In giving an account of important developments and progress during 1982, this Report brings into focus the increased needs for middle-level operational expertise of the type which the United Nations Volunteers programme provides. It also summarizes some of the new special activities in which the programme was involved during the past year, in particular those related to emergency assistance and aid to refugees, and others in the context of the International Drinking Water Supply and Sanitation Decade. The report also discusses new developments in the field of youth and domestic development services and preparations for the International Youth Year. The increasingly precarious position of the Special Voluntary Fund is re-emphasized and the Council is asked to take a decision on the question of support cost reimbursement.