Louise Chamberlain, Deputy Executive Coordinator of UNV, opened the session by situating the discussion in today’s global reality: a world where volunteers continue to respond to crises, support communities and drive development, yet remain largely invisible in formal data systems.
The paradox of volunteerism: everywhere, yet not always visible
I interviewed Yeran Kejijian while bombs were falling and large areas of the country, including the South, parts of the East, and Beirut were being heavily targeted. She is the UNV Country Coordinator for the Multi-Country Field Unit covering Lebanon and Syria. Four international UN Volunteers have been evacuated so far, while few national UN Volunteers have been relocated to safer areas. Of them, some are working remotely. “It does not happen with warning. It happens under the bombs,” Yeran says while speaking of relocations. One of the UN Volunteers told her, “I had to leave my home at 3 a.m. I didn’t take my laptop. My concern was my family.” She continues, “People do not know when they will be able to return or whether they will find anything to return to. And this is ongoing. There is no clear sense of when it will end.”
The recent conflict in Lebanon started on 2 March 2026. According to UN reports, more than 1,200 people have been killed, including humanitarians, paramedics, and journalists, and more than 3,400 have been injured.
Even in the darkest hour, Yeran speaks of solidarity, empathy and the quiet strength that emerges when people choose to stand together. “It’s not just volunteering anymore—it has the heart in it. You are supporting your neighbour, your people, anyone who is suffering from what’s happening.”
Let’s hear from Yeran on what endures when bombs fall.
“Volunteering in Lebanon during conflict
Volunteering in Lebanon right now is not about signing up, wearing a badge, or ticking a box. It is about grabbing a bag at 3 a.m. and running. It is about cooking food for strangers during Ramadan while your own home may no longer exist. It is about opening public schools as shelters, entertaining displaced children in classrooms that no longer function as schools and finding ways to keep people human when everything else is falling apart.
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The United Nations Volunteers (UNV) marks with sadness the passing of Dr. Brenda Gael McSweeney, former Executive Coordinator of UNV, who died in her hometown of Needham, Massachusetts, on 11 March 2026 at the age of 82.
Some of the most important contributions people make to society, especially volunteering and other community‑sustaining actions, remain largely invisible in our statistics and data systems. Since I have been working with data, I have noticed a persistent paradox: society's most important contributions remain the least visible in our statistics. This insight has markedly influenced my thinking as a statistician and researcher, especially in how we gauge social progress and development.
Across communities in the Global South and worldwide, people dedicate their time, skills, and energy to help others—often without expecting recognition or reward. Consider the community-based groups in Kenya that support research and conservation initiatives for animals and wildlife, the volunteer firefighters in Australia who battle devastating bushfires, or the youth groups across Latin America organizing neighbourhood clean-ups and immunization campaigns.
