The Official Website of the Beijing 2008 Olympic GamesAugust 8-24 2008
Related story: Thousands of volunteers ready for Olympic and Paralympic Games
Date: 11:00 a.m., Wednesday, July 16
Venue: Main Press Center (MPC)
Sun Weide
Good morning ladies and gentlemen. Today's conference's topic is report on the progress on the volunteers program for the Beijing Olympic and Paralympic Games.
First of all, please allow me to introduce the guests sitting at the very front of this floor, Mr. Liu Jian, chief of the office of the Beijing Olympic Volunteer Work Coordination Group, secretary of the Beijing Municipal Committee of the Chinese Youth League and chief of BOCOG Volunteer Department; Mr. Shen Qianfan, deputy director of the office of the Beijing Olympic Volunteer Work Coordination Group and deputy director of the Beijing Municipal Committee of the Chinese Youth League; Mr. Li Shixin, deputy chief of BOCOG Volunteer Department; Madam Zhang Hong, deputy chief of BOCOG Volunteer Department; and Zhang Juming, deputy chief of BOCOG Volunteer Department.
Also, it is my great pleasure to invite three volunteers of the Beijing Olympicand Paralympic Games. First of all, Mr. Shang Muzhou. He is already 84 years old; and also, Madam Liang Suhui, one of the ten outstanding volunteers who have dedicated herself to help and aid for the people with disability; and also one of our friends from the USA, who has just come to MPC to work as volunteer, Mr. Bruce Lerch II. We welcome these three volunteers to be part of the Beijing Olympic Games. Also, we have invited some of the volunteer work managers from co-host cities outside Beijing. And after this press conference, you are welcome to communicate with them individually.
Now first of all, I would like to hand the microphone to Mr. Liu Jian, office chief of the Beijing Olympic Volunteer Work Coordination Group to make a briefing on the progress of the Olympic volunteer program.
Liu Jian
Welcome to this press conference. The volunteer's smile is Beijing's image. As wide as you should smile, you will be a qualified volunteer; and as long as you are aware of the smiling respond, you will be part of the Beijing Olympic and Paralympic Games. This is sort of a small advertisement I want to make here. If you have some spare time, I would like to invite you to be one of the social volunteers who can provide services in your places where you'd love to.
During the Games-time, we will organize altogether more than one million social volunteers who will provide volunteer services at more than 30,000 positions. If a person is above 14 years old and can provide 4 consecutive hours work three times, you can be invited and be part of the city volunteer program.
From July 1 to October 8, altogether, 400,000 city volunteers will provide services at 550 posts throughout the city. If a person is above 18 years and qualified for the standard for being a Games-time volunteer, he/she will be able to provide volunteer services in the venues.
Currently, we have recruited altogether 74,615 Games-time volunteers to provide direct services for the Beijing Olympic Games. Also in the 6 co-host cities, Qingdao, Hong Kong, Tianjin, Shanghai, Shenyang and Qinhuangdao, altogether, 7,600 volunteers will be working for the Olympic Games.
The major sources for the Games-time volunteers come from the provinces, municipalities -- especially Beijing -- and the autonomous regions of the Chinese mainland and also Hong Kong, Macao, Taiwan and overseas Chinese. Some of them are foreigners. All of the Games-time volunteers have received training, basically the general training, professional training, sport training and position training.
Actually a first batch of the volunteers has already been providing services since July 1 this year working at the spectators call centers. All the Games-time volunteers, together with all of you, will dedicate their time and energy to the success of the Olympic and Paralympic Games.
The volunteer work means the support from the press and the media. All of you sitting in this room are steadfast supporters for their work.
Actually many of you have spent time with us at the dawn of the New Year this year and also at the eve of the Spring Festival, and always willing to stand beside the volunteers. I hope our support and understanding will help encourage, move, mobilize and motivate the volunteers. And hope that through their work, the volunteers will be able to move, motivate, and encourage all kinds of people in the society. Sincerely thank you.
Sun Weide
Thank you, Mr. Liu for your briefing. And now we will hand the microphone to the three volunteers sitting here to talk about their life as a volunteer.
Shang Muzhou
Just a few words about myself. I was born in 1923 on the August 16 and this year I will be celebrating my 85th birthday.
And actually I can still remember that 2 years ago, on the August 29th, 2006 at the second day after the inception of the volunteer program, I asked my 10-year-old granddaughter to sign up for the volunteer online.
My home is not very far from the National Stadium or the Bird's Nest and everyday when I passed the Olympic Stadium or the Bird's nest. So when I see the construction going on, I have a very strong sense.
I am a local resident and I was born in Beijing. I consider myself a child of Beijing, and now, a citizen of Beijing. I feel greatly honor to see the city hosting the Games of the XXIX Olympiad and this is a dream of a century and a chance of a century.
I have been thinking of one question, what can I do to the Beijing Olympic Games? On the very first day of the inception of the volunteer application for the Beijing Olympic and Paralympic Games, I have heard that an 82-year-old senior signed up for the program. That was two years ago, and at that time I thought that if an 82-year-old can apply, why can't I? I was only 83 years old.
Later, I got to know that not far from my residence, there is the University of Beijing Science and Technology, where there will be a gymasium for the judo discipline for the Games. It would only take me 5 minutes to ride the bicycle to this gymnasium. In the past, I was involved in many social activities, including opera singing and perking opera singing. Actually, that means I have a very good sense of how to communicate with people and I really have a very loud voice. I believe that I am qualified to work as a broadcaster. That is why I signed up for the mandarin broadcaster and I will be working at the Beijing University of Science and Technology Gymnasium.
It took 670 days before my application being approved. I was full of hope and expectations in the 670 days prior to the approval of my application. And later, my dream came true. I feel it's worth my life, because in my life time, I am able to work as an volunteer in the Beijing Olympic Games. Thank you.
Sun Weide
Now I would like to invite Ms. Liang Suhui.
Liang Suhui
Ladies and gentlemen, I am Liang Suhui. I am from Tsinghua University, Department of Material Study. I am a doctoral candidate. My job as a volunteer will be conducted in the National Aquatics Center. In order to make our job qualified, we went through a lot of trainings. We also participated in the service for the major events, which tested our skills in the events.
I myself participated in the 2006 and 2007 Tennis Open. I also participated in the services in Doha Asian Games. Also, I participated in the 7th Games for the People with Disability of China and the Special Olympics in Shanghai. And also, we participated in some test sport events organized in the National Aquatics Center.
Also, last month, as a representative for all the Beijing volunteers and Paralympic Games, I visited Shifang, a town in Sichuan province, which was hit by the earthquake. In that case, we shared our joy and knowledge of the Olympic Games with the local children. That is all about me. Thank you.
Sun Weide
Now Bruce, please say a few words about your life as a volunteer.
Bruce Lerch II
I am here as a representative from America. I am a graduate student, studying journalism at Emerson College, at Boston, Massachusetts. It has been an honor for us to be part of this, the experience to be selected as volunteers. We've been here for a week now. And we have been able to continue our training. Back in America, we took a class to get ready to come here, where we studied Chinese culture and we would be able to learn some of the language.
Since arriving in Beijing, we would be able to tour the city. The Great Wall, the Ming Tombs, the Summer Palace are really exciting. It is a great thing for us to see. It has been really nice as an American to come here, to see what life is really like in Beijing, in China. I am just proud to be able to represent my school, my country and be able to help represent Beijing and China as Beijing prepares to show itself off the world. Thank you.
Sun Weide
Now the floor is open for questions. Please tell us where you come from.
Tianjin Daily
I am from Tianjin Daily. My question is that the recruitment competition for the volunteers is very heated, of course for domestic volunteers. What about foreign volunteers? Are there any exams or qualification tests they need to pass to be recruited as volunteers?
Li Shixin
As is known to all, the competition for the Games-time volunteer is very heated. We have altogether 1.12 million applicants, but we can only select around 100,000 volunteers for the Games-time. Actually, as for all the domestic and foreign volunteers, we go through the uniform and same procedure for the general guidelines published on the August 26, 2006. The procedure includes many means, including the verification of application materials, exams, interviews and also tests. Thank you.
Reuters
Good morning. I'm from Reuters. Can I ask two questions, if I may? First, to Director Liu, perhaps you can tell us what kind of legacy he hopes the huge volunteer campaign will leave in the city and how it might continue afterwards.
And also to Ms. Liang, perhaps you can tell us a little bit about your time in Sichuan? How many of you fellow volunteers went down and a little bit more about the kind of work and your impressions of Sichuan after the earthquake? Thank you.
Liu Jian
We have a total of 1,125,799 applicants for the Games-time volunteer program, and 2.07 million for the city volunteer program. All these people will be the legacy for the Olympic and Paralympic Games. The Beijing Olympic and Paralympic volunteer programs promotion regulation was pro-marketed on the December 5th last year. Beijing volunteer service fund has already been founded.
The Beijing volunteer service web base platform is being developed. We have published 780 so-called "public interest" activities online so that people can approach the nearest site where they can provide the voluntary services. Beijing Volunteer Association will continue to provide long term assistance to the volunteers.
We have also learned from the best experiences and practices of the UN volunteers. Some of the officials from UN volunteers are working for us. Also the manager for volunteer program of Sydney Olympics is also working with us right now. Some of our volunteers are being dispatched to work within the US volunteer associates to bring back the experience from there.
All these efforts aimed at bringing the volunteer program and voluntary service level to a higher bar after the Olympic and Paralympic Games in Beijing. According to experience of UN volunteers, if the voluntter of certain region can reach as high as 30% it would be a very good thing. We hope that after the Olympic and Paralympic Games, in the future, there will be a lasting population of around six million in Beijing.
We are seeing this trend and we are happy to see it. But it couldn't be possible without your help. Some of our volunteers are students studying in Beijing whose hometown are Sichuan. Some of them came here directly from their hometown in Sichuan. Some Beijing volunteers are working right now in Sichuan, some of them went there as early as May 12th when the earthquake hit. Ms. Liang Suhui sitting beside me is a representative of these people.
After May 12th, 10,000 volunteers were working in Sichuan, who came from Beijing. A program called '500-hour Relayed System for the Earthquake Hit Zones' was organized by the Beijing volunteer association. According to this program, the volunteers can either provide 500 hours of consecutive assistant to the earthquake zone, or spend altogether 500 hours throughout the years.
I think it is the responsibility for all the volunteers to either serve the Olympic and Paralympic Games or to serve the people in the earthquake zone. We hope that through these exemplary cases, people will feel encouraged and motivated to work as volunteers.
Sun Weide
Let's hear a few words from Ms. Liang.
Liang Suhui
When I was working as volunteer, I dedicated myself to 3 areas of work. First of all, as Games-time volunteer, I went with my friends to the tent schools, basically, schools in the tents. We try to spread knowledge about the Olympic and Paralympic Games to local children. And we also bring with us some Olympic souvenirs for the children, including badges and volunteer wristbands, pencils etc. and also we organize some games for the children. Secondly, as I am a university student, I approached children in local schools, who are in the 3rd grade or senior high, and are preparing themselves for the national entrance exams. I worked with them to tell them how to handle the national entrance exam, what other skills they need, and how to keep themselves calm during the exam time. Thirdly, I worked with the local hope project office, doing some public relations and donation management work.
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