The war in Ukraine triggered a drastic increase in humanitarian needs, as services were disrupted, and civilians fled the fighting. The United Nations, non-governmental and refugee-led organizations, charitable funds and national volunteer centres have been working around the clock. However, the longer the war continues, the more extensive the aid, protection and health needs will become.

The United Nations (UN) has also declared 9 August to be the International Day of the World's Indigenous Peoples and the decade of 2022-2032 as the International Decade of Indigenous Languages. The former has as its primary objective to protect indigenous languages that are at risk of disappearing.

The African Development Bank reports that while 10 million to 12 million youth enter the workforce in Africa each year, only 3 million formal jobs are created annually.

Hayfa and Mohamed were both among the finalists of the UNV50 Tunisia Volunteer Award for their "innovation to inspire new forms of volunteering". Applications received for this category exhibited the different forms of creativity that volunteers used as pathways to drive inclusion and growth. But these two names stood out. Not only due to the creativity and innovative problem-solving their work demonstrated, but also their remarkable ability to engage other volunteers.

As a retiree, I didn’t expect to apply for another assignment, but the UN process of application and interview was easy to manage in my situation then, confined at home during COVID-19 lockdown. I had the time to commit to a volunteer programme, which engaged the skills I had used throughout my working life. In addition, the job brought me in touch with the continent where I had made my home for so long. -- Laurel Boland, online volunteer.

Every day, volunteers dedicate time and effort to ensure the inclusion of those often left behind, to drive climate action and advance the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). For its 50th anniversary, UNV celebrated volunteers across the world through national volunteer awards. The award ceremonies were the results of our joint efforts with Member States governments, Resident Coordinator offices, many times volunteer-involving organizations and UN partners.