Volunteering across continents

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Through service and cultural exchange, a young volunteer brings hope to Bolivia and finds strength in self-growth.

In late March, 22-year-old Wu Miao concluded her volunteer service with the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) in Bolivia, a Spanish-speaking country in South America. Wu is a fully funded UN Volunteer from China under the UNV partnership with the Chinese Young Volunteers Association (CYVA) and the China International Centre for Economic and Technical Exchanges (CICETE).

As a student of economic statistics at Huazhong Agricultural University in Wuhan, Hubei province, Wu vividly recalls coming across the United Nations Volunteers (UNV) recruitment notice in May 2024. Without hesitation, she applied. 

"I've always been passionate about volunteering and want to make a positive impact," she explained.

This passion was evident throughout her university years. For three years, Wu was an active member of a public welfare committee, organizing and overseeing more than 15 volunteer events.

United Nations Volunteers over the years

Ayesha Khan, Communications Specialist
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The history of United Nations Volunteers (UNV) starts from 1968 with its first mention, to present day in 2025 where it deploys thousands of UN Volunteers and Online Volunteers to support the United Nations system in peace and development worldwide. From one volunteer to thousands, here is how UNV evolved to the changing global landscape and expanded its scope of work.

In 1968, the Shah of Iran, Mohammed Reza Pahlavi, made a visionary call for the establishment of a formal United Nations Volunteers programme. During an honorary speech at Harvard University, he emphasized the need for an international legion dedicated to combating the true enemies of humanity: poverty, hunger, and social injustice. His words resonated deeply, planting the seeds for a global volunteer movement.

UNV: Ensuring inclusion and growth—UN Today interviews Toily Kurbanov

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UN Today in conversation with the Executive Coordinator of United Nations Volunteers, Toily Kurbanov, on the future of volunteerism.

My career led me to UNV in twists and turns,” begins Toily Kurbanov, UNV Executive Coordinator. Reflecting on his journey, he explains how he transitioned from financial services to national government before joining the UN, gaining over a decade of leadership experience at a national level before moving into the international sphere. “I started with UNV first as the Deputy Executive Coordinator, where there seemed to be some interest in having someone with broad field experience. Eventually, I took over as the Executive Coordinator in January 2021.”

Myanmar, one month on

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At the time of the earthquake, more than 70 UN Volunteers were serving with 10 UN partners in some 19 duty stations across Myanmar. About one-third of these volunteers are now part of the recovery efforts on the ground with the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), and the World Health Organization (WHO). The guiding principle here was to recruit local volunteers who knew their communities and were from within the system. 

UNV releases new research on volunteer work among older persons

United Nations Volunteers
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Research shows that the world population has been growing older for decades and today is more aged than ever. By 2070, it's expected that 20 percent of people will be aged 65 or older. However, this increase won't be the same everywhere. In regions like Eastern Asia, the share of older people will rise to over 40 percent, while in sub-Saharan Africa, it will stay below 20 percent.

Don't simply count women, make women count

United Nations Volunteers
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A native of Libya, Amera Markous is a UN Volunteer serving with UN Women. Seeing how disproportionately crises and displacement affect women more than men, Amera took it upon herself to do something for women, and she chose to do so through volunteering. She is a lead researcher on migration issues. But it's her trainer role that gives her that leeway to interact with women who are facing challenges in Libya.

Following the 2011 revolution in Libya, Amera got an opportunity to coordinate educational programmes for underprivileged children in Tripoli. She then took up a UN Volunteer assignment with UN Women.

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