The United Nations General Assembly has proclaimed 2026 the International Year of Volunteers for Sustainable Development. This milestone—achieved through the collaboration of Member States of the General Assembly—offers an opportunity to celebrate volunteers and their contributions on a global stage. 

UN Volunteer Machiko Kitagawa played a pivotal role in engaging adolescents and youth with UNICEF in Nepal. Her primary focus was to oversee the implementation of Generation Unlimited (GenU) in Nepal, devising strategies, bolstering country frameworks and forging crucial partnerships to empower Nepalese youth. Machiko's assignment was fully funded by the Government of Japan, under the Human Resource Development Programme for Peacebuilding and Development.

As peace gives impetus for Iraq to move from a crisis context to development, United Nations Volunteers (UNV) looks forward to working with the Government of Iraq and integrating volunteers into the country's sustainable development agenda. --Kyoko Yokosuka, UNV Deputy Executive Coordinator These were the words of Ms Kyoko Yokosuka, UNV Deputy Executive Coordinator, as she addressed the audience at the high-level International Volunteer Day (IVD) event in Baghdad. 

"Immediately following the earthquake, the emotions I felt compelled me to actively participate in fieldwork and contribute in any way possible," says Velat. After the earthquake struck Türkiye on 6 February, Velat left Spain, where he was pursuing his master’s degree and came back to his home country, Türkiye, to help.Velat serves as a national UN Volunteer Humanitarian Affairs Officer. OCHA’s motto is to bring humanitarian partners together to tackle humanitarian emergencies – which they certainly did during their earthquake response.

For Zambians, food insecurity is an urgent issue. Around 18 per cent of the country’s rural population require urgent action to protect their livelihoods. A further 15 per cent are only marginally able to meet their food needs, while three per cent of the country’s 17.8m people are already facing considerable food gaps.

The Swiss Embassy and the United Nations Volunteers (UNV) in Tunisia are launching a programme that will offer 185 young Tunisians the opportunity to gain professional experience through inclusive and impactful volunteering assignments within the United Nations Agencies, Funds, and Programs in Tunisia. These assignments will last from six to twelve months and will undergo a competitive recruitment process, led by UNV.

The project sustaining peace and social cohesion in Bosnia and Herzegovina through enhanced inter-municipal and inter-entity cooperation on local services is implemented by UNDP in nine locations acorss the country. It engaged 18 UN Community Volunteers within their communities. At the beginning, two of them shared their positive stories and experiences about their volunteer engagement.

The theme of this year's IVD centers on the power of everyone - collective action - if everyone did. If everyone volunteered the world would be a better place.  Imagine more than eight billion of us volunteering. Limitless possibilities for sustainable development - food and education for everyone, clean environment and good health, inclusive and peaceful societies, and more.