Tens of millions of volunteers from China and around the world will contribute to the 2008 Beijing Olympics and Para-Olympics, according to an official statement made at a press conference regarding Olympic volunteer services on July 16.
Some 100,000 volunteers --- including 935 from other countries --- are directly involved in the events at the venues. More than 70,000 are involved in the summer Olympics and more than 30,000 for the Para-Olympics. They were selected according to the same standards and procedures out of more than a million applicants from China and abroad.
Approximately 400,000 city volunteers will offer information, interpretation and emergency aid services to travelers at 550 locations around the city of Beijing beginning July 20. The stations will be open eight hours a day. Some stations have volunteered to stay open 24 hours a day. Many foreign residents in Beijing have also become city volunteers.
A million community volunteers will contribute to ten areas such as the transportation system and maintaining public order. People also have the opportunity to participate in 700 public welfare projects.
Cheering squads formed among 200,000 people from various enterprises, schools and communities are getting ready to cheer for various events.
The"Smile Beijing" campaign will enlist more than ten million people to promote more refined behavior and volunteer activities among citizens. Each participant will get a "smile wristlet" with five colors --- red, green, blue, yellow and black --- representing commitments to helping others, environmental protection, an enterprising spirit, courtesy, and honesty.
The rules for arranging volunteer services are based in compliance with general, international practices and experience. Experience from previous Olympics has been drawn on and volunteer sources are quite extensive.
For each volunteer position, the demands of the positions are well-matched with each volunteer's skills and interests.
By People's Daily Online
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