Apart from the construction of metro bridges and the ‘constant efforts’ to modify and embellish this city, the most recent tiding that is keeping the hullabaloo of the Commonwealth Games alive is the staggering number of volunteer requirement. The Commonwealth Games is the biggest international event being hosted by India since the Asian Games of 1982.Tthe Ministry of Youth Affairs has therefore approached Delhi University and other major universities like JNU with its concern regarding volunteer requirements. The Ministry has decided to recruit at least 7000 volunteers and has already approached 63 colleges including colleges like Lady Sri Ram College for Women, briefing the staff and the students about their requirements.
The Volunteer Management Programme has been modeled after the Beijing Olympics where even high school students had to go through a number of recruitment stages. The Ministry hopes to follow such a pattern and will be dividing the volunteers into two broad categories – ‘the general volunteers’ and the ‘specific volunteers’. The general volunteers would be responsible for hospitality like welcoming, guiding and catering to the guests’ comforts while the specific category would be responsible for various sport specific jobs. The volunteers will be trained accordingly with their first session of drills beginning this October. This introductory session would be held within the college premises for approximately 20 days where the volunteers will be trained in basic etiquette, courtesy and other modalities.
This sure is a colossal event with 54 participating nations, represented by over 70 teams. Over 8500 international athletes swarming across the streets of Delhi and we as students of DU get to interact with them (provided we volunteer). We have been assured that the volunteers will be given national certificates and comforts such as safe transport for the girl volunteers.
For once let us not be lured into volunteering for want of a certificate but realize that it is a big event for our country and try and make it nearly as big as the Beijing Olympics if not exactly as good, after all it is a weighty opportunity for us too! Events like the Commonwealth do not happen everyday.
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