International Volunteer Day 2014 has finally arrived! Make change happen, volunteer! This year, on this very special day, the United Nations Volunteers programme not only celebrates and recognizes volunteerism in all its facets, but pays special tribute to the participation of people in making change at all levels – locally, nationally and globally. For IVD 2014, please join us in acknowledging and enhancing people’s participation, engagement and voice, in shaping and implementing development policies and the world we want.

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.

Prishtina, Kosovo:  From my very first day working as a UN Youth Volunteer as part of UNDP’s Inclusive Growth Team in Kosovo, I started to realize that all the statistics showing high levels of unemployment, particularly among youth, are hiding the true and disturbing extent of this issue. With more than 35 percent of young Kosovars neither having a job nor going to school, they grow impatient, pessimistic about their chances to have a decent life, and frustrated with not being heard.

Establishing a Youth Volunteer Scheme is a guidance note developed based on lessons learned and good practice from UNV field experiences in working with national partners to establish youth volunteer schemes.  The publication builds on these experiences to describe in general lines the process for establishing a youth volunteer schemes.

Eight UN Volunteers were invited to take the floor at the first UNV Partnerships Forum that took place in Bonn on September 30th and October 1st, and presented their inspirational work in the field.

Eight UN Volunteers were invited to take the floor at the first UNV Partnerships Forum that took place in Bonn on September 30th and October 1st, and presented their inspirational work in the field.

Quito, Ecuador: As a UN Youth Volunteer in Gender Analysis, assigned to the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Office of the Resident Coordinator in Quito, Ecuador, I support and advise the Resident Coordinator and the United Nations Country Team on gender-related advocacy, communications and resource mobilization.

"Volunteering for post-2015" is about how volunteerism contributes to sustainable development and refers to the ongoing post-2015 process for the definition of the new global development framework. Listen to what volunteering means for people from different cultures through interviews made in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Guatemala, Nepal, Peru, and the Philippines, and find out why it is important for all of them. It probably is for you as well!

"Volunteering for post-2015" is about how volunteerism contributes to sustainable development and refers to the ongoing post-2015 process for the definition of the new global development framework. Listen to what volunteering means for people from different cultures through interviews made in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Guatemala, Nepal, Peru, and the Philippines, and find out why it is important for all of them. It probably is for you as well!

Jeddah, Saudi Arabia: The International Conference on Youth Volunteering and Dialogue opened on 3 December 2013 in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. More than 200 young volunteers from over 33 different countries attended the Conference, along with delegates of UNESCO, the Saudi Arabia Ministry of Education and the King Abdulaziz Center for National Dialogue. The three-day event provided young volunteers, experts and practitioners with the opportunity to discuss, display and evaluate ‘best practices’ in the field of volunteerism.