We seek to integrate the concept of volunteerism into development planning, which is really about mobilizing the single-most capable resource any country has - its own people. The point is that, to achieve the UN's ambitious Millennium Development Goals by 2015, everyone has a part to play. Visit site

One of the most tangible aspects of the Beijing Olympic Games for visitors and athletes alike will be the contact with the numerous unpaid volunteers. They will be on hand to ensure everything runs smoothly in Beijing and other Olympic venue cities. Visit site

The Civicus 2008 World Assembly took place from 18-21 June in Scotland, with contributions and speeches from the UNV delegation. Read

Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung has approved a joint plan on co-operation with 14 United Nations bodies for the 2006-2010 period with a combined non-refundable aid of US $404 million. The targeted agencies include the UN Development Programme (UNDP) and the UN Volunteers (UNV). Visit site

The International Labour Organisation (ILO) National Public Awareness Campaign 12 Days Against Child Labour was organized for the third consecutive year in Kazakhstan. This year United Nations Volunteers (UNV) and UNESCO joined in this honorable quest. Visit site

Around 5,500 volunteers for the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games have received training on HIV/AIDS to help raise awareness of its prevention and how to avoid discrimination, according to the United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS). Visit site

In a video interview with People's Daily Online Tuesday, Liu Hui, a UNV volunteer who has been to the quake zone, and Jia Xijin, an expert in NGOs and associate professor of Tsinghua University - one of China's most prestigious universities - shared their experiences and thoughts around NGO development in China.

"Some 150,000 volunteers work in the quake zone," said Liu. They are essential because government efforts are "efficient and well-organized but clearly short-staffed." Visit site

In a sign of improving relations with the United Nations, the Foreign Ministry is embarking on a campaign to encourage Israelis to volunteer for various UN bodies as part of a UN Volunteers (UNV) recruitment surge. Visit site

About 190 volunteers from the Czech Republic have operated in UN foreign programmes in the past decade, about 20 every year, Michal Broza, head of the UN Information Centre in Prague, told journalists today. Visit site

Responding to a request by the Chinese government for medical support in wake of the massive 12 May earthquake which struck the East Asian's south-west, the UN World Health Organization (WHO) is sending urgently needed supplies and support. Visit site