In March 2005, the United Nations Volunteers (UNV) programme will
celebrate the fifth anniversary of the Online Volunteering service
(www.onlinevolunteering.org).

For any representatives from the media: UNV would be happy to provide
you with information to help you in preparing an article about online
volunteering and this anniversary. We can put you in contact with
both organizations and individuals involved in online volunteering,
and support you in concentrating on a particular topic, such as a
specific development area (environment or HIV/AIDS, for instance), or
to concentrate on a specific geographic area or country.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION
Over the last five years, hundreds of organizations working to help
the developing world have benefited from the efforts of thousands
online volunteers, who have translated documents, edited and prepared
proposals & press releases, researched topics and gathered data,
created web pages, brochures and newsletters, provided professional
expertise and advice, managed other online volunteers, created
databases, and so much more. There are now more than 100 testimonials
from both organizations and online volunteers about the impact online
volunteering has made, including its contributions to the Millennium
Development Goals (MDGs). Starting in 2002, UNV began naming 10
Outstanding Online Volunteers each year, honoring exceptional women
and men around the world who dedicate their skills, time and energy
to help organizations serving the developing world.

BRIEF HISTORY
UNV launch the Online Volunteering service in March 2001. At that
time, it was hosted at NetAid, a nonprofit organization created a
year earlier as a joint initiative by Cisco systems and the United
Nations Development Programme (UNDP) to contribute to the end of
extreme poverty. UNV, based in Bonn, Germany, managed the Online
Volunteering service from the beginning, supporting both online
volunteers and the organizations who needed them. After more than
three years of being hosted on the NetAid site, the OV service moved
to its own URL, www.onlinevolunteering.org, on February 2004,
remaining under the management and direction of UNV.

If you are interested in information for an article, or if you have
any questions, please write info@...

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
Jayne Cravens Online Volunteering Specialist
United Nations Volunteers
www.unvolunteers.org
Bonn, Germany

Online Volunteering: www.onlinevolunteering.org
UNITeS: www.unites.org
Global volunteerism portal: www.worldvolunteerweb.org
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-