UN Volunteers Bosnia and Herzegovina, in partnership with Ekotim, Sumero and OSCE, celebrated International Volunteer Day in Sarajevo through a range of activities to highlight the role and contribution of volunteerism and civic engagement in making communities a better place for all.  

Celebrations kicked off with the public distribution of cloth “Volunteering for our Plant” bags and promotion of the “Seal the Deal” Climate Change campaign promoting the UN Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen. At least 400 signatures – from the young and the old – were collected, and some 450 cloth bags were distributed to participants to as an alternative to using plastic bags. Members of Ekotim and the UNV Country Office Team also collected some 500 signatures on a petition calling for the protection of Sarajevo’s source of drinking water from a proposed garbage dump in Krupac. 

IVD 2009 celebrations culminated with a joint press event and volunteer reception hosted by Sumero, in conjunction with UNV and OSCE. A highlight of this event was a public statement of Mr. Jasmin Duvnjak, Vice-president of the Commission for Youth Issues of the Parliament FBiH. In his statement, covered by the media, he shared his appreciation of the commitment the volunteers and stressed the role of government policies on volunteerism and youth in providing opportunities for young people to gain valuable skills and enhancing their employment horizons in Bosnia and Herzegovina.