I. General Principles

This Action Plan is worked out in accordance with the Beijing Olympic Action Plan and the Strategic Plan for Beijing Olympic Volunteer Program, with a view to guiding the formulation and implementation of all the projects and operational plans of the Beijing Olympic volunteer Program.

The volunteers here refer to the personnel who voluntarily contribute their personal time and energy and provide service for the promotion of human development, social progress and social welfare undertakings without receiving material remuneration. Volunteer service is an important way of public participation in social activities.

The volunteers mentioned in the Beijing Olympic volunteer Program refer to those who will serve other people, society and the Olympic Games from now to 2008 throughout the preparation and holding of the Olympic and Paralympic Games. They will operate on the basis of free will, in the basic form of volunteer service and within the system of the projects of the Beijing Olympic volunteer Program.

The Beijing Olympic volunteer Program comprises four projects: the "Towards Olympics" Voluntary Service Project, the Games-time Olympic Volunteer Project, the Games-time Paralympic Volunteer Project and the Pre-Games Volunteer Project.

1. The Concepts of the Beijing Olympic Volunteer Program

Providing unique, high-standard volunteer services for the 2008 Olympic and Paralympic Games is the most direct and most important goal of the Beijing Olympic Volunteer Program. While a large, wide-range, highly representative and competent volunteer force will be formed, volunteer spirit will be advocated, service forms will be innovated, service contents will be expanded and service quality will be improved so that they can provide friendly, personalized, and specialized services for the Beijing Olympic and Paralympic Games. Efforts will be made to establish a volunteer service system in line with the Olympic rules, Chinese styles and international standards so as to add a Chinese touch to the Olympic Movement and leave an indelible impression of Beijing.

2. The Principles of the Beijing Olympic Volunteer Program

(1) Be people-oriented. The volunteer program will fully manifest the requirement of "Respect, Encourage and Protect", encourage voluntary public participation, protect public enthusiasm, develop effective channels, approaches and projects for wide public participation, and turn the volunteers' participation process into a process of human resources development that can effectively improve their quality and ability. In the process, the resources of volunteer service will be valued and protected, the work of volunteers will be respected, volunteers' enthusiasm, initiative and creativeness will be mobilized, and the volunteer's sense of honor and sense of achievement will be boosted through citation. The rights and wills of the volunteers will be respected and their legitimate rights and interests protected. The Olympic volunteers should develop a willingness of serving other people and serving the society, and the consciousness of truly benefiting the public and society through their voluntary services. They should make efforts to ensure that every Olympic participant will receive warm and thoughtful volunteer service.

(2) Encourage mass participation. To reflect the opening policy of the Olympic preparation, the "Towards Olympics" Voluntary service Project and the public-good practice plan will be promoted and diverse Olympic volunteer service activities will be designed, so as to create opportunities for those from all walks of life to participate in the Olympic volunteer work. Representatives from the co-host cities, other provinces, municipalities and autonomous regions, Hong Kong, Macao, Taiwan, various ethnic groups and the disabled will be accepted in the program. Socialized operating mechanisms will be adopted and comments and suggestions from various social circles on the Beijing Olympic volunteer work will be earnestly solicited to ensure the openness and transparency of the volunteer work and obtain public recognition and support from the society.

(3) Abide by Olympic rules. The Olympic rules will be observed, the useful experience of the volunteer work of the previous Olympic Games will be learnt, and internationally accepted ideas, methods and operating mechanisms will be introduced so as to ensure that the volunteer service of the Beijing Olympic Games meets international standards. Foreign residents will also be attracted to participate in the Olympic volunteer service, constructive opinions and suggestions from international volunteer service institutions and the inspection and evaluation of the Olympic volunteer service by relevant international institutions will be accepted.

(4) Be professional and efficient. In-depth research will be done on the operation mechanisms and modes of the volunteer work of the past Olympic Games. Beijing's own successful experience in staging large events will be summarized. The social features, public attitude, history and tradition and overall advantages of China and Beijing will be analyzed. These will help form the concept, organizational system, management mode and operation mechanism for the volunteer work of the Beijing Olympic Games. Professional Planning will be conducted and regulations will be formulated to streamline the relations between different departments, groups, sectors and stages, and ensure that the volunteer work is orderly and efficient organized. An information platform will be established for the Olympic volunteer work so that operation and management are digitalized. An open and fair volunteer evaluation system will be developed to assess the Olympic volunteer service projects and volunteer work for the whole process.

(5) Emphasize Chinese characteristics. In the program, the concept of "People's Olympics" will be highlighted and the exchanges between Chinese culture and the culture of various countries in the world will be strengthened. With the advantages in organization and mobilization, high social enthusiasm and rich human resources and the existing organization systems, the potential capacities will be turned into direct contributions to the Olympic Movement. In the implementation of the program, the great achievements China has made in reform and opening up will be publicized, the results of Beijing's modernization drive will be showcased, and the superiority of the socialist road with Chinese characteristics will be fully demonstrated.

3. Objectives of the Beijing Olympic Volunteer Program

(1) Promote mass participation. Based on strong public support, volunteer service activities will be carried out in various social sectors to advocate sincerity and friendliness and accelerate progress in civility, so as to make the Beijing Olympic Volunteer Program a main approach for all people to participate in the Olympic Movement and improve their personal quality. This will help create a situation, in which all people work together to provide satisfactory voluntary service and to contribute to the forming of a harmonious society. Government support at various levels will be sought to create favorable conditions for various social sectors to participate in the Olympic volunteer program and for the development of voluntary service.

(2) Promote the development of the voluntary service. The volunteer program will advocate the spirit of "dedication, friendship, mutual help and progress", popularize the concept of voluntary service, build up the image of volunteers, and boost social recognition of the voluntary service. In the meantime, efforts will be made to improve the mechanisms for social mobilization, promote the development of nonprofit social groups, institutionalize and standardize the voluntary services, expand the areas of voluntary service, and increase the number of volunteers. In addition, relevant legislation will be pushed forward to provide legal and policy support for the cause of the voluntary service.

(3) Promote the all-round development of volunteers. High attention will be paid to the roles the Olympic volunteer program will play in the promoting the self-development and self-improvement of the volunteers. The demonstration of the volunteers in serving society will help attract greater public attention to and participation in volunteer service. In the meantime, guidance, service and assistance for volunteers will be strengthened to increase their ability to learn, practice and innovate, to boost their service spirit, and to promote their growth and advancement.

(4) Promote cultural exchanges between China and foreign countries. Olympic volunteers will work as cultural envoys publicizing Chinese and foreign cultures and introducing the splendid Chinese culture and the life of the Chinese people in the modern time. Through the volunteer program, all outstanding human civilizations will be learnt, harmonious communication between Chinese and foreign cultures will be promoted, the awareness of internationalization of the people will be upgraded, the exchanges and friendship between Chinese and foreign people will be enhanced, and the mutual understanding between China and the world will be improved.