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The 2008 Olympics Volunteering Begins

Volunteers are the lifeblood of any    modern Olympic event. The Beijing Organizing Committee for the Games of the XXIX Olympiad began recruiting tens of thousands of volunteers in Beijing on August 28. At least 70,000 volunteers will be needed for the Olympic Games and about 30,000 for the Paralympic Games, which follow and which will use Olympic venues for the first time. The majority of the volunteers, who must have been born prior to July 1, 1990 to qualify, will be recruited from among Beijing’s institutions of higher learning, including 79 universities and colleges. Teachers and students should apply through their university recruitment offices.

Volunteers from China, but outside Beijing, may begin applying in December 2006 through their local Communist Youth League offices. Volunteers from Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macao, overseas Chinese, students studying abroad and foreigners can begin applying in March 2007.

People may apply in several ways, including online registration at http://en.beijing2008.com/33/80/article212038033.shtml, through their local Communist Youth League sub-district offices or through their educational institution’s recruitment offices. Applications will be accepted based upon actual needs, the volunteers’ qualifications and given situations.