Voluntary citizen participation is an essential part of civil society, which in turn is a key contributor to sustainable development, human rights, good governance and social justice. 2011, the tenth anniversary of the International Year of Volunteers (IYV+10), saw an upsurge of such action in different forms in many countries around the world.

Looking back on 2011, CIVICUS: World Alliance for Citizen Participation and the United Nations Volunteers (UNV) programme have combined to analyze contemporary trends in voluntary action and make recommendations for policy-makers, civil society, and volunteer involving organizations, in our new publication, Broadening Civic Space through Voluntary Action. Read

Taro Island, Choiseul Province, Solomon Islands: This year, the Honourable Jackson Kiloe, Premier of Choiseul Province in the Solomon Islands, launched Internet services and a public telephone on Taro Island on 5 December, International Volunteer Day. With these communication facilities, the remote Taro Airport Terminal became the first and only airport in the Solomon Islands to provide Internet, public telephone and top-up services. Read