(ATR) Chinese language skills will be a must for the 70,000 volunteers being sought for the 2008 Olympics. A glittery ceremony in Beijing Monday marked the launch of recruitment.
University-aged students will be the main target of the recruitment drive. Minimum age for volunteers must be 18 at the time of the Games. Prospective applicants must be born prior to July 1, 1990.
Applicants whose first language is not Chinese "should be able to engage in conversation in Chinese", says the BOCOG list of requirements.
The volunteer program was announced in a 45-minute ceremony at the BOCOG office tower in northwest Beijing.
IOC President Jacques Rogge spoke by video, saying "the Games would not be possible" without volunteers, ending his brief remarks with "welcome to Beijing" in Chinese that won approval from the crowd.
A choreographed climax brought a couple of dozen energetic young dancers and singers to the stage to sing "Let's Smile", which has all the makings of an anthem for the volunteer program.
"This is a milestone in preparation for the 2008 Olympic Games," BOCOG Vice President Li Binghua, one of the program's leaders, said at the press conference.
"We estimate that hundreds of thousands of volunteers will serve the city during the games," said Liu Jian, director of BOCOG volunteer services.
"They can volunteer in fields like transportation, environment, security, commerce and tourism," Liu said.
The volunteer application period runs from now until March 2008. Notices to the first wave of applicants will be sent in August 2007.
Volunteer recruitment in the satellite soccer venue cities, Qingdao for sailing and Hong Kong for equestrian, will be conducted by local organizing committees.
BOCOG has published a manual and application procedure for prospective volunteers, along with the first in a series of magazines called "Volunteer".
Beijing residents will also be able to apply to work as games volunteers through the city branches of the Youth League of China's ruling Communist Party, or through the organizing committee.
The city is not concerned about the "common problem" of Olympic volunteers who failed to turn up for work during previous games, said Wang Minghao, another of the volunteer organizers.
Wang said the four-phase training of volunteers will promote self-discipline and responsibility. "We are confident that they will cherish this rare opportunity," he said.
China's "huge human resources" mean that BOCOG expects to have plenty of applicants to choose from, said Liu, who is also secretary of the Beijing Youth League.
Volunteer organizers are already "touched by the enthusiasm of the people," he said. "I am certain that we won't have any problem in finding enough people with the right skills."
Despite the emphasis on recruitment through universities and youth groups, the organizers hope to attract older people with useful experience, Liu said. "Only passion is not enough to offer a good volunteer service, experience is also important," he explained.
Among its separate "urban volunteers", Beijing plans to recruit about 10,000 people to assist the estimated 20,000 police who will patrol the city during the games, organizers said earlier this month.
BOCOG handed out dozens of specially ordered Big Macs from McDonald's after the lunchtime press conference.
With reporting from Bill Smith in Beijing,
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