Yaren, Nauru: On 9 September 2010, the United Nations Joint Presence Office in Nauru was officially opened by the President of Nauru, His Excellency Mr. Marcus Stephen. This is the latest such initiative of the United Nations in efforts to have greater presence in the Pacific countries. International UNV volunteer Rainer Kleffel is a specialist in UN Coordination and Aid Management who is supporting UN agencies in its efforts to establish a stronger presence in Nauru. Read

Antananarivo, Madagascar: The April mission to Madagascar by Dr. Jane Leland (U.S.A.) and Mr. Walter Waibel (Switzerland) of Kraft Foods, under the UNV corporate/private sector scheme, was to go to this beautiful tropical country for two weeks to improve the quality of chocolate production and develop new chocolate products for the local JB Company.  Read

Port au Prince, Haiti: The Community Violence Section of the United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti has been crisscrossing the country's cholera affected areas to fill the lack of water purification equipment. Each team is composed of local staff and UNV volunteers who distribute water filters and purification tablets to head teachers, managers of orphanages, churches and other community centres where many people gather. Read

La Paz, Bolivia: Every 10th December the International Day of Human Rights is celebrated around the world. This year the slogan "Speak up! Stop discrimination" pays tribute to the defenders of human rights around the world, and especially to those who devote their lives to fighting all forms of discrimination. Read

Bonn, Germany: Today the United Nations Volunteers (UNV) programme celebrates its 40th Birthday.  This birthday coincides with the many and vigorous celebrations on International Volunteer Day (IVD) around the world and the great success of UNV's online Film Festival and global discussion about volunteering for the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).  As UNV gets older, the organization and volunteerism in general continue to play an integral part in promoting peace and development worldwide. Read

San Carlos, Colombia: UNV Executive Coordinator Flavia Pansieri was in San Carlos last Sunday 5 December, visiting the community UNV volunteers’ “Animarte” project and participating in their celebrations to mark International Volunteer Day. Volunteering was promoted as an important instrument to help reduce poverty. "Volunteer action is essential for communities to get closer to the target of achieving the MDGs”, said Flavia Pansieri. Read

Bonn, Germany: Close to 12,000 people contributed to the success of an online film festival to celebrate International Volunteer Day over the weekend. The festival, hosted on the United Nations Volunteers Facebook page, started on Saturday (4 December) with a story about volunteer civic educators working to empower women in Fiji. On the ground in that Pacific Island country, scores of people counted down the final minute before the 24-hour film festival began. Read

Bonn, Germany: This year, International Volunteer Day (IVD) comes at a vibrant time. 'Share the Story' is the theme of UNV's IVD campaign. UNV is using social media to engage in a global online conversation focused on how volunteering contributes to meeting the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).

People the world over joined UNV on Facebook yesterday (4 December) for a 24-hour online film festival to celebrate the worldwide impact of volunteerism. The festival showed volunteers in action, featured volunteer stories and hosted discussions on how volunteerism contributes to ending poverty. Read

Bonn, Germany: Today, on the International Volunteer Day for Economic and Social Development (IVD), international volunteer-based organizations around the world launch a year-long campaign aimed at better understanding, promoting and supporting volunteerism. Read

Bonn, Germany: The United Nations Volunteers (UNV) programme today announced the winners of the "Online Volunteering Award 2010", honouring the 'outstanding' contributions of volunteers who work entirely over the Internet to contribute to peace and development and the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). Read