Events

Celebrating the International Volunteer Day 2002 in Kosovo
By Angela Griep

On Tuesday 3rd of December 2002 UNV Kosovo celebrated the International Volunteer Day. About 50 children, a number of UNVs and representatives of UNMIK and UNDP, the political advisor of Kosovos Prime Minister, Ramadan Avdiu, and the local media joined the launch of a drawing exhibition in the National Theatre in Pristina.

In respect of the International Volunteers Day on 5th of December UNV Kosovo organized a drawing competition in 6 Primary schools in Pristina, Gracanica and Laplje Selo. The children were asked to imagine what volunteers did and how they could volunteer in the future. The ‘best’ 50 pictures, chosen by a Serbian, an Albanian and an International staff member of the ministry of culture, built the exhibition in the National Theatre.

“The idea of the event was to raise the spirit of volunteerism in Kosovo’s youth and to get new ideas by seeing volunteers work through the eyes of Kosovo’s children”, Angela Griep, UNV Public Information Officer and one of the organizers of the event, explains. “And of course we wanted to give the children the opportunity to show their talent to a national and international audience”, she adds.

The highlight of the event built the presentation of the prizes for the five best pictures, awarded by Robert Piper, Resident Representative of UNDP. Each winner got a certificate of participation as well as a 50 EUR prize. The school of the first winner got a TV and VCR for the support of classes.

Due to security reasons the two Serbian schools didn’t take part in the opening ceremony, but sent the staff members of the UNMIK Community Information Center in Gracanica, Momirka Cankovic and Vladan Drajkovic to receive their prizes. “I am happy that the Serbian schools won two of five prizes”, Momirka smiles. “And maybe next time the situation will already be as much back to normal, that the little artists and their teachers can come here themselves.”

The feedback of the local and international audience towards the exhibition was extremely positive. Ramadan Avdiu, political adviser of Kosovos Prime Minister Bajram Rexhepi, emphasized in his speech the idea of raising the spirit of volunteerism in Kosovo’s children and praised the imagination and commitment the kids showed in their drawings.

“Some Internationals even asked for the opportunity to buy a drawing”, Anduena Carabregu, UNV Country Office Assistant at UNDP and one of the organizers of the event, says enthusiastically. An interview with UNV Program Manager Christine Botejue-Kyle on local TV the same evening made the exhibition quite popular. “Even at the next day we had a lot of visitors”, reports Arben Kastrati, Manager of the National Theatre. “People really enjoyed the exhibition.”

The winning picture was brought to the UNV headquarter in Bonn as a gift for UNV Executive Coordinator Sharon Capeling-Alakija “She really liked the picture and the idea of the exhibition”, tells UNV Program Manager, Christine Botejue-Kyle, who handed over the present. The rest of the pictures shall decorate the UNDP building in Pristina and the 4th floor of TSS building where the UNV office is located. “I am looking forward to have some of these drawings to brighten up my office”, Robert Piper, Resident Representative of UNDP, says happily.

After the launch of the exhibition the celebration of the International Volunteer Day continued in the Disco Boom Boom Room in Pristina with a big UNV party. Due to a UN holiday on 4th and an official holiday in Kosovo on the 5th of December the celebrations took place on 3rd instead of 5th of December.

 

The International Volunteer Day In 1985 the General Assembly proclaimed the 5th of December to be the International Volunteer Day. The intention was to provide a special opportunity to highlight the achievements of the thousands of volunteers worldwide, and to encourage more people to get involved in volunteers work. UNVs all over the world celebrate the event every year.

 

UNV says thank you to the National Theatre UNV hereby wants to thank the director, manager and staff members of the National Theatre in Pristina for giving us this wonderful room for the exhibition and for their great help and commitment during the launch of the exhibition. Without all of you this would not have been possible.