Beijing Women's Federation

To promote urban voluntary services for the 2022 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games, Beijing Women's Federation (BWF), the Beijing Office for Cultural-Ethical Progress and the Beijing Volunteer Service Federation (BVF) held a ceremony online to launch an activity with the theme "volunteer families lighting up the Winter Olympics community" on December 5.

 

Teng Shengping, Deputy Director-General of the Publicity Department of the Beijing Municipal Party Committee and Director of the Volunteer Department of the Beijing Organizing Committee for the 2022 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games, Zhang Yajun, Secretary of the Leading Party Members' Group and President of the BWF, Li Jian, vice-president and secretary-general of the BVF, and Chen Yanping, Vice-President of the BWF, attended the ceremony.

 

 

Zhang Yajun, President of the BWF, speaks during the activity.

 

Zhang delivered a speech on behalf of the organizers. She expressed greetings to volunteers and volunteer families on International Volunteer Day for Social and Economic Development, and gratitude to departments that have supported women's volunteer work in the capital. She pointed out the importance of volunteers by quoting former IOC President Juan Antonio Samaranch.

 

The 2008 Summer Olympic Games became a milestone in the history of Olympic volunteer services. In the following 13 years, volunteering has been popularized in Beijing and the city's regular voluntary services were recognized by the public. A number of competent volunteers emerged and some families that carried out good deeds were named as Most Beautiful Volunteer Families.

 

The activity, echoing the ardent desire of volunteer families to contribute to the winter Olympics, aims to maximize their roles and create an atmosphere for advocating civilized behavior in society.

 

According to Zhang, women's federations at all levels should strengthen guidance of volunteer families and train them in practice while selecting and honoring outstanding cases to guarantee the sustainable development of volunteer family teams. She also said federations should spare no efforts to innovate and develop interesting, professional service projects. Families should integrate the Chinese nation's traditional virtue of helping others with the volunteer spirit of dedication, friendship, mutual help and progress, as well as the Olympic spirit "faster, higher and stronger" to warm others and jointly create beautiful memories, Zhang added.

 

The BWF introduced the five themed contents of the activity, which include establishing a volunteer families' team, an action to create a green environment, actions to promote civilized behavior and Olympic spirit, and safe communities. The event will also record the footprints of volunteer services for the games, share volunteers' stories, select role models and cultivate featured service projects. Teng, Li and Chen presented flags to representatives of the volunteer family service team.

 

Guests present flags to representatives of the volunteer family service team. 

 

Representatives of the volunteer family service team wave flags on the stage.

 

Video clips were played during the launch ceremony, showing the volunteer families' stories and their spirit of serving society.

 

All 16 districts of Beijing held a variety of activities at branch venues. Online connections were carried out between the venue of the launching ceremony and the venues in Chaoyang and Haidian districts and the themed activity's map was illuminated.

 

The launching ceremony was broadcast on the official WeChat account Beijing Women and the accounts of district-level women's federations at 3 pm on December 5.