Volunteers are playing a vital role in making governments worldwide more accountable and responsive to their citizens, but their potential is seriously under-valued, a new report from the United Nations Volunteers (UNV) programme said today. The State of the World’s Volunteerism Report 2015 is the first global survey of the contribution of volunteers to better governance, a prerequisite for the success of the new Sustainable Development Goals to be agreed at the United Nations in September.

On 25 April, a massive 7.8 earthquake struck Nepal. This natural disaster, the worst in 80 years for the country, has not only taken lives but caused life-threatening living situations for hundreds of thousands of people in Nepal, Bangladesh and India. UNV has established a Nepal Earthquake Taskforce to coordinate the most effective and needed support on the ground. Its first priority was to secure the wellbeing of UN Volunteers in Nepal.

The UNV Communications’ mission is to enhance communication about the value of volunteerism in peace and development and the importance on the contributions that UNV and UN Volunteers make to the impact on the results of the United Nations. The purpose of this new Communications Strategy is to guide communications on volunteerism for peace and development and safe-guard the organizational reputation of UNV programme; while adding value in the achievement of the main outcomes and results area of the UNV Strategic Framework 2014-2017.

International Volunteer Day (IVD), on December 5th, was designated by the United Nations in 1985 as an international observance day to celebrate the power and potential of volunteerism. It is an opportunity for volunteers, and volunteer organizations, to raise awareness of, and gain recognition for, the contribution they make to their communities.

The IVD theme in 2014 theme underlines the ability of volunteerism to help create open spaces for dialogue and inclusion, ultimately fostering the participation of people from all age groups, genders, and backgrounds in decision-making processes. This grassroots engagement is currently helping to build a more inclusive process of crafting the post-2015 development agenda – the world's next plan for eradicating extreme poverty and achieving sustainable development.

The International Day for Disaster Reduction (IDDR), celebrated every year on 13 October, encourages every citizen and government to take part in building more disaster resilient communities and nations. It is a day to celebrate how people and communities are reducing their risk to disasters and raising awareness about the importance of DRR.

"The UNV Partnerships Forum has lived up to its theme—Innovation for Volunteer Action," said UNV's Executive Coordinator Richard Dictus as he closed the event held in Bonn, Germany on 30 September and 1 October 2014.  Attracting more than 100 people from around the world, participants discussed the theme, within a stone's throw of UNV headquarters, in the historic Wasserwerk (meaning "waterworks") building which housed the German Parliament from 1986 to 1992..

Volunteering is an effective avenue for creating constructive partnerships between nations, communities and individuals and between governments, civil society and the private sector. The role volunteerism plays in making development genuinely people centered should be properly recognized.

The United Nations Volunteers (UNV) programme has organized consultations to explore how volunteerism can be given more visibility during the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro. This follows the successful support provided by UNV during the Beijing Olympic Games.

Since 1976 when the United Nations General Assembly formally engaged UNV in the inclusion of youth into development and peace building through volunteerism, UNV’s significance towards this goal has been growing ever stronger. The 2014-2017 Strategic Framework of the agency puts emphasis on youth and channels effort towards the UN Youth Volunteers Programme as a means of making consistent and tangible progress.