Our age has no shortage of upheaval. Displacement today is not episodic; it is widespread. Conflicts endure, climates shift, and fragile systems strain under repeated shocks. In such a world, sympathy alone is insufficient. It must be organized, sustained, and given direction. Solidarity must become service.

The meeting, which included COP31 Climate High-Level Champion Samed Ağırbaş and Louise Chamberlain, UNV Deputy Executive Coordinator, focused on the priorities of both organizations and on ways to align efforts around the International Volunteer Year 2026.

Mr. Chair,Distinguished delegates,This is the fifth time I have the privilege of presenting the annual report of UNV to the Executive Board.First time when I was presenting in 2021, I was given 20 minutes to allow more time for dialogue among the Member States. The following year, it became 15 minutes, then 10, and now I have only five. I look forward to the challenge the board will set for me next year.

Numbers are not enough. Measuring volunteering must go beyond hours and activities to show real change in people’s lives, communities and support systems. The webinar opened with remarks by Olga Zubritskaya-Devyatkina, UNV Regional Manager for Arab States, and was facilitated by Professor Matt Baillie Smith and Dr Bianca Fadel of Northumbria University. Drawing on Chapter 6 of the 2026 State of the World’s Volunteerism Report, it brought together researchers and practitioners from crisis-affected contexts.

Andrey oversees a multidisciplinary portfolio encompassing volunteer services, budget and finance, human resources, corporate risk management, audit and compliance, information and communications technology, procurement, administrative services, security and safety, as well as common services for United Nations entities based in Bonn. 

ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE AND LEADERSHIPUNV headquarters are in Bonn, Germany. UNV has around 300 staff members at headquarters, and over 17,000 UN Volunteers deployed in the field in 2025.Mr Toily Kurbanov (Russian Federation) is the Executive Coordinator of UNV, and took up his appointment on 4 January 2021. 

This reality is especially visible in grassroots sport and diaspora communities, including those in the Western Balkans. In these contexts, volunteerism is not a supplementary activity; it is the foundation on which systems operate. Evidence from sport-based Erasmus+ projects and volunteer management initiatives across Europe consistently shows that local sport organizations depend on volunteers not only for delivery, but for governance, coordination, and long-term sustainability. 

“When volunteering is measured well, it becomes visible in plans, policies and government priorities,” said Rafael Diez Medina, Chief Statistician and Director of the Department of Statistics at the International Labour Organization, at the webinar moderated by Yanchun Zhang, Chief Statistician at the Human Development Report Office of the United Nations Development Programme.Why develop GIVE now?

Held during International Volunteer Year 2026, the Roundtable focused on how volunteer action can strengthen solidarity and practical cooperation in the region and globally.The Republic of Korea has maintained a strong partnership with UNV under the Full Funding programme since 1986. Roundtable discussions focused on Korean youth and on retaining Korean talent through volunteer assignments.