Volunteer efforts must to remove poverty: Fernandes

New Delhi, Nov 11: Union Minister for Labour and Employment Oscar Fernandes has stressed the importance of voluntary efforts to bring peace and prosperity in the world and bridge the divide between rich and poor.

Inaugurating the Fourteenth International Association for Volunteer Efforts (IAVE), here last evening, Mr Fernandes said, ''Mere absence of war is not peace. Peace is something which we feel from inside our heart. In today's era, peace is only possible when nobody is poor, nobody is unemployed and nobody is oppressed. The huge gap between poor and rich has to be narrowed if not wiped out totally''.

The five-day long conference is being held in close collaboration with IAVE India, United Nations Volunteers (UNV), People Institute for Development and Training (PIDT) and Gandhi Smriti and Darshan Samiti (GSDS), which brings together around 1000 participants from about 80 countries.

The theme of the conference is ''Volunteering for Peace in Multicultural Societies''. It focuses on the fact that most countries in the world are multicultural in one way or the other, due to which they are slowly drifting apart. IAVE Conference aims to build bridge of understanding by its special launch of Global Corporate Volunteer Council (G-CVC) in order to recognize corporate volunteering. The other proposed topics of discussion are Human Rights, Disaster Management, Information Communication Technologies and Civil Society Intervention.

''Citizens must work together as volunteers in order to accomplish Minimum Development Goals set by UN. As the journey of a thousand leagues begins with a single step. The XIX IAVE World Conference is the step towards 'Global Peace' as we try to find a suitable coping mechanism to resolve the unending conflicts of Globalization,'' IAVE President Liz Burns said.

Speaking on the occasion, PIDT chairman Prof. Subhachari Dasgupta said ''Volunteers seek to develop peace and well being in situations of unrest and inequality as they build bridges of understanding.

There is a Volunteer in each of us. IAVE Volunteer Conference will provide opportunity to Volunteers from across the globe to come and share their experiences in making a better world''.

The inaugural ceremony is followed by a dance recital on 'Peace' by Padmashri Uma Sharma and Troupe. IAVE World Volunteer Conference is witnessing the participation from United Nations, Foreign Universities, Embassies, Voluntary Centers and Government representatives from various parts of the world.

UNI