What If the Most Important Part of AI Isn't Artificial?

Michael Lee, UNV Information and Communication Technology
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For many organizations, the arrival of Artificial Intelligence (AI) felt like a race. New tools appeared overnight, promises multiplied, and a single question echoed through meeting rooms and office corridors alike: 

How can we make AI work for us? 

At the United Nations Volunteers (UNV), the answer was not to chase the latest trend or rush to adopt the newest technology. Instead, we started with a simpler question: 

What do our people actually need?

Rather than building AI around technology, we chose to build it around the people who use it every day. We listened to colleagues, identified bottlenecks in their work, and focused on creating practical solutions that solve real challenges. 

The goal was never AI for AI’s sake. The goal was to help people spend less time on administrative tasks and more time on work that creates value.

Kazakhstan President Meets UNV Executive Coordinator, Reaffirms Commitment to Volunteerism and IVY 2026

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President Tokayev noted that volunteerism continues to gain momentum across Kazakhstan. More than 1,000 events are being organized nationwide within the framework of IVY 2026, while the number of volunteers in the country has grown to nearly 300,000. 

Volunteers in The Humanitarian Reset

Author

  • Toily Kurbanov
    Toily Kurbanov Executive Coordinator UNV
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The humanitarian system cannot keep planning as if volunteers do not exist.

That sounds absurd. Yet it is exactly what we do.

Every major crisis tells the same story. Volunteers are the first to respond. They keep services running when roads are cut off, institutions collapse or conflict blocks access. They are often the last people still standing when international organizations are forced to leave. Yet they remain largely invisible in humanitarian plans, budgets, coordination mechanisms and safeguarding arrangements.

This is not a minor oversight. It is a warning that the humanitarian system is out of step with the way humanitarian action actually happens.

The Humanitarian Reset starts from a similar premise. It recognizes that today’s humanitarian system must become leaner, more locally led and more accountable in the face of growing needs and shrinking resources. That ambition is welcome. Yet it might remain incomplete if it continues to overlook one of the system’s greatest strengths: the volunteers who make humanitarian action possible every day.

The Winding Road to Leadership

United Nations Volunteers
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The road into Lesotho’s mountains offered no comfort and even less certainty. For almost six hours, Francesca Conte and her colleagues traveled to Thaba Tseka, a hard-to-reach community council. The paved road changed to gravel. There were a few signs, and near the end of the trip, they had to stop and ask villagers for directions. Yet as they arrived, uncertainty melted away. Smiling community members welcomed them, and relief swept through the group.

For Francesca, the winding road showed much of what she had learned about service. You do not always know the way. You cannot assume you have all the answers. Sometimes, the only way forward is to listen to the people who know the area.

Francesca came to Lesotho from Italy as a UN Volunteer Social Policy Officer with the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF). She had worked in a country office before, but she wanted to move closer to the work in the field.

What is COP17's Secret Ingredient?

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The volunteers have been prepared to take on specific duties across four key areas: the Green Zone, Blue Zone, hotels, and transportation. During the training, they were introduced to their assigned work areas and stations, and briefed on their roles, responsibilities, and the essential organizational information needed to support the conference.

 

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