A/RES/56/38 session of the General Assembly shall be devoted to the outcome of the International Year of Volunteers and its follow-up under the agenda item entitled “Social development, including questions relating to the world social situation and to youth, ageing, disabled persons and the family”; 10. Requests the Secretary-General, in his report to the General Assembly at its fifty-seventh session on the outcome of the International Year of Volunteers and its follow up, to include proposals for an integrated and coordinated follow-up, to be pursued in the relevant parts of the United Nations system, as well as on crosscutting issues, building on his report to the Assembly at the present session and taking into account the present resolution, the discussions held during the present session and other relevant contributions. 76th plenary meeting 5 December 2001 Annex Recommendations on ways in which Governments and the United Nations system could support volunteering I. General considerations 1. In these recommendations, the terms volunteering, volunteerism and voluntary activities refer to a wide range of activities, including traditional forms of mutual aid and self-help, formal service delivery and other forms of civic participation, undertaken of free will, for the general public good and where monetary reward is not the principal motivating factor. 2. Actions by Governments and the United Nations system are mutually reinforcing but are treated separately below for the sake of clarity. 3. There is not one universal model of best practice, since what works well in one country may not work in another with very different cultures and traditions. 4. Support for voluntary activities does not imply support for government downsizing or for replacing paid employment. 5. It is not just targeted measures that have an impact on volunteering; general social and economic policy measures can also influence citizens’ opportunities and willingness to volunteer. 6. Neglecting to factor volunteering into the design and implementation of policies could entail the risk of overlooking a valuable asset and undermine traditions of cooperation that bind communities together. 7. It is important to ensure that opportunities for volunteering in all sectors are open both to women and men, given their different levels of participation in different areas, and recognizing the potential positive effect of volunteering on the empowerment of women. II. Government support 1. It is recommended that Governments further support voluntary activities by creating a favourable environment, including through the following policies and measures, and taking into account the local cultural context. 3