The delegation is led by NCNP Chief Executive Officer Ahmed bin Ali Al-Suwailem and included Abdullah A. Alshomer, General Manager of Corporate Communications and Spokesperson, and Abdul Majed S. Alnowaibt, International Cooperation. During the two-day visit, the delegation meets with UNV officials to discuss opportunities for strengthening cooperation on volunteerism and sustainable development.

Rather than building AI around technology, we chose to build it around the people who use it every day. We listened to colleagues, identified bottlenecks in their work, and focused on creating practical solutions that solve real challenges. The goal was never AI for AI’s sake. The goal was to help people spend less time on administrative tasks and more time on work that creates value.

Developed by the Republic of Kazakhstan with the support of the Conference on Interaction and Confidence Building Measures in Asia (CICA) Secretariat and in cooperation with UNV, the Review brings together examples of volunteer policies, programmes and initiatives from across CICA Member States. It was prepared in the context of the International Volunteer Year (IVY) 2026.

President Tokayev noted that volunteerism continues to gain momentum across Kazakhstan. More than 1,000 events are being organized nationwide within the framework of IVY 2026, while the number of volunteers in the country has grown to nearly 300,000. 

The Humanitarian Reset starts from a similar premise. It recognizes that today’s humanitarian system must become leaner, more locally led and more accountable in the face of growing needs and shrinking resources. That ambition is welcome. Yet it might remain incomplete if it continues to overlook one of the system’s greatest strengths: the volunteers who make humanitarian action possible every day.

How do young people break the silence?Changing deeply rooted social norms often begins with conversations many people avoid.

Until recently, planning costs across multiple donors, countries, and assignments meant pulling together data from different systems and spending hours on manual calculations. The ICT data team set out to change that. Working closely with colleagues across UNV—including administration, finance and more—the data team developed a comprehensive Cost Planning Tool that brings financial, volunteer and planning data into a single platform. 

On 14 July 2026, UN Volunteers serving with UNICEF came together from across the globe for the first Learning Townhall. The idea was built around a simple question: what do volunteers need to grow, thrive and achieve even greater impact? 

Opening the event, Tapiwa Kamuruko, Chief of the Volunteer Advisory Services Section at the United Nations Volunteers (UNV), reflected on the webinar series and its focus on understanding and measuring volunteerism.

A major outcome of the Forum was the inclusion of volunteerism in the Ministerial Declaration, recognizing volunteers' contributions to supporting communities, strengthening resilience and advancing the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). This recognition is an important milestone for IVY 2026 and shows growing global support for volunteerism as a driver of sustainable development.