Women volunteers fight natural hazards while enhancing gender equality in Rwanda

Disaster Risk Reduction
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Volunteerism accelerates gender equality. This is demonstrated by more than 300 women community volunteers in Rwanda fighting natural hazards in their villages by alerting their communities of early warning signs using radios and cell phones.

International Women’s Day 2018 revolves around the theme “Time is Now: Rural and urban activists transforming women’s lives”– women going on the streets, women fighting in their communities, women coming together for their rights. This is happening as much in big capitals of the world as in small communities and villages.

Preventing violence against women and girls in Indonesia and Cambodia

Partners for Prevention in Asia and the Pacific
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Violence against women and girls is a global pandemic and gross human rights violation that must be addressed at the root cause in order to stop violence before it occurs. Two national UN Volunteers with the Partners for Prevention Joint Programme in Indonesia and Cambodia engaged local adolescents and their caregivers to transform negative gender norms, prevent violence and sustain these community based initiatives through volunteerism.

In Indonesia, two in five women experience some kind of violence in their lifetime. Growing up watching her childhood friends struggle with domestic violence, Grace, a national UN Volunteer in Papua Province, Indonesia, is highly motivated to contribute to preventing violence against women and girls.

Keynote of Executive Coordinator, Olivier Adam, to the Management Council of Viva Voluntario Programme Special Session in Brazil, March 6th

Olivier Adam, UNV Executive Coordinator
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Olivier Adam, Executive Coordinator, UNV, delivered the keynote speech to the Special Session of the Management Council meeting of the Viva Voluntario Programme in Brazil on March 6th, 2018. The Executive Coordinator spoke about the power of volunteerism and the importance of providing volunteer opportunities for citizens to engage and be part of the solution to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals.

The full speech is below - to be checked upon delivery (note: speech was delivered in Portuguese version)

Mr Daniel Sigelmann, Head of National Volunteers Programme and President of the Management Council of the Viva Voluntario Programme,

Mr Niky Fabiancic, UN Resident Coordinator and UNDP Resident Representative,
 

Mr. President of the  Brazilian Scouts Association,

Mr Didier Trebucq, UNDP Country Director and Deputy Resident Representative,

Members of the Management Council,

Distinguished guests

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Contributing to the achievement of peace, justice and strong institutions in Colombia

Karol Alejandra Arámbula Carrillo
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Peace can only be achieved by working face-to-face with communities and ensuring equal opportunities for them to thrive, no matter where they come from and how long they have been in conflicts. Contributing to opening new paths of dialogue, understanding and reconciliation are also essential, along with the willingness to transform realities for the better. This is something I have reaffirmed as a UN Volunteer in Colombia: people are desperately looking for change. A change that allows them to overcome years of war, and enhance their wellbeing.

Two years ago, the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development shaped a roadmap to promote peaceful and inclusive societies, provide access to justice for all and build effective, accountable and inclusive institutions at all levels, therefore recognizing the intrinsic link between peace and sustainable development.

Mechanisms for citizen engagement and measurement for the implementation of Agenda 2030

International Conference Centre of Geneva, Switzerland
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Why Volunteerism and Agenda 2030?

Mechanisms for citizen engagement and measurement for the implementation of Agenda 2030

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Why Volunteerism and Agenda 2030?

International Volunteer Day 2017 celebrations in Liberia

UNV Field Unit Liberia
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On December 5th 2017, the UNV Field Unit in Liberia, in collaboration with Volunteers Involving Organizations (VIOs), Liberia NGOs, Network, National Volunteer Movements and other partners jointly organized a series of activities and events across the country.

Under this year’s IVD theme “Volunteers act first. Here. Everywhere“, two events were planned in the Montserrado County in the North West of Liberia. For the very first time, the UNV Field Unit also organized awareness events in Grand Gedeh County (Zwedru) and Grand Cape Mount County (Robertsport).

UNV co-organises national workshop on building capacity for localising the SDGs in India

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The Kalinga Institute of Social Sciences (KISS) organised a workshop in association with United Nations System Staff College (UNSSC), Bonn, Germany, United Nations Volunteers (UNV), India and NITI Aayog on capacity building for the Sustainable Development Goals in India.

Advancing climate change adaptation and disaster risk management with UNDP in the Pacific region

UNV partnering with the United Nations Development Programme
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Climate change is one of the most crucial concerns for the Pacific region. The year 2017 was an especially important year for the Pacific, as Fiji was the host of the Climate Change conference, COP23. This was a great opportunity to promote the urgency of climate change that the Pacific faces. As Pacific Island Countries and Territories engage with key partners to tackle the Sustainable Development Goals, UN Volunteers with UNDP are providing critical contributions to tackle climate change adaptation and disaster risk management.

PREPARING CONTINGENCY PLANNING FOR DISASTER RISK MANAGEMENT IN THE SOLOMON ISLANDS

Why women involved in peace and security decisions improve effectiveness and sustainability

Sarah Douglas, UN Peacebuilding Support Office
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They came from ten countries around Africa and as far away as Guatemala, representing thirteen nationalities. Twenty-five UN Volunteers gathered in Nairobi from 7-9 November 2017 for the second Learning and Strategy Workshop on Gender-Responsive Peacebuilding (#GRPB) organized by UN Volunteers, UN Women and the UN Peacebuilding Support Office (PBSO). The UN Volunteers are making a unique contribution to increasing women’s participation in peacebuilding and utilizing gender-responsive approaches to improve peacebuilding outcomes.

They came to share their experiences, learn from each other and build a network of colleagues and friends to help them overcome the many difficulties they face in challenging contexts like Mali, the Democratic Republic of thr Congo, Liberia and elsewhere.

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