The director of Development Planning and Coordination at the Ministry of Economic Planning and Industrial Development, Mr. Momodou K Cham, has said volunteerism has contributed significantly in increasing access to basic education, health care, safe drinking water and other development priorities. He made this statement yesterday while launching the National Volunteer Service Centre (NVSC) project at a programme held at the Paradise Suites Hotel, Kololi. Visit site

Through local and UNV volunteers in Asia and the Pacific, the initiative Partners for Prevention is engaging boys and men in community projects around the region to prevent gender-based violence. The overall aim of the programme is to stop violence against women and to promote gender equality. Visit site

UNV in Chad has developed a project for the rehabilitation of Iriba High School, the only one in the department of Kobé. It was built in 1996 as a donation from the Département des Hauts de Seine in France and has since then never been renovated. Visit site

Volunteerism empowers people to take charge of their destinies and to help their countries move forward. Here we encounter stories from Liberia and Sierra Leone each illustrating the relationships between volunteerism, peace and development. Visit site

The event brought together representatives from Sarajevo area volunteer involving and civil society organizations, educational institutions, FBiH Ministry of Justice (Civil Society Sector), OSCE, UNDP and UNV. It provided an invaluable opportunity to share ideas and experiences, and identify concrete measures with which to foster and support volunteerism and civic engagement in BiH. Visit site

The President of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Commission, Ambassador James Victor Gbeho, has disclosed that the African Development Bank (ADB) has increased its contribution for ECOWAS youth volunteers from USD$758,000 to USD$2,888,000. UNV will assist the ECOWAS youth and sports center. Already, UNV has given US$300,000 for the conduct of the program. Visit site

Some 1,000 youths from across West Africa have marched through the streets of the Liberian capital, Monrovia, to launch a new regional volunteer scheme.

The scheme would see youths spend time helping out in areas such as agriculture, health or education in a different country to their own.

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The past two years in particular have brought volunteerism to mainstream attention. Humanitarian disasters in the region have been an impetus. The 2006 Israeli war against Lebanon and the 2003 invasion of Iraq led to a flood of refugees into Syria.

Signe Ejerskov, the former head of the United Nations Volunteer (UNV) programme in Syria, which recruited 70 young Syrians to work with the UN’s refugee agency, said it had a big effect.

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'Volunteering for our Planet' recognized and promoted voluntary effort for the environment. Volunteers around the world registered more than 1.5 million hours of environmental activities during our campaign, covering the six months from World Environment Day on 5 June to International Volunteer Day, 5 December 2009. Visit site

International Volunteer Day takes place on December 5th each year and is celebrated in a majority of countries throughout the world.  Its main goal is not only to thank volunteers for their efforts, but to encourage everyone to get involved and make a difference in their own communities. Visit site

UNV organized and hosted a roundtable discussion with local Volunteer-Involving Organizations (VIOs) at UN House. The topic of discussion was volunteerism in Armenia and the establishment of a network of VIOs to improve inter-agency coordination and avoid duplication of efforts. Visit site

Delegates at the just ended sub-regional conference on the establishment of a National Youth Volunteer Schemes in the Mano River Union (MRU) have recommended the establishment of an effective sensitization program to inculcate a sense of patriotism among youth in the sub-region for effective engagement in the development process. Visit site

Speakers at a day-long workshop in the city Tuesday underscored the need for formulating a national policy integrating all ministries with Youth and Sports as lead ministry for the recognition of volunteers working in different fields in the country, reports BSS. Visit site

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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In commemoration of International Volunteer Day, UNV and its partners organized a roundtable session on 'Volunteerism for Development and Integration' at the Tirana International Hotel. Visit site

International Volunteer Day (IVD) is a chance for volunteer-involving organizations and individual volunteers to promote their contributions to development at local, national and international levels. By merging UN support with a grassroots mandate, IVD is a unique opportunity for volunteer-involving organizations to work with government agencies, non-profit organizations, community groups and the private sector. Visit site

Communities should harness the energy and initiative of the thousands of volunteers who contribute to projects around the world, including critical United Nations activities, senior UN officials said today as they marked the day dedicated to those who give their time and efforts for free to help others. Visit site

From treating AIDS patients to rebuilding confidence for war-scarred villagers to dealing with cattle rustlers, more than 7,500 UNV volunteers fan out around the globe every year, giving their time, hearts and sweat to helping some of world’s most deprived and traumatized people. Visit site

Communities should harness the energy and initiative of the thousands of volunteers who contribute to projects around the world, including critical United Nations activities, senior UN officials said here Friday as they marked the day dedicated to those who give their time and efforts for free to help others. Visit site

AARP (formerly the American Association of Retired People) believes that we cannot overstate the value of the United Nations support and promotion of volunteering among government agencies, non-profit organizations, community groups, and the private sector. Today, societies worldwide are successfully engaging volunteers in a spirit of solidarity for the effort to achieve the United Nations Millennium Development Goals by 2015. Visit site