Promoting refugee empowerment and livelihoods through volunteerism

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DAFI (Albert Einstein German Academic Refugee Initiative) is a programme of the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR), funded by the Government of Germany, that plays an integral role in enabling refugees to access higher education in their country of asylum and contribute to their reintegration upon repatriation.Since 1992, the DAFI programme has awarded scholarships to over 15,500 refugees to study at universities in over 50 countries of asylum. In 2018, UNHCR and the United Nations Volunteers (UNV) programme partnered to complement the DAFI programme to empower young refugee graduates in West and Central Africa by offering them the opportunity to serve as UN Volunteers. 

The UNHCR-UNV DAFI Initiative seeks to expand the success of the DAFI programme by addressing the difficulties that graduated refugees face when trying to enter the job market.

The Initiative constitutes an opportunity for the DAFI graduates to gain professional experience as UN Volunteers in the UN System, where they can contribute with their unique background and perspectives to help achieving the SDGs.

Enhancing security, co-existence and refugee protection through Refugee Outreach Volunteers

UNV partnering with UNHCR
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In collaboration with the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR), the United Nations Volunteers (UNV) programme and partners have developed and implemented volunteer initiatives with refugees and host communities in Kakuma Refugee Camp in Kenya. These activities enhance community security and refugee protection through refugee engagement, with a focus on strengthening the social cohesion between refugee and host populations. Partners include the Lutheran World Federation and County Government of Turkana, Kenya. The project is supported by the Government of Germany, represented by the Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ).

The project consisted of recruiting refugees from the camp and members from the host communities as Refugee Outreach Volunteers. Additionally, UNV used its refugee-to-refugee volunteer modality to recruit and deploy one refugee identified in the camp as a UN Volunteer. The Refugee Outreach Volunteers served with UNHCR and were provided with the necessary capacities, knowledge and resources to contribute to addressing their own protection needs.  

For IVD 2019, Toily Kurbanov, Deputy Executive Coordinator of UNV visits China

Dongguan, China
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The Deputy Executive Coordinator joined the celebration of the 34th IVD in China, the 5th Chinese Youth Volunteer Service Project Competition and Volunteer Service Exchange EXPO2019 held from 1-4 December in Dongguan, China.

Volunteerism in the Sahel: fostering participation of all, for an inclusive future

Ougadougou, Burkina Faso
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One region, many crises: food insecurity, climate change, insecurity and political instability, fragile economies. As part of efforts to address those challenges, the roundtable on Volunteerism for Peace and Development in the Sahel gathered 60 participants for discussions on the strong impact of volunteerism in peacebuilding and sustainable development in the Sahel.

From 19 to 20 November 2019, stakeholders from volunteer-involving organizations, civil society, academia, governments and United Nations entities met in Ouagadougou, to discuss how volunteerism can contribute to peace and development in the Sahel region. The roundtable was initiated by the United Nations Volunteers (UNV) programme, in collaboration with the African Institute for Economic Development and Planification (IDEP) and the International Organization of La Francophonie (OIF), to produce evidence of the impact of volunteerism in the Sahel. 

Volunteering for climate action in Sri Lanka

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Although the catastrophic effects of the climate crisis affect us all, Sri Lanka, among many other countries, is on the frontline.

With the agriculture sector absorbing nearly 30 per cent of the country’s labour force, while providing livelihoods to 70 per cent of the country’s rural population, a majority of our communities are at the unrelenting mercy of inevitable climate shocks. 

The Mahaweli River Basin, the largest draining area of Sri Lanka’s extensive collection of rivers, is home to a large proportion of the small rain-fed farming communities on the island. And, unsurprisingly, climate shocks have exacerbated the prevalent poverty and food insecurity within these communities. 

Supporting climate action in East and Southern Africa

Saana Ahonen, UN Volunteer Climate Change Specialist
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Saana Ahonen is a Finnish-born global citizen serving as a UN Volunteer Climate Change Specialist with the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). Saana is the 500th UN Volunteer fully funded by Finland since 1974 and deployed through the United Nations Volunteers (UNV) programme. Since October 2019, she has been assigned to the UNFCCC Regional Collaboration Centre in Kampala, Uganda. Saana shares her experience at the centre, which supports countries in East and Southern Africa in climate action.

Africa has been identified by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change as the continent most vulnerable to the impacts of climate change. Ecosystems are already being affected and future impacts could be substantial.

East and Southern Africa has been experiencing more frequent extreme weather events and changing rainfall patterns, leading to droughts in some areas and flooding in others. The region’s population is highly dependent on rain-fed agriculture, making it particularly vulnerable to the impacts of climate change, including potential effects on food security.

Volunteering – an expression of agency in times of polarization between 'winners and losers'

Christina Lengfelder and Margaret Carroll
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Counting the volunteers the world counts on

Vladimir Ganta, International Labour Organization
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Today, we celebrate International Volunteer Day to recognize the importance of efforts made by volunteers throughout the world to help those who are not able to help themselves, those excluded and left behind.

Events are being organized around the world to promote volunteering, to award the most dedicated volunteers and to inspire people to act for a better future.

Promoting equality and inclusivity through UN Community Volunteers

International Volunteer Day in West and Central Africa
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How to overcome social exclusion? How to reduce inequalities? How to create a more inclusive future? These were among many issues addressed during the Sahel Roundtable on the contribution of volunteerism to development in the Sahel. Held 19-20 November 2019 in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, the Roundtable pioneered a platform for practitioners to showcase the strong impact of volunteerism in promoting equality and an inclusive future for people in the region. It was also a prelude to the celebration of International Volunteer Day (IVD), which focused in 2019 on empowering people and ensuring inclusiveness and equality.

On the occasion of IVD, the United Nations Volunteers (UNV) programme has highlighted initiatives that include more people in sustainable development through volunteerism. One such initiative is the new UN Community Volunteer category, which enables more people to participate directly in social, environmental and economic change.

International Volunteer Day celebrates volunteer action for inclusion

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5 December, 2019

Today, on International Volunteer Day, we celebrate and recognise all volunteers worldwide who make a difference everyday in their communities. More than one billion people globally are estimated to volunteer, making contributions worth 2.4% of the global GDP.

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