by Jayne Cravens

06 December 2003

Bonn, Germany: Imagine an organization serving street children in Latin America that involves dozens of volunteers from all over the world – but never meets the volunteers in-person. These volunteers engage in on-line advocacy campaigns for the organization, produce web pages and translate materials in Spanish and English, all without ever leaving their homes.

Or imagine a Cameroonian living in France and volunteering with nine different organizations within a year. This volunteer researches contact information for potential donors, compiles a list of relevant upcoming conferences and meetings in Africa relating to HIV/AIDS, edits the organization's web site, and makes recommendations to improve its management of volunteers.

These are among the hundreds of examples of people getting involved in development from home, through the UN volunteers' on-line volunteering (OV) service, which has been hosted at NetAid (www.netaid.org/ov) since February 1999. NetAid, a non-profit organization addressing poverty, is based in New York and was founded by Cisco Systems and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).

Other on-line volunteers have created and managed an on-line discussion group for Nigerian development practitioners, translated human rights papers, developed a bilingual children's dictionary with pictures and terms in English and the local language in Ghana, and gathered musical contributions for a benefit music CD. They have also offered expert advice on open source and Linux technologies – free software and programming tools available for broad use globally – to on-site UN Volunteers serving in developing countries.

The On-line volunteering service brings together people and organizations from all over the world to engage in activities to improve the lives of people in developing countries. More than 11,000 people have signed up to volunteer on-line through this service, with more than 300 organizations posting assignments to date.

This free service is for non-profit organizations (NPOs), non-governmental organizations (NGOs), academic-based programmes and UN agencies with communities in developing countries, or, "The South." The service allows these organizations to involve on-line volunteers with various areas of expertise, and from many different backgrounds and countries.

On-line volunteers carry out a wide range of activities: researching topics, advising on projects, drafting proposals, building web sites or databases, translating documents, creating curricula, assisting in on-line promotions and advocacy, mentoring young people, developing newsletters and writing children's stories.

Yasemin Gunay of Turkey, for example, helped research information that led to the Mgbala Agwa Youth Forum in Nigeria being able to expand its library on HIV/AIDS by more than 1,150 publications. The library that was originally built to serve a local community is now gaining more regional importance because of its scope and diversity of resources.

“Being an on-line volunteer has made me feel really special because I feel that my efforts were helping many people whom I have never even met" said Ms. Gunay. "I have also learned that one can achieve anything if he or she truly believes in it."

Kelly (Xiaodong) Zeng of China, now residing in the United States, volunteered on-line with the Business Information Centre Straldja, an NGO to support unemployed Bulgarian artisans. Using her skills garnered at business school, Ms. Zeng engaged in on-line activities to better market the organization's web site, which sells Bulgarian crafts. In particular, she designed an email campaign targeting on-line craft discussion groups. A week later, members of two of these on-line discussion groups had donated $7,000–enough to fully fund the women’s weaving and sewing cooperative project of the organization. The project will provide income-generation opportunities to 64 Bulgarian women.

“I have a few words to those people who consider On-line volunteering," says Ms. Zeng. “Search your soul and find out why you want to apply for that assignment. Think very hard about how your skill set will contribute to the organization, but equally important, what skills you will be able to develop. Be flexible and open-minded.” She said that even if some assignments may sometimes sound mundane, they are the “building pieces of big plans. Once we put everything together, you will see how much we can accomplish as a team.”

Azhar Qureshi of Eco-Conservation Initiatives (ECI), an initiative based in Pakistan, noted that the volunteers “are always ready and responsive – they have the real spirit and dedication it takes to support others... It's very exciting to make friends and create partnerships with people who live all over the world."

On-line volunteering has an enormous potential to maximize the engagement of on-site volunteers and NGOs in direct action to support HIV/AIDS initiatives. For example, a Tanzanian NGO focusing its action on youth, Tanzania Media and Youth Development Assoc (TAMEYODA), used UNV's on-line volunteering service at NetAid to recruit more than 60 on-line volunteers to help the NGO with one of its HIV/AIDS prevention projects. These on-line volunteers, many with HIV/AIDS prevention advocacy experience, advised the NGO on how to conduct youth seminars and debates, researched and provided international institutional contacts, edited booklets on HIV/AIDS, and provided links to on-line information from other organizations that could benefit the organization and those it serves.

"Through this (on-line volunteering) programme, I think the UN will achieve the goals to empower people, especially those who live in extreme poverty around the world,” said Kaanaeli Kaale of TAMEYODA.

According to current user statistics, 40 percent of organizations recruiting on-line volunteers via UNV's on-line volunteering service are from the South.

"The Internet is permeating countries outside 'The North' and 'The West' more and more, and people in developing countries are just as committed to applying their skills and experience to help others and anyone else," said Ad de Raad, Deputy Executive Coordinator of the United Nations Volunteers (UNV) programme.

"On-line volunteering is a powerful way of making use of ICT (information communications technology) to engage people in direct action, to unleash new resources, to get connected, and to foster a new global constituency for development," he added. "On-line volunteering is providing very real tools and resources, and it's making a real impact for people in the developing world."

Each year, UN Volunteers and NetAid solicit nominations for the On-line Volunteer of the Year Awards. In 2003, one of the 10 was Stanley Tuvako of Kenya, who has volunteered on-line for Kenya AIDS Intervention/Prevention Project Group, based in both Kenya and the United States. He has developed ideas and proposals for new projects, such as one for activities to empower HIV/AIDS widows in a region of western Kenya. When looking for an OV assignment, he deliberately chose an organization in his own country, and he has been happy to interact with so many people all over the world on behalf of a cause dear to him.

“I have learned to be a friend," said Mr. Tuvako, "and have felt like those I have worked with have appreciated my friendship. I have made friends with the world, while the world has made friends with me."

Andrea Goetzke has managed the on-line volunteering service for UNV for almost its entire three years at NetAid. "What’s fascinating to me is the real impact that on-line volunteers are making in organizations around the world," said Ms. Goetzke. "Some people bring so much creativity and energy into projects, all through the Internet. From emails I am receiving from both host organizations and on-line volunteers, I can see the power of connecting people who share the same interest and passion for an issue.”

How people become on-line volunteers
Thousands of people with diverse interests and skills search the database of opportunities every week, based on the location of the beneficiaries of the organization, on the type of volunteering service needed, and various other criteria. A potential volunteer completes an on-line application for each assignment, and can upload a CV for consideration as well. When a candidate signs up for an assignment, the hosting organization immediately receives an email notification, pointing to the potential volunteer's application. The organization then reviews the information and decides to accept, reject, or ask more information of the candidate. The selection of the volunteers is done by the organizations themselves.