Our age has no shortage of upheaval. Displacement today is not episodic; it is widespread. Conflicts endure, climates shift, and fragile systems strain under repeated shocks. In such a world, sympathy alone is insufficient. It must be organized, sustained, and given direction. Solidarity must become service.

The United Nations General Assembly declared 2026 the International Volunteer Year—setting the stage for a global celebration of volunteers.

Over the past few years, Kazakhstan has made a deliberate effort to elevate volunteerism—from declaring 2020 the Year of Volunteers, to championing 2024 as the Year of the Volunteer Movement in the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) and creating momentum toward 2026 as the International Year of Volunteers for Sustainable Development.

Covid hit. Everything shut down. I had a job in Egypt but wanted an international perspective, so I started looking for opportunities, and then one day I landed in Somalia. It was April 2021 and amidst the ongoing unrest in the country around that time, I thought to myself – my international volunteer experience is going to end before it begins. A feeling of risk started to settle in. I made sure that my runaway bag was ready.

In Kenya, UN Volunteers took part in the activities marking the International Day of Persons with Disabilities, 3 December, hosted at the Technical University of Mombasa. The event included a booth display and a talent show from special needs schools. UNV highlighted volunteer programmes and potential UN Volunteer assignments that are inclusive of people with disabilities.

My name is Kana Endo; I hail from Japan. I embarked on my volunteering assignment last September and I will serve until February 2023. I am one of the three international UN Volunteers serving with the United Nations in Mongolia, together with another national UN Volunteer. Looking back on my childhood, I enjoyed learning new things but at the same time was very shy and introverted. However, I was very passionate about learning English and cultures in different countries. Therefore, I chose a high school with English course.

Today, Yemen remains the largest humanitarian crisis in the world, with 24.1 million people – 80 per cent of the population – in need of humanitarian aid and protection. The country is still struggling with a protracted political, humanitarian and developmental crisis. Acknowledging the contributions of UN Volunteers serving in such contexts, Mr Kurbanov chose to be at their side on IVD.

UN Volunteer Saleh Nasser, serves as an Adolescent and Youth Associate with the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) in Jordan. He supports skills development programmes that place youth with community and business leaders who represent role models. Such programmes help to foster connections across generations through the transfer of knowledge, while equipping youth with tools for success in their future career paths.

At the onset of the Syrian refugee crisis in Jordan, an estimated 500,000 Syrian refugees resided outside the camps. Increased pressure on resources, infrastructure, education, health care, housing, essential services and increased competition for jobs out a strain on Jordanian host communities.  The rising demand for social services threatened social cohesion, as access and quality of service provision diminished under the heightened demand. This put a increasing strain on Jordanian host communities and left them feeling marginalized.

In Turkey, three UN Volunteers worked together for 22 months with Kirkayak Kültür Sanat ve Doga Dernegi, and Mardin Meydanbaşı ÇATOM-Community Participation and Development Association on integrating high quality and well-supported UN Volunteers and volunteerism in their programmes to tackle challenges in social cohesion, assist in volunteer-related capacity building for non-governmental organizations, and empower Syrian women.