Calling on YOU to join our Talent Pool! UNV is lining up skilled professionals to support UN entities – and through them UN Member States – in their COVID-19 vaccination campaigns. This includes key partners such as the UN Development Programme (UNDP), UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR), UN Children's Fund (UNICEF), International Organization for Migration (IOM), World Food Programme (WFP) and World Health Organization (WHO).

UN Women, in partnership with the United Nations Volunteers (UNV) programme, is excited to introduce the UN Women “Young Women Leaders” (YWL) initiative. The YWL initiative will engage a diverse cohort of young women from the Global South who are committed to gender equality and women’s empowerment and to the mission and work of the United Nations. It will also allow the sharing of experiences among young leaders from diverse backgrounds across UN Women and further enhance diversity in UN Women’s personnel.

UN Volunteer Giada Rubina supports a specialized OHCHR unit in Honduras that promotes dialogue and provides technical assistance. She is particularly concerned with strict lockdown measures that have decreased access to legal aid, limited rights awareness and the movement of rights activists.  

COVID-19 has intensified the need to adapt to technology and embrace new ways of working. Volunteering is no different. To scale up its response to the pandemic, UNDP's Crisis Bureau initiated a partnership with UNV earlier this year that allows rapid deployment of subject-area experts remotely.

On this IVD, with the campaign ‘Together We Can through Volunteering’, we showcase volunteers’ contributions and impact during COVID-19 and thank volunteers for their actions and commitment. We are also highlighting that volunteers must be safe and taken care of, both mentally and physically. The United Nations stands-by volunteering as a mechanism to advance people participation and action for the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). And now, while the world is in crisis, the UN expresses the even more essential engagement of volunteers for response and recovery. 

Get involved in our campaign, which bears the tagline Together we can through volunteering. Use the hashtags #Togetherwecan[blueheart] #HeartYourMask[blue heart] and #IVD2020 with your “thank you” message for volunteers on social media. Don't forget to tag @unvolunteers.   INTERNATIONAL VOLUNTEER DAY 2020

As the pandemic continued to spread, UN Volunteers across the world stepped forward. They ensured marginalized and disadvantaged communities, including people with disabilities, indigenous communities, refugees and people on the move are included in COVID-19 response and recovery efforts.

Amidst the pandemic, the world finds itself at a critical turning point. To fulfil the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and to overcome both current crises and future ones, this Decade of Action needs to be just that – one of urgent, inclusive and long-term-oriented action.

The path to a more inclusive UN system has been paved by the engagement of UN volunteers with disabilities in UN entities around the world. Yet, barriers still exist – both within and outside of the UN system. Social stigma via institutional and economic constraints on physical participation and communication, persist.  Barriers have hampered efforts and limited successes yet are also motivation to work tirelessly towards inclusive change.