Bonn, Germany: UN Volunteers HQ staff welcomed to Bonn on 1 February, Mr. Ad Melkert, Associate Administrator of United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). UNV is administered by UNDP and falls within the Associate Administrator’s portfolio of responsibilities. In the spirit of UN reform Melkert stressed the importance of the continued close working relationship between UNDP and UN Volunteers Programme. Read

Kiev, Ukraine: HIV/AIDS is a growing problem in Ukraine. It’s estimated that 1.4% of the adult population is HIV positive. The Czech Republic has supported the deployment of Czech nationals as UNV volunteers over the last three years to help fight the epidemic in Ukraine. Read

Bonn, Germany: Preserving the earth’s resources is the duty of all, including the United Nations. As of 1 January, all 13 UN organizations residing in Bonn, including UNV, are drawing their electricity from renewable energy sources. Read

Bonn, Germany: In 2006, over 7,500 UNV volunteers supported communities, non-governmental and civil society organizations as well as governments all over the world to foster sustainable development. In more than 140 countries, UNV volunteers, the majority of whom hail from developing countries themselves, worked in key areas such as poverty reduction, crisis recovery, elections support, governance and HIV/AIDS. Read

Banda Aceh, Indonesia: In partnership with the United Nations Volunteers (UNV) programme, Acehnese musicians Mahrisal Rubi and Edy Erwinsyah released a song commemorating the second anniversary of the tsunami that hit several countries of South East Asia on 26 December 2004. Read

Damascus, Syria: What is that one month takes you to the borders of a war zone and an impromptu refugee camp and the next month has you attending a gender mainstreaming workshop and visiting a national biodiversity project? These are common experiences for UN Volunteer Associates serving as Human Development Advocates out of the offices of the UNDP in Syria. Read

Pristina, Serbia: UN Volunteers participation in UNMIK dates back to the beginning of the mission in June 1999 when some 200 UN Volunteers supported the mission in humanitarian work, organizing food deliveries, providing medical care and setting up temporary shelter for thousands of refugees returning to Kosovo. Read

Port of Spain: Mr. Ad Melkert, UN Under-Secretary-General and Associate Administrator of the UN Development Programme (UNDP), today awards UNDP Excellence Awards to outstanding UNV volunteers in Trinidad and Tobago for their commitment as ambassadors of volunteerism for development. Read

Banda Aceh, Indonesia: Norimasa Tochibayashi arrived in Indonesia on February 23, 2005. He had no job, no idea where he was heading and how he could help, and no contact numbers of people who would be willing to support him. He was only certain of one thing: he wanted to help those who most needed it after the December 26 tsunami. Read

Cairo, Egypt: The 8 boats participating in a ‘Sailing the Nile’ campaign reached their final destination in Cairo last Thursday. The fleet had sailed down the Nile with stops in eight Egyptian towns to promote the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and MDG projects involving volunteerism. Read