RIYADH: A top official of the Arab and Saudi Arabian Boy Scouts Association (ASBSA) stressed the importance of spreading the culture of volunteerism among youths for bright future.

He called for the exchange of expertise and experiences among those volunteers and to recognize their efforts.

Abdullah Al-Fahd, ASBSA vice president and member of the World Scout Committee, made his call on the occasion of International Volunteer Day on Saturday in recognition of millions of people all over the world who offer their time and talent to address global challenges.

Volunteers are working in their communities to adapt to climate change and poverty reduction, and those who support world peace, justice and the Millennium Development Goals.

According to Al-Fahd, the move is the world’s largest project with the participation of more than 150 countries and the involvement of millions of young people.

He said we look forward to reach 20 million scouts to realize the vision of the project, which calls for at least two-thirds of the number of scouts all over the world becoming messengers of peace. They strive to change the world in the best manner possible and send peace messages to the nearly 200 million people all over the world by 2020.

The official said the scout movement is based mainly on the provision of voluntary service. The movement has been recognized by the UN and was designated by the UN to celebrate this day.

He explained that 40 years ago, the UN General Assembly called for the creation the UN Volunteers (UNV) program. Since then, tens of thousands of members contributed to working with several UN organizations and programs, and with peacekeeping missions.