Monrovia, Liberia: The President of Liberia has praised the UNV-supported National Youth Volunteer Service (NYVS) programme at a ceremony in Monrovia, and pledged to further support the scheme. Read

Kathmandu, Nepal: To mark the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty, UNV and the children of Prayas staged a play on some of the causes of poverty and how we can work towards eradicating it. Read

Bonn, Germany: There is a general acceptance that there can be no lasting peace without development, as the UN General Assembly declared in 2004. Thus the International Day of Peace on 21 September is a chance to contemplate this year's theme, 'Peacekeeping and Human Rights', and the role that development and volunteerism play in both. Read

United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon will report to the United Nations General Assembly in October 2008 on progress since the International Year of Volunteers (IYV, 2001). The Secretary-General's new report, now available for download, provides recommendations for further actions by governments, the UN system and other stakeholders. Read

Damascus, Syria: UNV volunteers have appeared on a weekly talk show in Syria, 'People to People', to speak about volunteerism and their work with UNV. Read

Nairobi, Kenya: Neighbourhood volunteers supported by UNV and the UN's Peacebuilding Fund are fostering coexistence after the ethnic violence that gripped Kenya earlier this year. Sixth months on from the peace agreement, a 'Peace Day' was held to recognize their achievements. Read

Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan and Perth, Australia: Volunteers engaged via the UNV Online Volunteering service have been helping to design youth policy for the Government of Kyrgyzstan. Read

Beijing, China: Senior UN and Beijing officials have encouraged the continuation of volunteerism for development beyond the 2008 Olympic Games. Read

Nairobia, Kenya: Policies are being made to streamline measures on respective Environmental Acts of African governments that will eventually form the backbone of the continent's economic activities. This has been done through the support of UNEP and I have been fortunate to be part of this campaign. Read

Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai and Kolkata: A newly-launched volunteer teacher campaign supported by UNV in India has received 55,000 applications in its first month – enough to keep activities going up to the spring of 2009. Read