JAPAN. WHEN I BECAME UNV EXECUTIVE COORDINATOR THREE YEARS AGO, I WAS SURE TO MAKE JAPAN THE DESTINATION OF MY VERY FIRST MISSION - AS A GESTURE (INADEQUATE TO BE SURE) OF OUR GREAT APPRECIATION FOR YOUR COUNTRY'S SUPPORT AND YOUR PEOPLE'S COMMITMENT. I WANT YOU TO KNOW HOW MUCH YOUR HELP HAS MEANT NOT ONLY TO OUR ORGANISATION, BUT ALSO TO COMMUNITIES ALL OVER THE WORLD THAT HAVE BENEFITED FROM THE WORK OF UNV VOLUNTEERS.

WE ARE NOW JUST WEEKS AWAY FROM THE NEW YEAR. AND BECAUSE UNITED NATIONS VOLUNTEERS WAS DESIGNATED THE FOCAL POINT FOR THE YEAR BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY, I HAVE SET OUT ON A JOURNEY THAT WILL TAKE ME AROUND THE GLOBE, TO HELP SPREAD THE WORD ABOUT THE IMPORTANCE OF VOLUNTEERISM IN TODAY'S EFFORTS TO STRENGTHEN CIVIL SOCIETY.

BUT HERE IN JAPAN, YOU MAY THINK THAT WE ARE A LITTLE LATE!

I AM AWARE THAT THE MEDIA IN YOUR COUNTRY COINED THE PHRASE "YEAR ONE OF VOLUNTEERISM" TO DESCRIBE YOUR PEOPLE'S RESPONSE TO THE KOBE EARTHQUAKE IN 1995.

OF COURSE, AS SOME COMMENTATORS HAVE NOTED, THE TRADITION OF VOLUNTEERISM IN JAPAN IS MUCH OLDER. RECENTLY, I READ AN ARTICLE BY SHIGEO TATSUKI OF THE DEPARTMENT OF SOCIAL WORK, KWANSEI GAKUIN UNIVERSITY, WHO IS A VETERAN OF THE KOBE EARTHQUAKE.

HIS ARTICLE IS CALLED "THE KOBE EARTHQUAKE AND THE RENAISSANCE OF VOLUNTEERISM IN JAPAN," AND IT QUOTES A JAPANESE OFFICIAL WHO PRAISED YOUNG VOLUNTEERS. THE OFFICIAL SAYS THAT YOUNG STUDENTS, "WHO HAVE BEEN OFTEN CRITICIZED FOR SELFISH CONDUCT…HAVE UNITED IN THEIR EFFORTS, TO THE POINT OF SELFLESSNESS, AND HAVE [A RECORD OF] CONSIDERABLE ACHIEVEMENT IN RESPONSE TO PUBLIC NEED." THIS STATEMENT WAS MADE IN THE AFTERMATH OF THE EARTHQUAKE IN JAPAN…IN 1923!

PROFESSOR TATSUKI RECALLS THAT SOON AFTER THE KOBE DISASTER, WHILE HE WAS HELPING TO ORGANISE RELIEF EFFORTS, HE RECEIVED A CALL FROM A 93-YEAR-OLD RETIRED SCHOOL TEACHER, MR. OKURA, WHO INTRODUCED HIMSELF AS A VICTIM OF THE 1923 TOKYO EARTHQUAKE.

MR. OKURA EXPLAINED THAT HE HAD BEEN A COLLEGE STUDENT IN TOKYO AT THE TIME OF THE DISASTER. HE AND SOME OTHER PEOPLE FROM THE WESTERN PART OF JAPAN HAD ESCAPED FROM TOKYO BY BOAT. THEY WENT TO KOBE, WHERE THEY WERE WELCOMED BY VOLUNTEERS, AND PROVIDED WITH SHELTER AND CLOTHING. THE UNIVERSITY STUDENTS WHO ORGANISED THE RELIEF VOLUNTEER CENTER IN 1923 AT THE KOBE PORT EVEN SENT A GROUP OF VOLUNTEERS TO TOKYO.

AND SO, 1995 WAS NOT YEAR ONE FOR JAPANESE VOLUNTEERS. VOLUNTEERISM IS AN ANCIENT INSTITUTION. AND SO, AS WE MARK THE BEGINNING OF IYV 2001, I WANT TO HONOR BOTH THE ENDURING TRADITION AND THE RENAISSANCE OF JAPANESE VOLUNTEERISM THAT HAS TAKEN PLACE OVER THE LAST FIVE YEARS.

I COULD RECITE STATISTICS ABOUT THE RESURGENCE OF VOLUNTEERISM HERE IN JAPAN. BUT STATISTICS DON'T TELL THE WHOLE STORY. YOU CAN RECORD HOURS. YOU CAN COUNT HEADS. BUT IT IS MUCH MORE DIFFICULT TO MEASURE COURAGE.

THE COURAGE OF UNITED NATIONS VOLUNTEERS WAS ONCE AGAIN BROUGHT HOME TO US AT UNV THIS PAST SEPTEMBER 6TH BY EVENTS IN WEST TIMOR. ON THAT DAY, THREE HUMANITARIAN AID WORKERS OF THE UN HIGH COMMISSIONER FOR REFUGEES WERE MURDERED BY MILITIA WHO STORMED THE UNHCR COMPOUND.

AT THE TIME, SIX UNV VOLUNTEERS-WE CALL THEM UNVs-WERE THERE, WORKING WITH UNHCR. TWO HAD VERY CLOSE CALLS. WHEN THE MILITIA PILLAGED THE UNHCR OFFICE ONE OF OUR UNVs ESCAPED OVER A BACK FENCE: AND THEN AS THE MILITIA WENT DOOR TO DOOR WITH THEIR MACHETES, LOOKING FOR FOREIGNERS, ANOTHER WAS HIDDEN BY WEST TIMORESE AND THEN HELPED TO ESCAPE, DISGUISED AS A POLICEMAN.

AS YOU KNOW, THE SITUATION IN EAST TIMOR HAS BEEN VOLATILE FOR SOME TIME. THE TIMORESE HAVE SUFFERED TERRIBLY-NOT ONLY FROM THE VIOLENCE, BUT FROM BRUTAL LIVING CONDITIONS AS WELL. THAT IS WHY UNV VOLUNTEERS HAVE BEEN WILLING TO PUT THEMSELVES IN HARM'S WAY.

IN 1999, THE UN DEPARTMENT OF PEACEKEEPING OPERATIONS ASKED UNV TO SEND A LARGE CONTINGENT OF OUR SPECIALISTS TO EAST TIMOR TO SERVE WITH THE NEWLY ESTABLISHED UNITED NATIONS ASSISTANCE MISSION IN EAST TIMOR, KNOWN AS UNAMET.

IN JUST SIX-WEEKS' TIME, WE MOBILIZED 500 VOLUNTEERS-PEOPLE OF ALL AGES, REPRESENTING 79 COUNTRIES. AMONG THEM WERE A NUMBER OF JAPANESE VOLUNTEERS. NINETEEN OF THE TOTAL WERE DOCTORS AND NURSES; THE REST WORKED AS DISTRICT ELECTORAL OFFICERS WHO HELPED PREPARE FOR THE TERRITORY'S POPULAR CONSULTATION BALLOT. THEY CONDUCTED CIVIC EDUCATION AND ORGANISED AND SUPERVISED THE REGISTRATION AND POLLING PROCESSES.

FOR MOST OF THOSE UNVs, THE LIVING CONDITIONS WERE EXTREMELY DIFFICULT BUT THEY HAD A MISSION-AND THEY SAW IT THROUGH. LARGELY THROUGH THE WORK OF THESE VOLUNTEERS, THERE WAS A 98% TURNOUT.

THE RESULTS WERE DRAMATIC. IN AUGUST 1999, THE GREAT MAJORITY OF EAST TIMORESE VOTERS CHOSE INDEPENDENCE FROM INDONESIA. AND - AS ONE VOLUNTEER RECENTLY SAID - MANY OF THOSE WHO TOOK PART IN THE BALLOT REGARD IT AS "THE MOST REWARDING DAY OF THEIR LIVES".

THE BALLOT WAS FOLLOWED BY CIVIL UNREST, AND ALL UN STAFF, INCLUDING OUR UNVs, WERE EVACUATED FROM EAST TIMOR. ABOUT 100 UNVs REMAINED IN DARWIN, TO HELP UNAMET WITH NEARLY 2,000 EAST TIMOR REFUGEES. ONCE THE AUSTRALIAN-LED MULTINATIONAL FORCE WAS ABLE TO SECURE DILI, THIS GROUP RETURNED TO A DEVASTED EAST TIMOR, WORKING WITH THE EAST TIMORESE PEOPLE TO REBULD THE INFRASTRUCTURE AND, MORE IMPORTANTLY, THEIR LIVES.

AMONG THE UNV'S WORKING IN EAST TIMOR WAS ONE OF YOUR OWN-KAZUO WATANABE. RECENTLY, HE SENT ME AN ACCOUNT OF HIS EXPERIENCES HELPING TO REGISTER THOUSANDS OF VOTERS AND THEN TRAVELING FROM VILLAGE TO VILLAGE, PROVIDING INFORMATION ABOUT THE ELECTORAL PROCESS. I'D LIKE TO SHARE HIS ACCOUNT WITH YOU-AND WHEN YOU HEAR IT, I THINK YOU WILL AGREE:

YOU CAN'T MEASURE COURAGE.

…MY DUTY STATION WAS ON A BEAUTIFUL MOUNTAIN ABOUT TWO THOUSAND KILOMETERS HIGH, AND MORE THAN THAT NUMBER OF PEOPLE WELCOMED US HEARTILY. BUT IT WAS A VERY VOLATILE SITUATION. ONE DAY DURING THE REGISTRATION PERIOD, A WOMAN CAME TO US AND TOLD US THAT SHE HAD BEEN ATTACKED-STABBED IN THE LEG WITH A KNIFE. DURING THE CIVIC EDUCATION PERIOD WE HEARD THAT THREE VILLAGERS HAD BEEN KILLED. AND TWO DAYS BEFORE THE REFERENDUM, WE WERE THREATENED AT GUNPOINT IN OUR VILLAGE BY PRO-JAKARTA MILITIA. BUT IT WAS JUST A THREAT-THEY DIDN'T SHOOT US. [HAVING EXPERIENCED ALL OF THIS], I WAS CONVINCED OF THE SUCCESS OF THE REFERENDUM. I THOUGHT: "YES WE CAN."

"YES WE CAN"--[REPEAT "YES WE CAN" HERE, THIS TIME IN JAPANESE]

FOR ME, KAZUO WATANABE'S WORDS BRING HOME, WITH STUNNING SIMPLICITY, THE SPIRIT OF VOLUNTEERISM. HIS WORDS PUT SPEECHMAKERS TO SHAME-BECAUSE THEY CONVEY SO NATURALLY AND SO POWERFULLY THE IDEA BEHIND CIVIL SOCIETY THAT WE EXPRESS SO INADEQUATELY. THEY CAPTURE BEAUTIFULLY THE SPIRIT OF THE UNITED NATIONS-WHOSE CHARTER BEGINS: "WE THE PEOPLE…"

IF YOU WILL PERMIT ME, I WOULD LIKE TO SPEND JUST A FEW MORE WORDS DISCUSSING A PHRASE THAT USES SO FEW…

"YES WE CAN" IS A POWERFUL SENTIMENT BECAUSE IT IS AN AFFIRMATION. MANY PHILOSOPHIES EXPRESS MORALITY IN NEGATIVE TERMS-TEACHING PEOPLE NOT TO ACT IN WAYS THAT WOULD BE DISTRESSING TO OTHERS. CIVIL SOCIETY IS ROOTED IN A MORE POSITIVE VIEW-A SENSE OF WHAT WE CAN AND SHOULD ACHIEVE TOGETHER…

FOR ALL OF THESE REASONS, I BELIEVE THAT KAZUO WATANABE HAS PROVIDED US WITH AN UNOFFICIAL SLOGAN FOR IYV-2001, AND I WILL TAKE IT WITH ME TO ALL OF THE COUNTRIES AND COMMUNITIES I WILL VISIT THROUGHOUT THE YEAR.

I COULD TELL YOU MANY MORE DRAMATIC STORIES RELATED TO ME BY UNV VOLUNTEERS. BUT, NEEDLESS TO SAY, YOU DON'T HAVE TO BE PART OF A VOLUNTEER-SENDING ORGANISATION TO MAKE A CONTRIBUTION TO CIVIL SOCIETY. I AM STRUCK BY HOW OFTEN WE TAKE FOR GRANTED THE EVERYDAY HEROISM OF PEOPLE WHO CHOOSE TO LEND A HELPING HAND WHEN THERE IS NEED. I AM STRUCK BY HOW AWKWARD IT IS, IN PUBLIC LIFE, TO SPEAK ABOUT CARING; HOW QUICKLY WE SKIM OVER OUR DEEPEST VALUES FOR FEAR OF SOUNDING SENTIMENTAL, NAÏVE, OR SIMPLY UNPROFESSIONAL. AND I AM STRUCK BY THE OBVIOUS BUT OFTEN OVERLOOKED FACT THAT IN OUR INCREASINGLY AGE-SEGREGATED SOCIETIES, IT IS THROUGH VOLUNTEERING THAT YOUNG AND OLD ALIKE REACH ACROSS THE GENERATIONS.

"CHOOSE" IS THE KEY WORD. ONE OF THE FIRST THINGS I LEARNED WHEN I WENT TO BONN TO TAKE UP MY POST AS UNV EXECUTIVE COORDINATOR WAS OUR GERMAN NAME "FREIWILLIGEN PROGRAMMS DER VEREINTEN NATIONEN." OURS, IT TURNS OUT, IS AN ORGANIZATION OF "FREE WILLERS."

VIRTUALLY EVERY KNOWN CULTURE AND EVERY KNOWN RELIGION HAS A TRADITION OF INVOLVEMENT IN THE WIDER COMMUNITY THAT INCLUDES VOLUNTARY SERVICE OR GIVING. IN JAPANESE, THE TERM IS HOSHI -- AND IS RICH WITH MEANING AND HISTORY. IN KENYA, PEOPLE SPEAK OF HARAMBEE - WHICH MEANS, ROUGHLY, "PULLING TOGETHER" OR MAKING COMMON CAUSE.

ANTHROPOLOGIST MARGARET MEAD WAS ONCE ASKED BY A JOURNALIST TO IDENTIFY THE EARLIEST SIGN OF HUMAN CIVILIZATION. WHAT WAS IT, HE WANTED TO KNOW, THAT FIRST SET HUMANS APART FROM OTHER PRIMATES? MEAD REPLIED, "EVIDENCE OF A HEALED FEMUR." A FEMUR, OF COURSE, IS A THIGHBONE. THE REPORTER WAS TAKEN ABACK. HE HAD EXPECTED HER TO POINT TO AN EARLY TOOL OR ARTIFACT, OR PERHAPS A PRIMITIVE FORM OF CLOTHING. WHY A HEALED LEG BONE? MEAD'S LOGIC WAS SIMPLE. WITH A BROKEN LEG, YOU CAN'T HUNT OR RUN AWAY FROM AN ENEMY OR SHIELD YOURSELF FROM THE ELEMENTS. YOU CAN'T SURVIVE ON YOUR OWN. SO A HEALED LEG BONE SHOWS THAT SOMEONE HAS CARED ENOUGH TO PROVIDE SHELTER AND SUSTENANCE UNTIL THE BROKEN BONE MENDS. IT IS A PROOF OF COMPASSION. OTHER SPECIES MAY JOIN TOGETHER FOR GROUP SURVIVAL -- TO PROCREATE, TO HUNT, OR TO WARD OFF PREDATORS. BUT A HEALED BONE SHOWS SUSTAINED CARE FOR AN INDIVIDUAL WHO CANNOT BE COUNTED UPON TO RETURN THE FAVOR IN KIND.

TODAY, OUR SPECIES HAS EVOLVED IMMEASURABLY. BUT FOR PEOPLE ALL OVER THE WORLD, COMPASSION REMAINS A KEY TO SURVIVAL.

BUT THE QUESTION REMAINS: IF THERE IS - AS I EXPECT - AN OUTPOURING OF CIVIC SPIRIT AND A SURGE OF HANDS-ON CIVIC ACTIVISM IN THIS NEW CENTURY, WILL WE BE PREPARED TO ORGANIZE, SUPPORT, AND MAXIMIZE VOLUNTEERS' EFFORTS? SIMPLY RECRUITING VOLUNTEERS IS HARDLY SUFFICIENT. VOLUNTEERISM CAN BE POWERFUL - OR UNFOCUSED. IT CAN PRODUCE VITAL RESULTS - OR MERELY GOOD PR. IT CAN BE TRANSFORMATIONAL - OR MERELY RECREATIONAL. IT REQUIRES STRONG COORDINATION AND PLANNING, GOOD TRAINING, AND RIGOROUS EVALUATION.

IF VOLUNTEERISM IS TO BE TRANSFORMATIONAL IN COMING YEARS, IF IT IS TO HELP GLUE SOCIETIES TOGETHER, IT NEEDS TO FIGURE MORE PROMINENTLY IN PUBLIC POLICY AND GAIN RECOGNITION AS A VALUABLE, AND VALUED, FORM OF ACTIVITY. THE WORK OF VOLUNTEERS NEEDS TO BE HONORED AND CELEBRATED.

AND THAT IS WHY WE AT UNV ARE THRILLED THAT THE UN GENERAL ASSEMBLY HAS DECLARED 2001 TO BE THE INTERNATIONAL YEAR OF THE VOLUNTEER. AS THE YEAR 2001 APPROACHES, WE WANT TO DRAW THE WORLD'S ATTENTION TO THE ENORMOUS CONTRIBUTIONS WHICH MILLIONS OF VOLUNTEERS MAKE TO THEIR SOCIETIES WORLDWIDE. BUT WE WANT MORE: WE HOPE TO FACILITATE MORE FAVOURABLE CONDITIONS FOR ALL THOSE WHO VOLUNTEER THEIR TIME AND TALENT FOR THE BENEFIT OF OTHERS. AND WE CAN DO IT. "YES WE CAN!"

HERE IN JAPAN, THERE IS REASON FOR PRIDE. THE VOLUNTEER SPIRIT IS STRONG. BUT THERE IS NO ROOM FOR COMPLACENCY. AS IN MANY PARTS OF THE WORLD-THERE IS A NEED TO BUILD SOCIAL CAPITAL.

WHAT CAN BE DONE?

THERE IS NO SIMPLE ANSWER-BUT LET ME SHARE ONE OF THE MYSTERIES THAT HAS BEEN OPENED UP TO ME THUS FAR IN MY WALKABOUT. THERE IS ONE VERY CRUCIAL STEP YOU HAVE TO TAKE TO INSPIRE PEOPLE TO VOLUNTEER-AND IT WORKS ALL OVER THE WORLD: YOU HAVE TO ASK THEM. RESEARCH ON GIVING AND VOLUNTEERING FOUND THAT INDIVIDUALS ARE FOUR TIMES AS LIKELY TO VOLUNTEER WHEN ASKED THAN WHEN THEY ARE NOT.

ADVERTISERS AND MARKETING EXPERTS KNOW THIS. YOU CAN HAVE THE CLEVEREST AD CAMPAIGN IN THE WORLD, BUT IF YOU FAIL TO INCLUDE A "CALL TO ACTION," YOU MAY NOT SUCCEED.

POLITICIANS KNOW THIS: IT'S NOT ENOUGH TO EARN PEOPLE'S VOTE, OR TO SHOW THAT YOU DESERVE THEIR VOTE. YOU HAVE TO ASK FOR THEIR VOTE.

TODAY, ORGANISATIONS THAT REALLY NEED HELP SOMETIMES NEGLECT TO ASK FOR IT. AND SOME NEGLECT TO ASK CERTAIN GROUPS; FOR INSTANCE, PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES. WE KNOW FROM STUDIES THAT PEOPLE WHO BELONG TO ETHNIC OR RACIAL MINORITIES, THOSE WITH LOW INCOMES, SINGLE PEOPLE, PEOPLE WHO ARE DIVORCED, WIDOWED OR SEPARATED, AND PEOPLE WHO ARE UNEMPLOYED HAVE LOWER RATES OF VOLUNTEERISM, PARTLY BECAUSE THEY MAY NOT HAVE THE SOCIAL NETWORKS THAT LEAD THEM TO BEING ASKED TO BE VOLUNTEERS.

A KEY FINDING IS THAT WHEN THEY ARE ASKED, THESE GROUPS OF PEOPLE VOLUNTEER AT A SIMILAR OR EVEN HIGHER RATE THAN THE AVERAGE FOR THEIR COUNTRY. TAPPING THE POTENTIAL VOLUNTEERS IN EACH OF THESE GROUPS CAN SIGNIFICANTLY INCREASE VOLUNTEERISM.

BIAS CAN BE ANOTHER FACTOR-AND IT CAN AFFECT NOT ONLY THE LIKELIHOOD THAT SOMEONE WILL VOLUNTEER, BUT ALSO THE KINDS OF ACTIVITIES THEY WILL PERFORM AS VOLUNTEERS. DATA COLLECTED HERE IN AUSTRALIA SUGGEST THAT WOMEN VOLUNTEERS ARE MORE LIKELY TO BE INVOLVED IN RAISING FUNDS, WHILE DECISIONS ABOUT HOW TO SPEND THOSE FUNDS ARE MORE LIKELY TO BE MADE BY MEN.

SO A KEY MESSAGE OF IYV 2001 IS THIS: REACH OUT. RECOGNIZE THE IMMENSE CONTRIBUTIONS THAT DIVERSE PEOPLE CAN MAKE. RECOGNIZE THE OPPORTUNITIES FOR MORE INCLUSIVE VOLUNTEER EFFORTS THAT ARE NOW AVAILABLE THROUGH THE INTERNET.

THE INTERNET IS A VERY POWERFUL TOOL FOR MOBILIZING CIVIL SOCIETY. BY USING THE NET, 100 MILLION VOLUNTEERS FROM 150 COUNTRIES HAVE WORKED TOGETHER TO LESSEN THE DANGER OF LAND MINES. AT UNV, WE ARE VERY INVOLVED IN PROMOTING ONLINE VOLUNTEERISM, AND WE ENCOURAGE YOU TO VISIT THE NETAID WEBSITE TO LOCATE THE ONLINE VOLUNTEERING PROGRAMME POWERED BY UNV.

UNV IS ALSO INTENSELY INVOLVED IN AN EFFORT TO HELP BRIDGE THE DIGITAL DIVIDE BETWEEN TECHNOLOGICALLY ADVANCED COUNTRIES AND THOSE THAT ARE JUST BEGINNING TO JOIN THE INFORMATION REVOLUTION.

IN HIS RECENT MILLENNIUM REPORT, UN SECRETARY GENERAL KOFI ANNAN STRESSED THE NEED FOR DEVELOPING COUNTRIES TO KEEP PACE WITH THIS REVOLUTION

HE HAS ASKED UNV TO TAKE THE LEAD IN CREATING THE UNITED NATIONS INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY SERVICES, UNITeS, WHICH WILL BUILD A COALITION OF HIGH-TECH VOLUNTERING CORPS FROM ACROSS THE GLOBE.

OF COURSE, HIGH-TECH CAPACITY IS NOT AN END IN ITSELF. THROUGH UNITeS, VOLUNTEERS FROM AROUND THE WORLD WILL WORK WITH THEIR DEVELOPING COUNTRY PARTNERS TO STRENGTHEN THEIR CAPACITY TECHNOLOGIES TO THE CHALLENGES OF HUMAN DEVELOPMENT-ESPECIALLY IN HEALTH, EDUCATION, ENVIRONMENT, AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT.

UNITeS WILL WORK THROUGH A BROAD COALITION OF INSTITUTIONS FROM THE SOUTH AND THE NORTH, INCLUDING THE PUBLIC AND PRIVATE SECTOR. IT WILL CALL UPON THE TALENTS OF INDIVIDUALS FROM GOVERNMENT, BUSINESS, DEVELOPMENT AGENCIES, AND ACADEMICA. TO THE GREATEST EXTENT POSSIBLE, IT WILL FOSTER THE PARTICIPATION OF PEOPLE FROM WITHIN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES.

UNITeS IS TO BE AT THE CORE OF THE RAPIDLY EXPANDING ACTIVITIES IN THE UNITED NATIONS ON THE DEVELOPMENTAL USE OF INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGIES. CLEARLY, JAPAN IS A LEADER IN THIS FIELD AND WE WISH TO BENEFIT FROM YOUR IDEAS AND EXPERTISE AS WE REACH OUT TO DEVELOPING COUNTRIES.

WE HAVE A WEBSITE IN PLACE - WWW.UNITES.ORG - WHICH PROVIDES MORE INFORMATION ON HOW THE INITIATIVE WORKS, INCLUDING HOW TO JOIN THE UNITeS COALITION.

I WANT TO THANK YOU FOR YOUR KIND ATTENTION, AND FOR THE OPPORTUNITY TO BE WITH YOU TODAY.

AS WE LAUNCH IYV 2001, LET US HONOR MR. WATANABE AND HIS FELLOW VOLUNTEERS AROUND THE WORLD. THEIR ACCOMPLISHMENTS, AND THEIR COURAGE, ARE EXTRAORDINARY.

THE HOPE OF THE INTERNATIONAL YEAR-AND THE HOPE OF CIVIL SOCIETY-IS THAT IN TIME, THE EXTRAORDINARY MAY BECOME ORDINARY. I FIRMLY BELIEVE THAT AS THE CRUCIAL CONTRIBUTIONS OF VOLUNTEERISM ARE MORE WIDELY RECOGNIZED, AS MORE AND MORE PEOPLE DEVOTE TIME AND EFFORT TO VOLUNTEER SERVICE, WE CAN ACHIEVE THAT GOAL. "YES WE CAN!" [INSERT JAPANESE PHRASE]

(Tokyo, 17th November, 2000)