Volunteerism is the action
YOUTH IS THE INSPIRATION
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The United Nations Volunteers (UNV) programme contributes to peace and development through volunteerism. UNV is inspired by the conviction that volunteerism can transform the pace and nature of development and by the idea that everyone can contribute their time and energy towards peace and development. With partners, UNV advocates for volunteerism, integrates volunteerism into development planning and mobilizes volunteers. The enormous potential of volunteerism is an inspiration to UNV and to volunteers around the world. Every year, about 7,500 qualified and experienced women and men of around 160 nationalities serve as UN Volunteers in some 130 countries. They are professionals who play key roles contributing to peace and making an impact on development results. Annually, there are more than 16,000 online volunteering assignments offered by development organizations through the UNV Online Volunteering service. Visit: www.unv.org for more information
Cover image: Volunteer Youth Artists in Honduras addressing the development needs of their communities through use of the leisure time. (Andrew Smith 2009).
In 1976, the United Nations General Assembly mandated the United Nations Volunteer programme (UNV) to promote and advance the role of youth in development through volunteerism (UNGA 31/131). Today, UNV upholds youth volunteerism as a people-centred resource for achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and sustainable development. In February 2012, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon reinforced this mandate by calling on UNV to expand youth volunteering through a global UN Youth Volunteer modality and by strengthening national and regional capacities for the development of a youth volunteering programme in partnership with UN entities. Through their greater participation in community, national and world affairs, youth gain skills and experiences that increase their access to employment and at the same time develop into the leaders for today and tomorrow. UNV provides technical cooperation to developing countries to fully tap the potential of youth volunteerism, such as: na dvocating for and supporting the development of policies and legislation that recognize the role and contribution of youth engagement in development; n supporting governments in setting up national youth volunteer schemes and programmes; n supporting the capacity building of volunteer-involving youth corps and youth networks through programmes and projects; n mobilizing skilled national and international UN Volunteers to support youth volunteering initiatives and youth involvement in peace and development; n promoting online volunteering as an opportunity for youth involvement. UNV partners with United Nations entities, governments and civil society in programmes around the globe that engage youth as development actors. Over the last five years, UNV and its partners contributed more than 20 million USD to projects and programmes that enhance youth participation in peace and development through volunteer action. UNV’s 2010 Annual Report, “Inspiring Youth” is dedicated to the organization’s wide spectrum of activities for and by youth. 1
Mobilizing youth through diverse UN Volunteer modalities In 2011, 1,659 – or approximately 23% – of all UN Volunteers were between the ages of 18 and 30. Of the international UN Volunteers, 464 were females and 295 were males, while young women made up 524 and young men 376, of the 900 national UN Volunteers. Since 2001, UNV has been providing new university graduates with the opportunity to volunteer with United Nations agencies and nongovernment organizations (NGOs) in supporting the achievement of the MDGs in areas within their specialized fields of interest and study. Since 2004, more than 13 million USD were invested by various government partners including Italy, Belgium, the Czech Republic, Ireland and Switzerland in these programmes. In the framework, UNV also partnered with ten universities (from the USA, Nigeria, Burkina Faso, Uganda, Vietnam, Philippines, Japan, and the Republic of Korea) and university networks. The Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Spain, coordinates a consortium of 26 Spanish universities. The University Volunteer Scheme is geared toward students enrolled in
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participating universities, with assignments of 3-6 months, generally working with organizations affiliated with UN projects and programmes. Through the UNV Online Volunteering service, www.onlinevolunteering.org, UNV has significantly increased youth volunteerism in peace and development. This internet initiative has enabled youth participation from all educational, social and cultural backgrounds. In 2011 alone, 6,740 volunteers between the ages of 18 and 30, representing 66 percent of on-line volunteers that year, were mobilized via the service. Of these, 62 percent are from developing countries.
I University Volunteers teaching children from remote parts of Papua, Indonesia some hygiene practices. (UNV 2011)
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Fostering social inclusion and enhancing social cohesion through engaging youth Through projects and programmes UNV and its partners work together to address social inclusion through engaging youth. n I n the Balkans, the Regional Integration through Volunteers Exchanges for Reconciliation of South-East Europe (RIVERSEE) project involved young volunteers to augment regional integration and help reduce ethnic tensions. The initiative was implemented in Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Kosovo, Serbia and Macedonia by UNDP/UNV and funded by the European Union. The project supported over 200 youth volunteer exchanges in multidisciplinary areas to consolidate the peace process in the Balkans. n UNV with United Nations agencies and local NGOs in Jordan are implementing two youth-focused projects. One is a community radio station project targeting traditionally marginalized groups in Zarqa. The second is a partnership with UN Women and the Queen Zain Al Sharaaf Institute for Development that focuses on increasing youth and women’s
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awareness of their rights and volunteering opportunities. n In Honduras, through a joint programme of the United Nations and government called Creativity and Cultural Identity for Local Development, UNV has supported the capabilities of people and institutions to conduct decentralized cultural activities aimed to decrease street violence and crime, mobilizing more than 300 local volunteers. n In Haiti, UNV established a nationwide platform of 25 Haitian youth volunteer organizations and implemented diverse activities such as sport and cultural competitions, conferences and workshops on volunteerism. Around 1,000 volunteers across the country took part in a national art contest on peace and sustainable development. n UNV and the China Young Volunteers Association, along with other partners, engaged 122 university volunteers in Tianjin to tutor and mentor migrant students to improve their academic skills and enhance their social inclusion.
UNV has supported the capabilities of people and institutions to conduct decentralized cultural activities aimed to decrease street violence and crime, mobilizing more than 300 local volunteers.
nT hrough the UNV Online Volunteering service, 70 online volunteers have contributed to drafting, editing, translating and posting the Peace Bag for the EuroMed Youth toolkit, which offers practical tools to promote a
culture of peace at local and regional levels across the Mediterranean. The project was developed in a participatory process that involved 18 youth-led and youth-serving organizations from 14 countries in the region.
L Youth volunteers using theater to teach about the MDGs in Palestine. (UNV 2009)
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Engaging youth as agents of change in their communities Through volunteerism, UNV empowers young people to actively engage in changing the world around them. n I n response to the Arab Spring events, UNV recently launched the Arab Youth Volunteering for a Better Future regional programme covering six countries - Egypt, Jordan, Yemen, Morocco and Tunisia. n UNV advised the African Union on the establishment of a youth volunteer corps. The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) requested UNV‘s expertise to establish a sustainable ECOWAS volunteer programme, initially in four pilot countries Guinea, Guinea Bissau, Liberia and Sierra Leone. n Youth volunteerism is contributing to achieving gender equality in Sudan, where the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), UNV, the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and the Ahfad University for Women implemented an innovative programme to mobilize local communities to combat female genital mutilation.
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n Through a joint programme of the United Nations and the Ministry of Youth, Sports, and Culture in Rwanda, UNV is supporting district youth centres, with more than 1,000 youth volunteering in each district. n UNV is partnering with UNDP, AECID and the Ministry of Social Development in Peru in a project which aims to link Peruvian youth and university volunteering with the process of transferring capacities at the regional and local level, offering young people the opportunity to play an active role in the application of poverty reduction strategies.
L A youth volunteer singing about the risks of HIV in a youth camp in Rwanda. (UNV 2010)
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Enhancing youth capacities, building skills and increasing employability UNV supports young people’s need for increased qualifications and readiness for employment by promoting professional, technical and interpersonal expertise gained through volunteerism. n In Burkina Faso, Togo, Mali, Cape Verde, Niger, Burundi and Senegal, where a large portion of the population is young, UNV is supporting national governments and civil society partnerships that established a National Volunteer Programme to mobilize youth volunteers to work for the achievement of the MDGs in the areas of education, health, environment and economic development. The volunteers in the national programmes enhance their leadership skills and gain invaluable work experience. n In Bosnia and Herzegovina, UNV and UNDP have supported the establishment of 16 Youth Employment Centres within the government Public Employment System.
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n Under a National Youth Volunteer initiative of UNDP and UNV in Liberia, university graduates were provided the opportunity to work in communities at the provincial and district levels in the area of health care education. The project benefited about 200 universities’ graduates working in 20 pilot communities. n In Cambodia, UNV worked closely with the Cambodian Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports on a National Youth Policy. The policy aims to provide youth with stronger support and volunteer opportunities to develop their skills and participate in civil society and establish youth centres in provinces.
I Youth during a workshop on climate change in Morocco. (UNV 2010)
Further information UNV Annual Report 2010: ‘Inspiring Youth’ www.unv.org/en/news-resources/resources/annual-report2010.html UNV website: www.unv.org/what-we-do/thematic-areas/youth Youth volunteering, social integration and decent work: inspiring leadership, discussion paper for the 48th session of the Commission for Social Development by UNV with support from Volunteer and Service Enquiry Southern Africa (VOSESA 2011): www.unv.org/en/news-resources/resources/on-volunteerism/doc/youthvolunteering-social-integration Volunteering and Social Activism: Pathways for Participation in Human Development, 2008, a joint publication of the World Alliance for Citizen Participation (CIVICUS), the International Association for Volunteer Effort (IAVE) and UNV: http://www.unv.org/fileadmin/img/wvw/Volunteerism-FINAL.pdf
United Nations Volunteers Postfach 260 111 D-53153 Bonn, Germany Tel: +49 228 815 2000 Fax: +49 228 815 2001 www.unvolunteers.org
UNV is administered by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)