UNV Kosovo: News Releases

International Volunteer Day 2003 in Kosovo
By Angela Griep

On 5 December 2003 United Nations Volunteers Kosovo and different NGOs came together to celebrate International Volunteer Day, highlighting volunteers contribution to the mission in Kosovo with different events.

Together with the NGOs’ Balkan Sunflowers and Mother Theresa Society, UN Volunteers carried out a renovation day in the IDP Roma Camp in Plementina, a village near Pristina. A group of 30 Volunteers from UNV and Balkan Sunflowers as well as local scouts and young residents of the camp cleaned up and painted the interior of the accommodation of ten families. “I think the day was a great success”, reviewed Madeleine Mossa from Balkan Sunflowers the activities. “Most people were really happy to have a new color on the wall and the team work between internationals, scouts and inhabitants of the camp was very good as well.” The activities lasted the whole day. “ I was too tired to come to the party in the evening”, apologized UN Volunteer James Goode. “But it was much fun and I think we did a good job.” Meanwhile the cooperation between United Nations Volunteers UNMIK, Balkan Sunflowers and Mother Theresa Society is going on with a big clothes and book collection for Roma Camps in Kosovo.

In coordination with the NGOs Vietnam Veterans of America and HANDIKOS, UN Volunteers Kosovo organized a friendly wheelchair basketball tournament. At 10.30 in the morning an UNMIK Team and the Wheelchair Basketball Team Pristina met in the University Sports Hall ‘1 Tetori’ in Pristina. The match started after a short introduction on how to use a wheelchair. As expected, the UNMIK Team lost 23:2, but “it was great fun”, described UN Volunteer Torben Feyerabend his first experience in a wheelchair. “Since both parties seemed to enjoy the game we should do this more often.” The aim of the match was to raise the awareness towards disabled people, whose problems and needs up to now are not receiving adequate attention in Kosovo.

The formal celebration of International Volunteer Day 2003 started at 18.00 in the Red Hall at Pristina Youth Center. Around 100 guests from Kosovo’s provisional government, UNMIK, UNDP and different NGO’s joined the event. Special guests Mr. Skender Boshtrakaj, Director, Department of Youth from the Ministry of Culture, Youth, Sports and Nonresidential Affairs, Ms. Kristin Wambold-Liebling, Principal Officer of the UN Administration, Mr. Robert Piper, Resident Representative, UNDP and Mr. Christoph Beck, OIC UNV Program Manager, emphasized in their speeches volunteerism in general and volunteers contribution to the mission. Highlight of the celebration built the Global Motion Social Dance Theatre Project with their play ‘Trash’, performed by Kosovo’s Youth and 3 international UN Volunteers. The 20 minutes piece addressed Kosovars general attitude towards volunteerism and cross-cultural difficulties in the mission in a humorous way. “People really enjoyed the show”, said Rajmilan Ganesan, Project Manager of Global Motion Social Arts Project happily. “Some even asked us to perform the same play again on different events they planned.”

A local TV team reported about all activities of International Volunteer Day on local TV.

The day ended with a big party in Boom Boom Room Pristina.

For more information about this News Release, contact:
Angela Griep, UNV Public Information Officer, Email griep@un.org, or