New Delhi, India: Miho Yoshikawa, an international UN Volunteer from Japan, was stationed in India with UNICEF. As a UNV Child Protection Officer in UNICEF’s Delhi office, she was responsible for programme monitoring, assistance to the organization’s state offices, documentation and research.

New Delhi, India: Working as a UN Volunteer in an organisation like UNHCR is a life changing experience. It takes you out of your bubble and gives you the opportunity to understand real issues faced by people—people like you and me, people who have similar dreams and ambitions. As life forced them to become refugees in a land that is not their own, challenging their life skills and adaptation capabilities, they somehow find the resilience, the courage and determination to rebuild their lives.

The United Nations Volunteers (UNV) programme in India, Youth Ki Awaaz (YKA) and Action/2015 are convinced that India’s young population and their spirit of volunteerism can help overcome poverty and achieve the sustainable development agenda. They are therefore constantly exploring possibilities to mobilize and engage volunteers and to give voice to the youth of the country.

The United Nations Volunteers (UNV) programme in India, Youth Ki Awaaz (YKA) and Action/2015 are convinced that India’s young population and their spirit of volunteerism can help overcome poverty and achieve the sustainable development agenda. They are therefore constantly exploring possibilities to mobilize and engage volunteers and to give voice to the youth of the country.

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.

New Delhi, India: In his celebrated work The Prophet author, poet and artist, Khalil Gibran, wrote, “You give but little when you give of your possessions. It is when you give of yourself that you truly give.”

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.

On 25 September, United Nations representatives, Goodwill Ambassadors, members of the Secretary-General’s High-Level Panel of Eminent Persons on the Post-2015 Development Agenda, and representatives of civil society organizations from around the world gathered in New York to publicly announce the winners of the MY World Partner Recognition Awards.

"Volunteerism is a universal concept - the largest expression of global solidarity you can find," United Nations Volunteers (UNV) programme Executive Coordinator (EC) Richard Dictus told a live audience of hundreds gathered in New York City, while countless virtual attendees tuned in around the world. The head of UNV was taking part in UNV's panel "Changing the World in 2.0: Volunteerism" on Sunday, 22 September 2013, the opening day of Social Good Summit, where his words seemed to strike a chord with listeners.