2001 was proclaimed by the United Nations General Assembly as the International Year of Volunteers. The year was dedicated to increasing awareness of the achievements and further potential of volunteerism for economic and social development. The 2008 resolution reaffirms the significance of volunteerism for the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals and calls for the marking of the tenth anniversary of the International Year of Volunteers or ‘IYV+10′ in 2011.
UNV is celebrating the tenth anniversary of IYV called IYV+10. It will be marked by celebrations at various levels by volunteer involving organizations, Governments, UN agencies, foundations and other stakeholders.

United Nations Volunteers (UNV) program office in India organized the Planning Workshop for IYV +10 on 16 February 2011 at New Delhi. The program was attended by representatives from the Government, UN agencies, Civil Society Organizations, Grass root level volunteer groups, as well as Corporate India.
Anoj Chhetri, UNV Programme Officer at UNDP India shared a presentation on IYV +10 for the common understanding of all the participants followed by another presentation on Key activities and results for IYV +10 in India by Amita Dahiya, UNV National Coordinator for IYV+10.

In his presentation on IYV +10, Anuj shared the UNV and IYV+10’s objectives were to enhance volunteerism in all its forms in terms of:

• Recognition: acknowledge value of volunteerism and relation to MDGs
• Facilitation: ensure volunteer opportunities for diverse people
• Networking: strengthen partnerships, exchange experiences
• Promotion: promote inclusive and representative volunteerism

Followed by the context setting presentation, the group was engaged in an active discussion where ideas and action steps were brainstormed on.
Further to the discussion, the group felt that focused taskforce for each of the 4 objectives of IYV +10 should be formed to work on them. Chitrakaar agreed to lead one of the task force of IYV +10 focused on the objective of Promotion.

The taskforces will be working towards creating specific plan of action and will be sharing with the larger group in the next few days which will then be followed by the next meeting of the group in the first week of March 2011 to take things further. Join UNV on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/unvolunteers

Click here to get the Glimpse from the Planning Workshop for IYV +10 in India

About United Nations Volunteers (UNV)

Inspiration in Action
United Nations Volunteers (UNV) is the nodal UN agency that contributes to peace and development worldwide through volunteerism. UNV believes in ‘Volunteerism for Development’. The concept of volunteerism for development centers on optimizing volunteerism’s impact on peace and development. Achieving this requires the cooperation and commitment of the public sector, civil society and the private sector with support from the United Nations system and the world community. Individual citizens also have an important role to play through volunteering. Every day, individuals are engaged in development initiatives through volunteer actions both large and small in an effort to improve conditions for others and themselves. Volunteerism by many millions of people is critical to achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).

Our Inspiration
UNV is inspired by the conviction that volunteerism can transform the pace and nature of development and by the idea that everyone can contribute their time and energy towards peace and development. Volunteerism is a powerful means of engaging people in tackling development challenges, and it can transform the pace and nature of development.

• Nominate your people to volunteer with Chitrakaar.
• Sponsor an Initiative/Project.
• Partner with us - Let’s collaborate and co-create an impact for positive change.

Currently, the volunteering opportunities at Chitrakaar are:

Visual Artists/Photographers: Artwork that conveys a story! Join us and exhibit your best art work for supporting an initiative by fundraising.

Guides & Experts: Share your experience, knowledge and wisdom in making our initiatives more effective and efficient in their area of work.

English Language Writers: Help write stories and updates to be posted on Chitrakaar.com.

Website Designers: Do you have technical or web design skills? Help with all web-related things.

If any of these ideas sound good, please contact us with your name and your contact information, In addition, please include a brief bio with your interests and skills, so we can figure out the best way for you to help.

Blog about Chitrakaar, Share on facebook or Put a badge on your profile, blog, or website encouraging others to support and join Chitrakaar.

Through the series of initiatives, Chitrakaar intends to address some of the key focus areas. These are: Child Rights, Eradicating Poverty, Green Earth, Health & Happiness, and Shiksha & Employability.

The eco-system – Collaborations and Contributions

People – Individuals, Companies, Community Groups, Government Bodies, Non-profits and Industry associations.
Purpose – Child Rights, Green Earth, Health & Happiness, Eradicating Poverty and Shiksha and Employability .
Positivity Change – Care for Children, Green and Sustainable Environment, Culture of Fitness & Peace, Eradicating Poverty and Spreading Shiksha and facilitating Employability.

Chitrakaar is a not-for-profit and volunteer driven organization that aims to make impactful contributions towards the 5 key focus areas and creating value for society.

Chitrakaar is managed by professionals in honorary capacity, stemming from their interest in contributing back to the society, the social causes and life at large.

The guiding thought – The purpose of its existence

Collaborate and contribute for change.

Together we can make a difference and bring positive change in areas we are passionate towards making an impact!
At Chitrakaar, we feel that there is a need to drive contributions in a constructive and channelized manner to be able to make a larger impact.  Chitrakaar aims to bring positive change through enlightening and motivating people to take up causes that benefit mankind and our planet.