Volunteering for post-2015 NEWSLETTER 6 | NOVEMBER 2013
UNV and global volunteer-involving organizations (ViOs) joined efforts to integrate the volunteer perspective in the post-2015 development agenda UNV gathered ViOs in New York on 23-24 September 2013 to support and facilitate the integration of the volun- teer perspective in the post-2015 development frame- work. 20 representatives from global ViOs discussed how to scale up efforts to make volunteering more visible and listened to. This should ultimately translate in integrating volunteerism more systematically in the discussion about enabling factors for the implementation of the next set of internationally agreed development goals, including through related indicators to measure the achievements of some of the goals. A ViO Task Force was set up to develop a road map for collective advocacy. Task Force members include FORUM, CUSO, VSO, IAVE, VSA, WOSM, WAGGGS, YMCA, Building Bridges Coalition.
The post2015 agen- da offers a historic op- portunity for ViOs to ad- vocate for volunteer- ism and its values as an inherent component of any future global development framework. While the initiative lies with ViOs, UNV contributes by providing support and infor- mation. The Report of the New York stakeholder meeting is available at
www.volunteeractioncounts.org/en/post-mdg.html
The “Paris Accord on Volunteering for Sustainable Development” commits volunteer-involving organizations to post-2015 engagement Over 100 representatives from organizations and institutions working with volunteers in development met in Paris, France, on 27-30 October for the annual IVCO (International Volunteer Cooperation Organizations) meeting, organized by the International Forum for Volunteering in Development. Participants agreed on a strong commitment to engage with post-2015 and on the need to continue to strengthen the evidence base for the contribution volunteers make to development. The meeting outcome document, “The Paris Accord on Volunteering for Sustainable Development”, acknowledges the need for innovative mechanisms and dynamic spaces for public-private-citizen connections, and aims to see the importance of volunteering recognised as one of the key movements supporting the implementation of the Millennium Development Goals as well as of the new set of Sustainable Development Goals beyond 2015. The Paris Accord also makes explicit mention of the Volunteering Task Force established at the New York stakeholder meeting in one of the key actions: ‘Proactively contribute to strengthening and widening the network of organizations engaged in volunteering, involving both those that are IVCOs as well as those that deliver their programs primarily through volunteers. This should build on the efforts of the multi-agency Volunteering Task Force […].’ . Read and sign the Paris Accord at: http://forum-ids.org/news/sign-up-to-the-paris-accord/
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Volunteering for post-2015
International Volunteer Day 2013: Young. Global. Active #IVD2013 On 5 December, International Volunteer Day (IVD) celebrates and recognizes volunteerism in all its facets. In 2013, IVD pays a special tribute to the contribution of youth volunteers in global peace and sustainable human development.
What can you do to actively celebrate IVD 2013 in the post-2015 context? Bring people’s voices to the attention of the global policy makers through MY World, engaging citizens and partner organizations in the survey MY World can be the link between the local and the global level, by connecting the priorities identified at national level with the global development agenda. Through MY World, you can initiate a deeper discussion on development-related topics, and engage with different age, gender and economic groups. You can: engage with partners to present information on the survey and further disseminate it at grassroots level particularly through offline voting ballots promote MY World through local media and social media promote MY World during your activities such as conferences, seminars, workshops that focus on civic engagement and participation. UNV also encourages partners and stakeholders to roll out the survey themselves, registering their organizations as MY World partners to en- sure that their contribution will be reflected in the global agenda.
MY World links To vote with UNV partner code: http://www.myworld2015.org/?partner=UNV Data on all votes collected so far: http://data.myworld2015.org/ Data on all votes collected so far by UNV: http://data.myworld2015.org/?partner=UNV
For more information on offline and online rollout of the survey, check the guidance note at http:// www.volunteeractioncounts.org/images/IVD2013/downloadcentre/guidancenotes/2013_Guidance%20note%205.pdf
The added value of volunteers to the MY World survey roll out Ms. Amita Dahiya, a nation- al UN Volunteer from India, presented the offline roll out of the MY World sur- vey in India on 23 September in New York, at the side event on the results of the MY World survey. Volunteers’ added value lies in stimulating people’s par- ticipation in the survey as well as people’s overall en- gagement in local development. Taking MY World be- yond 2015 has a potential to increase accountability by enhancing opportunities for monitoring the new frame- work.
Documenting the importance of volunteering for the post2015 agenda The UN Development Group report A Million Voices: The World We Want synthesizes the results of an unprece- dented global consultation led by the UN that has involved more than one million people in countries worldwide. The consultation sent a clear mes- sage. While the post-2015 agenda should and will be determined by governments, people across the world are demanding a say in the decisions that affect their lives. The report includes a number of relevant references to volunteering;; the full list of references is available in the Report of the New York stakeholder meeting.
NEWSLETTER 6 | NOVEMBER 2013
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Examples of MY World rollout by UNV Youth volunteers in… Bangladesh: Merel, the UN Youth volunteer, highlights the great teamwork undertaken by onsite and online volunteers to rollout MY World in the country. ‘The work of over 50 online volunteers was precious in terms of translating the ballot card and other texts for the Bang- la online version, not to mention their contribution in entering the data gathered offline and analyzing the results. Volun- teers on the ground talked to people about development priorities and collected the data.’ Cambodia: UN Volunteers engaged about 450 Cambodians, mostly under the age of 30 (66%), to take part in the survey. Voters’ priorities are good education, better health care, and an honest and responsive government. Cambodia also joined the #1millionvotes campaign and promoted the MY World survey on social media to encourage people to voice their opin- ion. Côte d’Ivoire: The UNV Field Unit mobilized about 30 Youth and Volunteer Involving Organi- zations who acted as catalyzers for rolling out MY World in the country. The African Basketball 2013 Championship, held in Abidjan in August 2013, was a major opportunity to collect votes among participants from 16 African countries. MY World campaigns in Abidjan also took place in University Campuses. Further votes were collected in the township of Téguéla during an Inter -Cultural Youth Camp organized by the UNV Field Unit, and in Grand-Bassam and Yamous- soukro during the National Consultations on Post-2015. As of November 2013, UNV Côte d´Ivoire Field Unit has collected 4,563 out of the overall 5,500 country votes (83%). Results from UNV-collected votes prioritize better health care, good education and better job opportuni- ties by far over other choices. While voters were mostly males (63%) and young under 30 years of age (63%), the priorities indicated are consistent across other aggregations (e.g. females and all age groups). Philippines: UNV in the Philippines together with the UN Millennium Campaign rolled out the MY World survey in different locations. UN Youth Volunteer Stefanie documented the process of distributing, filling in and collecting the ballots. 220 votes were gathered in several family development sessions held in Northern Samar, Cebu and Bohol, assisted by volun- tary parent leaders. During a Boy Scout of the Philippines Jamboree in Pangasinan, Stefanie gathered 1,300 votes in 3 days with the help of Scout volunteers. Rwanda: In cooperation with 22 other African countries, the One UN in Rwanda held consultations to formulate a nationally-owned post-2015 development agenda. UN Youth Volunteer Aylin took a lead in incorporating the voices of youth and exploring the role of volunteerism in the process. She ensured that youth were one of the four focus groups of the consultations, and coordinated and guided discussions with youth, including with groups of hearingimpaired young people. During the consultations with the focus groups, 400 youth were reached across the four provinces of Rwanda, and 40,000 ballots of the MY World Survey were distributed in all 30 districts, giving a voice to digitallydisconnected youth.
Check the MY World blog for more stories from UN Volunteers in India, Jordan, Vietnam, Kazakhstan, Sudan, Haiti: http://blog.myworld2015.org/tag/united-nations-volunteers-unvs/ Want to take action from home? Become an online volunteer: https://onlinevolunteering.org
In action: WAGGGS Post-2015 Ambassadors help build a better world World Association of Girl Guides and Girls Scouts (WAGGGS) Ambassadors – 18 young women in 15 countries around the world – raise awareness on the post-2015 development agenda, meet with high level decision makers, organize campaigns or promote MY World survey to creating the World We Want for Girls and for all of us. In Kenya, Yvonne and Beatrice celebrated the Interna- tional Day of the Girl (IDG) in a school focusing on em- powering girls with information on the post-2015 devel- opment agenda;; girls voted offline for their priorities in MY World. In Pakistan, Afshan helped to celebrate the IDG in a school and ran a poster and essay competition on the theme of “Putting Girls in the Lead” in the future development agenda. In Australia, Erin contributed to launching the World We Want for Girls campaign and a petition to the Australian government. Cecile in France and Bruna in Brazil raised awareness of their Associa- tions on the post-2015 development agenda. Imen from Tunisia and 5 other Ambassadors also held 6 fo- cus groups discussions with girls and young women on the development agenda. They also engaged Girl Guides and Girls Scouts world- wide to collect votes for the MY World survey. In Mada- gascar, Girl Scouts have contributed to 25% of the total votes in the country. Tsinjo translated the ballot into Malagasy and set up a Facebook page in Malagasy to ensure people who don’t speak French can also vote. In Slovenia, Petra single-handedly managed to rally around 100 votes in only two days. In the Philippines hundreds of girls voted in camps where laptops were set up to record their votes. Edith has been working hard to promote MY World in Nigeria, while Mirna and Girl Guides from Bolivia have collected 120 offline votes during the local fair of the La Paz municipality to ensure even those who do not have access to the inter-
“This week the Secre- tary-General stated that civil society has never been more central to the UN Agenda. Thank you for the privilege of speaking to you as part of that relationship.” On 25 September 2013, Dr. Gill Greer, CEO Volunteer Service Abroad (New Zealand), spoke on behalf of volunteer groups at the Fourth roundtable of the Special Event “Towards Achieving the Millennium Goals”, to highlight the work of millions of volun- teers, and to stress their added value. For the first time, a volunteer-involving organizations was selected by the President of the UN General Assembly to deliver a statement to Member States on behalf of “volunteer groups.” “Can you imagine a world without volunteers? It would be a poorer world because, as we know, vol- unteering is about action and service, about active citizenship, social cohesion, partnership and rela- tionships. Its impact on local, national and global development, can be transformational.” net can have their say. Pippa (UK), Michelle (Philippines) and Hilary (Canada) are engaged in global level advocacy and policy discussions around post-2015. Many Ambassadors led post-2015 ses- sions in WAGGGS regional conferences to raise aware- ness of WAGGGS members on the future development agenda. Visit the WAGGGS website at http://www.wagggs.org
To read this newsletter online, please visit: www.volunteeractioncounts.org. For further information, please contact Simona Costanzo, UNV Post-2015 Project Manager, simona.costanzo@unv.org.
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