Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan: “The volunteers were able to build meaningful relationships with elderly members of the nursing home and broaden their own understanding of various elder-related issues. The initiative aims to promote awareness of volunteerism, philanthropy and community service. The very fabric of Kyrgyz society depends on the efforts of individual citizens to voluntarily reach out to those in need and lend a helping hand.” Read

Pristina, Kosovo: Lack of awareness about environmental issues is widespread in Kosovo. Plastic bags and other waste are often indiscriminately thrown away, polluting soil, rivers and underground water. UN Volunteers are helping to draw attention to these problems and encouraging more environmentally-friendly habits among citizens. Read

Bonn, Germany: The United Nations Volunteers (UNV) programme and volunteer involving organizations know that volunteerism contributes to peace and development around the world, but how do we demonstrate this?  A new handbook, Assessing the Contribution of Volunteering to Development is designed to help development practitioners get the evidence they need. Read

Bonn, Germany: The German Foreign Minister, Mr Guido Westerwelle, visited the UN campus in Bonn today.  He was welcomed by the Chair of the Consultative Forum of the Heads of UN Agencies in Germany, Ms Flavia Pansieri, together with the heads of the United Nations agencies in Bonn.  The Minister asserted the commitment of Germany to the UN agencies in Bonn and their work on sustainable development. Read

Bonn, Germany: Price swings represent a major threat to food security in developing countries. Hardest-hit are the poor. According to the World Bank, in 2010-2011 rising food costs pushed nearly 70 million people into extreme poverty. This year’s World Food Day theme “Food prices – from crisis to stability” has been chosen to shed some light on this trend and what can be done to mitigate its impact on the most vulnerable.

The following three examples show how online volunteers contributed to the activities of development organizations working in the area of food and agriculture.

Read

Sometimes, UN Volunteers and UN online volunteers work hand in hand. As a UNV Programme Manager in Togo, Sonia Rigaud (France) called on Elise Gourier, a French translator living Switzerland, to translate material through UNV's Online Volunteering service.  Read

Budapest, Hungary: Participants at the recent Global Volunteering Conference were introduced to The Manual on the Measurement of Volunteer Work published by the International Labour Organization (ILO) in cooperation with the Johns Hopkins University (JHU) Center for Civil Society Studies, supported by the United Nations Volunteers (UNV) programme.

A recent study has conservatively estimated the value of volunteering across just 37 countries as at least $400 billion. However, the lack of comparable data on global volunteering has left it under-valued and its full potential unrealized. The Manual, available now online and in print, provides the first internationally sanctioned guidance for generating reliable, official data on volunteer work using a common definition and approach. Read

The International Day of Peace has been celebrated on 21 September since 1981.  Since 2001, this day has also been "devoted to commemorating and strengthening the ideals of peace both within and among all nations and peoples."

At this time, it is important to recognize the significant role played by UN Volunteers working for the achievement of sustainable peace and stability around the world.  UN Volunteers, including those in Liberia and Haiti, are among the many around the world marking Peace Day today. Read

Budapest, Hungary: On the final day of the recent Global Volunteering Conference in Budapest, volunteer-involving organizations from across the world adopted a Declaration determined to value, recognize and encourage volunteering’s contribution to people, their communities and our planet. The Declaration was a high point and the culmination of months of background work by staff of the United Nations Volunteers (UNV) programme and the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC), the conference co-hosts. Read

Budapest, Hungary: Over 200 international delegates are meeting in Budapest, Hungary, from 15-17 September, to discuss the future of volunteerism at the Global Volunteering Conference, "Volunteering for a Sustainable Future", co-hosted by the United Nations Volunteers (UNV) programme and the International Federation of Red Cross Red Crescent Societies (IFRC). Read