On Global Youth Service Day, President Chen Shui-bian (
At at a ceremony marking this year's Global Youth Service Day (GYSD), Chen urged the nation's youth to treasure the opportunities to volunteer that are available to them and contribute to the progress of society.
"A single individual who spends 1,000 hours doing good deserves respect, but if 1,000 people each spend one hour as a volunteer, the benefits to society are even broader and more enduring," Chen said.
The president added that young people can "definitely change the world" if they can spend "a little time" volunteering in such ways as taking care of the elderly, children and the disabled, or doing knowledge-based tasks such as serving as museum guides.
The third annual GYSD is a global event running from April 26 to April 28 involving more than 3 million young people in more than 100 countries and is designed to highlight their contributions to the development of their communities through voluntary service.
This year, more than 10,000 youths in Taiwan have formed 446 teams to participate in the event, organizers said.
Led by Youth Service America and the Global Youth Action Network (GYAN), with a consortium of 32 international organizations and more than 100 national organizations, GYSD engaged more than 3.3 million youth volunteers in 117 countries last year.
GYSD organizers, including GYAN international coordinator Bremley Lyngdoh, and Elizabeth Burns, world president of the International Association for Volunteer Effort, also attended the ceremony in Taipei.
According to the organizers, the goals of GYSD are to highlight the ways in which young people can improve their communities through service 365 days a year, to recruit the next generation of volunteers and to promote the benefits of youth service around the world.
Following the GYSD ceremony, President Chen met students at Changhua High School's 60th anniversary celebration, and later visited physically disabled students at the Changhua Senior School of Commerce.
Chen encouraged the students of Changhua High School to bring Taiwan to the world during a time of increasing globalization.
Chen also praised Changhua High School for upholding the spirit of "Taiwanization," by naming the school's "Yu Hsien Hall" after the renowned Taiwanese musician Deng Yu-hsien (
"Unlike some other schools, which name their school's buildings things like `Chungcheng Hall' or 'Chungshan Hall,' Changhua High School is respectful," Chen said.
Chiang Chung-cheng (蔣中正) is another name for Chiang Kai-shek (蔣介石), and Sun Chung-shan is another name for Sun Yat-sen (孫中山).
Chen also encouraged the school's students to "dream the impossible" with him, the "son of Taiwan," and to pursue these dreams fearlessly.
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