In 1996, I was appointed by the UNDP Administrator as the new Director for the Arab States, Latin America and the Caribbean (ARLAC) section at UNV. At that time, UNV was celebrating 25 years since its founding. It was also in the process of moving its headquarters from Geneva to Bonn – resulting in more than two-thirds of its staff reassigned to new functions.

Just like the rest of the world, the battle against the pandemic is still ongoing in Tunisia. The Coronavirus has been an opportunity to learn more about the potential of volunteering, and what volunteers, who were among the first responders, can do in a health crisis context. They have been yielding impactful results and supporting with different components of pandemic preparedness and response. 

We’re talking of literally thousands of people, as I reflect upon 31 years. I served for two years in the early 1980s as a US Peace Corps co-sponsored volunteer in rural Liberia working for a UNDP Self-Help Village Development Project. Then in 1986, four years as the UNV Programme Officer at the Colombo office of the UN Development Programme (UNDP), where I oversaw the UNV Domestic Development Service volunteer programme in Sri Lanka.

The Report reveals that cooperation between volunteers and governments helps build collaborative decision-making.   Increasing inequalities worldwide call for a new type of social contract with a renewed emphasis on inclusion. It is time for a global reset. The UN Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres has spelled out the need for a New Social Contract that creates equal opportunities and respect the rights and freedoms of all.1

The campaign this year is focused on decision-makers more than in the past. It is important to integrate volunteers and the spirit of volunteerism into national and global implementation strategies to achieve the SDGs and build an inclusive world. By volunteering, people take action to improve their lives and the lives of those around them. Therefore, the theme for this year’s campaign is “Volunteer now for our common future”. We are highlighting the below key messages about the power of volunteerism in line with our campaign theme:

International Volunteer Day (IVD) is an international observance that was mandated by the UN General Assembly in 1985. It offers an opportunity for volunteer-involving organizations and individual volunteers to promote volunteerism, encourage governments to support volunteer efforts and recognize volunteer contributions to the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) at local, national and international levels.

United Nations (UN) partners in Tanzania are interested in engaging national UN Volunteers with qualifications and experience in the following areas: •    Development programme and project management/coordination •    Information and Communications Technology •    Data science •    Civil engineering and architecture •    Midwifery and nursing •    Refugee protection and resettlement •    Transportation •    Statistics

Nathalie Nuwayhed is one of 15 national UN Youth Volunteers serving with ESCWA. She is deployed as a Team Assistant with the UN Department of Safety and Security (UNDSS) in Beirut. The department is tasked with the security of UN premises, staff, and activities, and has been undertaking activities to increase the representation of women in its workforce. Nathalie’s has been engaging in outreach for new recruitments, resulting in a seven per cent increase of women in the department.

Most people remember where they were when the disaster struck. I was serving as UNV Programme Officer in Timor-Leste at the time, where hundreds of international UN Volunteers supported the nation-building efforts of the then-newest member of the United Nations family. On home leave celebrating Christmas with my family in Germany on that very day, I felt the urge to support the people in the affected areas.