Collaboration between UNV and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) dates back to the early 1990s and has been expanding progressively over the past years as humanitarian crises continue to unfold.  In 2000, 362 UNV volunteers were deployed in 46 UNHCR operations.  By 2006, this figure had doubled, with almost 796 UNV volunteers deployed in 74 countries.  So far in 2007, over 600 UNV volunteers have been deployed in 69 countries, half of these serving in their own countries.  Read

UNV volunteers are considered core staff of UNHCR's confidence building measures. Within this framework, UNV volunteers undertake an array of tasks --  from ensuring smooth phone calls in Tindouf to selecting beneficiaries of family visits to provide 24-hour support to the families during the visits. Read

This book, jointly published by the UN Volunteers programme and UN Development Programme in Brazil, contains 50 practical and successful projects on the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). It aims to encourage people to get involved in development and volunteering, establish new development projects and help civil society organizations with their work towards achieving the MDGs. (Read the original article in Portuguese here) Read

This ‘How-To Guide’ was prepared by a National United Nations Volunteers (NUNV) volunteer who was appointed as Coordinator of Conference Volunteers for the 29th IAVE World Volunteer Conference held in New Delhi from 9 to 14 November 2006.  Its intention is to provide guidance for future volunteer coordinators bearing in mind that suggestions made are case specific and may need to be modified in light of the requirements of a particular assignment/conference.  Visit site

Volunteerism contributes to sustainable capacities because it taps into and builds up the indigenous stock of knowledge, social entrepreneurship and solidarity that exists within a country, writes UNV Executive Coordinator Ad de Raad. Read