During the V Awards 2012 ceremony in Sri Lanka, UNV Executive Coordinator, Flavia Pansiera, presented Dr. Sinniah Thevananthan, founder of the Osilmo Special Education and Research Center for Autistic Children the award for 'Volunteer of the Year'. The V Awards were organized by the IYV+10 National Steering Committee in collaboration with a major broadcaster to recognize the island's most inspirational volunteers. Visit site

One year after the Long Life Heart Clinic opened in Mzuzu Central Hospital in Mzuzu, Malawi, UNV Doctor Romain Mbiya, from DRC, has treated about 220 peoplewith heart problems. Read

UN-HABITAT hosted the first Steering Committee meeting for the African Conference on Volunteer Action for Peace and Development to be held on 25-27 June 2012 in Nairobi, Kenya. The gathering highlighted the UNV State of the World’s Volunteering Report and UN Resolution recommendations, and drew representatives of government, UNV and other UN agencies, and non-profit organizations all interested in promoting volunteering as central to community-centered sustainable development. Read

In February, Haiti will open its fourth "Smile Clinic" on reproductive health to help reduce maternal mortality. The accessible free cliinics are supported by UNV and delivered by UN Volunteers in remote areas. Visit site

For UN Volunteer Guy Taylor, in Beijing, among the most fulfilling areas of his assignment with UNAIDS China are working with people living with HIV and supporting them to set up and run NGOs and networks. Visit site

As the United Nations International Year of the Volunteer draws to a close, Volunteer Toronto has launched a new smartphone application to help tell the stories of those who donate their time to worthy causes. A total of 29 volunteers and those who have benefited from their work are sharing their experiences through digital storytelling. Visit site

In her blog for Youth Service America, Sylvia Blitzer Golembek Ph.D. reports on attending UNV's IVY+10 events at UN Headquarters in New York where she met the UN Volunteers who spoke before the UN General Assembly.  She writes: "I left the UN feeling privileged...after days like this spent with people who have chosen to live as citizens of the world and to dedicate themselves to achieving a good life for all." Visit site

Brian Concannon, a former UN Volunteer who worked on human rights in Haiti, is the founder and director of the Institute for Justice and Democracy in Haiti (IJDH). The IJDH and the Bureau des Avocats Internationaux have filed a lawsuit on the behalf of the victims and relatives of Haiti's ongoing cholera epidemic against the United Nations (UN) and its Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH)  for negligent behavior that led to the outbreak. Visit site

VSO blogger David Clamp offers his take on IYV+10 event and UNV's launch of the State of the World's Volunteerism Report at the UN General Assembly in New York on IVD 2011. Visit site