Doha: The General Assembly of the Arab Union for Voluntary Work (AUVW) has discussed its activities and programmes of 2013 and reviewed last year’s performance.
Representatives of about 15 Arab countries including the chairmen of the voluntary work centres of the AUVW attended the two-day meeting which concluded in Doha on Saturday.
Yousef Al Kazim, Secretary-General of the AUVW, who is also the Secretary of Qatar Centre for Voluntary Activities (QCVA), said the participants recommended the establishment of an Arab Youth Labour Camp and three dates were set for the camp.
The first camp will be in Egypt in May, the second in Bahrain in September and third in Sudan in December. Final decision on the dates will be set in two weeks, he said.
Al Kazim said that the AUVW will organise a small volunteer forum in Doha in April. There will be a conference on voluntary work culture in Lebanon from March and the annual conference of the AUVW will be held in Egypt in June.
He added that AUVW will enter into a partnership with the French organisation “Doctors for the Poor” with the support of the Civilian French Heart Association.
The AUVW will represent the organisation in the Arab world, he said.
He pointed out that consultations are underway to hold an international partnership through the International Association for Volunteer work with the AUVW, which is expected to voluntary activities in the Arab and other countries.
Al Kazim said that the Doha meeting discussed the partnership signed with the United Nations Volunteers (UNV) programme.
The meeting conveyed thanks to the Yemeni Reform Society for hosting the Arab Observatory for Voluntary Work conference.
The conference, held in Sanaa in February, was attended by nine Arab countries specialised in dealing with news and events related to voluntary work, he said.
The UNV programme is a United Nations organisation that advocates the role and benefits of volunteerism for development.
It was created to be a development partner for UN organisations by providing volunteers for their development programmes. The UNV help organise and run local and national elections and support a large number of peacekeeping and humanitarian projects.
QNA
