As the volunteer movement continues to grow in Central Asia, celebrations for International Volunteer Day (IVD) are becoming more prominent and festive. In 2021, IVD was celebrated through online, live and hybrid events in the region to recognize the contribution of volunteers.
In Kazakhstan, under the leadership of the Ministry of Information and Social Development of the Republic of Kazakhstan, volunteer organizations gathered for the International Volunteer of the Year Award ceremony in Pavlodar on 3 December.
UNV held a panel on International Volunteerism, featuring volunteers serving in Azerbaijan, Jordan, Russia and Turkey.
Award certificates were distributed to winners of the UNV 50 Country Awards in two areas: Outstanding support to UN Projects (for UN Volunteers) and Outstanding contribution to the development of volunteerism (for nationals only).
Several Kazakhstani influencers also showed their support to volunteerism by participating in the #IVD2021 online campaign, including Dinara Saduakassova, Kazakhstani Chess Player with FIDE titles of International Master (IM) and Woman Grandmaster, and Akmarzhan Kusherbayeva (a.k.a. KALIYA), singer and activist.
.jpg)
In Uzbekistan, a large-scale event was organized on 25 November for the Health Volunteer of the Year ceremony in Nukus, with the participation of almost 400 health volunteers.
Emergency and Authority Ambassador of Japan, Mr Yoshinori Fujiyama, Permanent Representative of the PRF, Ms Matilda Dimovskaya, and the Representative of the UN Population Fund (UNFPA) in Uzbekistan, Mr Yu, were present at the ceremony.
Another important event, a volunteer forum, was organized by the National Volunteer Association on 4 December. The forum took place with the recognition of volunteers and a strategic overview of volunteering development for 2022.
In Kyrgyzstan, a national live event organized by the Red Crescent took place on 5 December. During the event, Volunteer of the Year awards were presented to national volunteers and organizations. On the other hand, on 6 December, with the support of UN Volunteers and the UNFPA, a draft law on volunteering was presented to youth, volunteer organizations, activists and government representatives.
In Tajikistan, the event "I Talk 7 talk," organized by public charity organization Pershaft, took place on 11 December. Under the slogan "Volunteering will save the WORLD!," an intellectual and educational event was dedicated to the celebration of the IVD.