The United Nations General Assembly has proclaimed 2026 the International Year of Volunteers for Sustainable Development. This milestone offers an opportunity to celebrate volunteers and their contributions on a global stage.
Logo Competition for International Volunteer Year 2026 now open
"It's a start to a career I never imagined"
Atsushi Murata is the first Japanese national over the age of 60 to be deployed by the United Nations Development Programme. His volunteer assignment is fully funded by the Government of Japan. At 65 and retired, Atsushi shares, "It's the start of a career I never imagined." Connecting the dots from Japan to the Republic of Djibouti in this story, and how Atsushi became a UN Volunteer.
Atsushi is from Chiba city in Japan and started his UN Volunteer assignment with UNDP on 7 December 2024. He is based in Djibouti, where he will support agricultural businesses and food security till almost the end of 2025. The project is funded through the Japanese Supplementary Budget and titled, 'Support to UN response to water and food insecurity caused by climate change and drought in Sub-Saharan Africa through the deployment of Japanese Specialists as UN Volunteers.'
Through my view—a story from Bangladesh
Nazma Ara Begum Poppy is from Bangladesh. At the age of six, she lost her vision. The only available option for her in terms of education was a private school in the capital city, Dhaka. Other schools in her hometown of Chittagong, were not accessible to children with disabilities. Since 2023, Nazma has been a UN Volunteer National Project Support Officer with UN Women contributing to a United Nations joint initiative on the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and disability-inclusive Sustainable Development Goals. On International Day of Persons with Disabilities, we bring you Nazma's story and what she considers important in the world around her.
Persons with disabilities are often overlooked, and when they are considered, the focus is frequently limited to physical accessibility, such as ramps and infrastructure. While these elements are important, accessibility must go beyond the physical and extend into the virtual space.
In today’s world, digital inclusion is crucial. The fact that you’re reading my story right now is possible because of technology, but this is not the reality for many others.
Ban Ki-moon, former UN Secretary-General's statement on IVD 2024
Ban Ki-moon is the eighth Secretary-General of the United Nations and held office from January 2007 to December 2016. Please read his statement on the occasion of International Volunteer Day 2024.
On this International Volunteer Day, the global community celebrates and honours the tireless dedication of volunteers worldwide. From addressing multifaceted global crises to supporting individuals in need, volunteerism embodies a spirit of solidarity, resilience, and compassion that our world so deeply needs.
Supporting transparent and inclusive elections in the Central African Republic
Angeline Ambogo Kidiga, Ahmed Abdillah, and Hounton Scholastique Prisca are UN Volunteers who serve with the electoral division at the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in the Central African Republic (MINUSCA). Their volunteer assignments center on transparency and inclusivity of elections, along with the logistical and security challenges that are part of the processes.
Angeline Kidiga is a 39-year-old woman from Kenya. She is a UN Volunteer Electoral Officer and joined MINUSCA in 2022 to support electoral operations. Angeline has overseen the distribution of electoral materials to some of the most remote areas in the country—Ouham Fafa and Nana Gribizi, which are affected by a lack of infrastructure and security.
Blind spots in plain sight: the unsung heroes of online volunteering
In 2022, a French woman living in Kenya and equipped only with a laptop mapped urban shelters for civilians looking for safety in Ukraine. That was my blind spot.
Next year, a group of Chinese, Iranians and Filipinos—who had never met each other before—used machine learning to label solar installations to help boost renewable energy in Africa. That was also my blind spot.
And as I write this opinion, a Brazilian is helping with remote assessment of the number of women needing urgent reproductive health assistance in catastrophic Gaza. Another blind spot.
Have you figured out your blind spots too?
The common thread in these stories is that each of the protagonists was an Online Volunteer. Through their laptops, their smartphones, their tablets, Online Volunteers—as expert and dedicated as any other professionals in their field are—clicked away their share of assistance to humanitarian and development. We can’t see them—they’re conveniently behind a screen somewhere around the world. But we can see their work—it’s in plain sight all around us.
Supporting children's health in Benin and Togo
In Benin and Togo, UN Volunteers with the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) support access to health, education, and better living conditions for children. Ahouéfa Fernande Agossou, Rose Koudori Tao, and Mawouli Aimée Van-Lare are three people behind this support.
Ahouéfa Agossou is from Benin. She is a UN Volunteer Community Health Specialist with UNICEF and has helped children and pregnant women in 12 municipalities of her native country by organizing training and awareness campaigns on good health and well-being. She mobilized community health workers and adapted messaging that resonated with the community members.