Organizers of the 2010 Guangzhou Asian Games started volunteer recruitment at 9:00 p.m. on April 21. People currently working and living in Guangzhou, residents of other provinces and autonomous regions (including Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan), overseas Chinese, and foreigners are all qualified to apply. They can submit their applications through the website of the Guangzhou Asian Games Organizing Committee (GAGOC).

Organizers of the 2010 Guangzhou Asian Games started volunteer recruitment at 9:00 p.m. on April 21.

Sheikh Ahmad Al-Fahad Al-Sabah, president of the Olympic Council of Asia, said in a video message that he hoped many people from Asian countries and all over the world who are sports enthusiasts and who cherish international friendship will participate in the Games and serve as volunteers.

"Volunteers are the foundation and the guarantee of successful Games," said Zhu Xiaodan, secretary of the Guangzhou Municipal Committee of the Communist Party of China, at the launching ceremony held in the Sun Yat-sen University Gymnasium Tuesday evening. He also called upon Guangzhou residents and young people in particular to take part in a series of promotional events in the coming months.

The slogan of the volunteers – "Together we can make it better!" – was also unveiled at the ceremony. It had won out over more than 23,000 other suggestions collected by the organizers in the past month.

Guangzhou Asian Games will recruit 60,000 Games-time volunteers including 40,000 general volunteers and 20,000 with professional skills. Another 30,000 will be recruited as volunteers for the Asian Games for the Disabled. A total of 500,000 will serve as city volunteers during the two Games.

Guangzhou 2010 Asian Games will run from November 12-27, 2010. More information is available on the Asian Games website at www.gz2010.cn/en.

The slogan of the volunteers - "Together we can make it better!" - was also unveiled at the ceremony.

(China.org.cn by Huang Shan)