The government should formulate guidelines to promote volunteerism, which is the best tool to achieve sustainable development, speakers at a national workshop on volunteerism said yesterday. Read

The United Nations will help monitor Viet Nam's population and housing census to be carried out from April 1-15. Thirty staff from the UN's women's, children's and population funds, plus UNV volunteers, will join monitoring activities in 21 province and cities during the census. This was the first time the UN had helped monitor a Viet Nam census. Visit site

The implementation of the 'Youth Social Inclusion for Civic Engagement' project has started at the regional level in Ukraine. The project was launched in September 2008 with the overall objective of supporting youth social inclusion and civic engagement.

The project will develop key social competencies, which are needed for proactive youth involvement in society and decision-making processes, thus providing support to further enhancement of the Government's youth policy in Ukraine.

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Speakers at a workshop yesterday said media can play an important role in promoting volunteerism in the country as a long-term strategy to achieve the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).

The United Nations Volunteers in association with the National Press Club organised the workshop on 'Advocating for the recognition of volunteers as a tool of increasing local participation towards achieving MDGs: Role of the media'.

Speaking as the chief guest, Information Minister Abul Kalam Azad said, “It is possible to turn Bangladesh into a middle-income country by 2021 if we join hands irrespective of idealism and beliefs for its development.”

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A project to promote volunteer activities in Vietnam was signed on 18 February between the Ho Chi Minh Communist Youth Union Central Committee and UNV. Visit site

Article written by Mr. Kazuhiko Shimizu, UNV volunteer serving as an External Relations Officer at the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in Southern Sudan. His assignment is part of the 'Pilot Program for Human Resource Development for Peacebuilding', which is commissioned by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan and implemented by the Hiroshima Peacebuilders Center (HPC). Visit site

Every year, hundreds of people from UNV are assigned to work for the UN refugee agency. Anicet Adjahossou is a typical example. He worked in the construction sector in West Africa for several years before deciding to try something completely different. Last year, the 32-year-old from Benin joined UNV and was sent to work for UNHCR in Burundi, where 10 UNV volunteers work for the agency. Visit site

It is volunteers like Kiran Devi who can make disaster management more effective. In Bihar’s Supaul district alone, there are 150 such volunteers who had put their lives on the line to save others. Visit site

A UNV volunteer Disaster Risk Reduction Specialist has called for the building of cyclone shelters in southern Myanmar ahead of the next monsoon. Visit site

A country's youth is one of its biggest assets for peace and development. Engaging youth through volunteerism is an excellent way to tap into that potential, benefiting both society at large and the young people themselves.

Building capacity for youth volunteerism is one of the key priorities of the United Nations Volunteers (UNV) programme, and we hope to show what a powerful force volunteerism can be to engage youth and to address youth issues.

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