My time serving as a UN Youth Volunteer in Education for a year, between February 2017 to February 2018, was a great learning experience. Due to my proactive attitude, I participated in an array of activities that were instrumental to my contribution to the efforts of UNESCO IICBA in building a sustainable educational framework using ICT for schools in Ethiopia and other countries in the African Union.

ASIA AND THE PACIFIC

This four-day long event served as the starting point for the implementation of the agreement between the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the United Nations Volunteers (UNV) programme, signed earlier this year, through which the Russian Federation will deploy fully funded Russian UN Volunteers with UNV.

South-South Cooperation is embedded in UNV’s Strategic Framework 2018-2021. Working closely with partners, UNV facilitates South-South cooperation by deploying UN Volunteers and promoting the value of volunteerism for peace and development. Volunteering and South-South Cooperation share common ideals that make them perfect partners: solidarity, respect and equality. Both have an opportunity to derive mutual benefit from their alliance. --UNV Executive Coordinator Olivier Adam

Earlier this month, with the financial support of the Government, UNV announced a call for applications for Russian citizens to become international UN Volunteers. Successful candidates will be assigned to different UN entities to help address the challenges of peace and sustainable development around the world.

Earlier this month, with the financial support of the Government, UNV announced a call for applications for Russian citizens to become international UN Volunteers. Successful candidates will be assigned to different UN entities to help address the challenges of peace and sustainable development around the world.

Mr Tegegnework Gettu, UNDP Associate Administrator, opened UNV’s session at the meeting. He highlighted the strong UND/UNV partnership and noted how through its engagements with UNDP, UNV is constantly demonstrating how volunteers are vital to the success of development initiatives at local, regional and national levels. 

Mr Kurbanov stated that last year 52 countries – that is more than a quarter of the international community – conducted legislative and/or normative activities to support volunteerism at the national and local levels. At the beginning of this year, Russia joined these countries by adopting a federal law on volunteering, establishing the legal framework for regulating relations in the field of volunteering. This is a significant milestone in the history of the volunteer movement and an important step in the development of Russian civil society.

In his opening statement, Mr Tegegnework Gettu, UNDP Associate Administrator, stated that volunteerism was strongly linked to the SDGs, as it was a cross-cutting issue. He emphasized that UNV – through this new SF – would help UNDP deliver on the 2030 Agenda. Mr Gettu noted that he was thoroughly impressed by the UN Volunteers that he had met in the field (read his full remarks.)

The volunteer researchers are currently deploying to 15 countries to gather evidence for the 2018 State of the World’s Volunteerism Report (SWVR) on the theme of “Resilient Communities: The Role of Volunteerism in a Turbulent World”.