The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Millennium Development Goals (MDG) Advisor, Madam Akua Dua, explained that since the populace easily identified with lyrics in music, it would be necessary that celebrities, especially musicians, compose songs that are aimed toward the sensitization of society on what role each person has to play to ensure that Ghana achieves the eight-point anti-poverty MDGs by the 2015 target deadline. Visit site

Cuenco received a 2010 online volunteering award from the United Nations Volunteers program in recognition of his graphic design work on behalf of the Association Against Women Export (AAWE) in Nigeria.
AAWE raised $20,000 by selling t-shirts, mugs and calendars designed by Cuenco. Visit site

Volunteer Involving Organisations Network (VIONET), a consortium of volunteer serving agencies in Sierra Leone, has celebrated this year’s International Volunteers Day with a call for a “policy that will integrate volunteerism into the country’s institutional framework with the view to reduce poverty, offer opportunity to young people to share skills and help build communities”. Visit site

Employees of several regional and international organizations turned up at the United Nations Park in Suva on Saturday to commemorate International Volunteer Day. Visit site

UNV volunteers peace monitors in Kenya help prevent crisis besides promoting peace and development. Visit site

On 1 November, Mrs. Ban Soon-Taek, the United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon’s wife, visited the Hong Dan Dan Education and Cultural Exchange Center. The center is dedicated to edu-culture training for disabilities and was selected as one of the “Volunteerism for Development” model projects. Mrs. Ban highlighted the impressive work and importance of volunteerism. Visit site

The Peace Corps pamphlets had just arrived, but the then-Miss Shaw had just met the man she knew she would marry. She put the paperwork away in a bottom drawer and happily became Tiffany Shaw-Diaz.  But her dream persisted, and one day while surfing the web, she found the UNV Online Volunteering service. She signed up for an assignment that very day. Visit site

The United Nations Volunteers (UNV) programme participates in a panel discussion about volunteering on Chinese TV. Oliver Wittershagen, Development Portfolio Manager for South East Asia, talks about the need to train volunteers for lasting and sustainable volunteering that supports the development of an organization or a country. He explains that UNV tries to harness the experience of volunteers so that they continue to contribute to development beyond single events such as the Beijing Olympics or the Guangzhou Asian Games. “Volunteering is something that can influence your personal life in a positive way, and that can have a positive impact on the development of your community, your region or your country,” he concludes. Visit site

In its edition of July/August 2010, UNSpecial features a volunteer experience in Cusco (Peru) and lists criteria to meet for serving as a UNV volunteer, at home or abroad, as a commitment to the United Nations and to the UN’s contribution to peace, development and human rights in support of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). Visit site

UNDP Deputy Resident Representative in Armenia, Mr. Dirk Boberg, presented the findings of the survey “Measuring socio-economic value of volunteerism in Armenia”. This survey, undertaken in collaboration with Yerevan State University, has been conducted, supervised and published by the United Nations Volunteers (UNV) programme in Armenia thanks to the support of the Volunteers Involving Organizations’ network, the Youth Centers in the regions (Ministry of Sport and Youth Affairs), and a number of volunteers. Visit site