In a bid to promote voluntary community service, the National Youth Commission held a celebration yesterday for Global Youth Service Day (GYSD) yesterday at the Chungshan Hall Square in Taipei.
GYSD is an annual global event that encourages young people to participate in community service as volunteers.
Chairwoman of the commission Lin Fang-mei (林芳玫), DPP legislator Chen Chien-ming (陳建銘) and American youth volunteer Steven Cory Solomon were present at the ceremony and addressed the attendees.
"The commission plans to work on GYSD for 20 years, that is, on a long-term basis, to make the project more widespread," said Lin.
"The percentage of Taiwanese young people involved in volunteering is too low (14 percent for the 15-24 age group). We hope to increase the percentage with this program.
"Excessive pressure on studying, and lack of time are two main reasons why Taiwanese young people are not interested in getting involved in community service," she said.
"We hope that in the future voluntary work can be part of the school curriculum, so young people can learn and volunteer at the same time without being burdened further," Lin said.
Chen said that Taiwanese young people in the past had been too conservative to take up voluntary work, but things were changing. He encouraged young people to "just do it," trying out community service.
"Through cooperation, communities become better," said Solomon, who came to Taiwan under the invitation of the Jane Goodall Institute and the National Youth Commission. Solomon is doing voluntary work in South Africa for the Jane Goodall Institute.
"The best part about volunteering is that, when deep into the project, you can see the progress you have made with the people you have been helping, and the two sides may both grow in personal ability. That makes you feel accomplished," Solomon said.
Some of the 500 volunteers who cycled round Taiwan as a promotional activity for GYSD were also at the ceremony.
Local band Sticky Rice (糯米團) and some other singers entertained the crowd as the finale for the lively celebration.
GYSD encourages young people to observe the needs of their communities, and plan and carry out community improvement projects.
More information can be obtained from the GYSD Web site at http://www.gysd.net.
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