Wendy Betancourt García (Colombia) is a UN Volunteer Project assistant with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in Colombia.

To commemorate the International Day of Peace, the United Nations Information Centre (UNIC) in Pretoria partnered with UN Volunteers and the African Centre for Constructive Resolution of Disputes (ACCORD) to educate learners on peace and its link to the 17 Sustainable Development Goals. The day began at Curro Independent School in Roodeplaat where primary school learners were informed and quizzed about their knowledge of the UN and what peace means to them with many saying that peace “is to not fight and to find solutions to conflicts.”

Volunteerism as building blocks for peacebuilding, how does that work? For starters, volunteerism generates forms of social capital that are indispensable to peacebuilding and plays an important role in strengthening the development of national civilian capacities to address peacebuilding issues.

On this International Day of Peace we celebrate the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) as the “Building Blocks for Peace”. 

Between Friday 8 July and Sunday 10 July, heavy fighting broke out in Juba which had consequences for the UN Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) and the Agencies, Funds and Programmes active in the country. A ceasefire was declared on Monday 11 July 2016. At least 272 people have been killed in the recent violence. Two peacekeepers and one United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR) staff lost their lives while several other peacekeepers have sustained injuries. 

In what has become an annual event, the Government of Germany and the Center for International Peace Operations (ZIF) held a gathering in Berlin to mark the International Day of UN Peacekeepers, honouring the contribution of German peacekeepers around the world in the presence of more than 200 invitees.

The UN held a wreath-laying ceremony at its headquarters on 19 May to mark the 2016 International Day of United Nations Peacekeepers. May 29 is set aside by the General Assembly as the day to honour fallen UN peacekeepers as well as the men and women who served and continue to serve in UN peacekeeping operations. This year the theme is "Honouring Our Heroes".

The photos of women volunteers presented in this video were sent by users all over the world. We extend a special thanks to all the people that contributed to this social media campaign intended to highlight how women volunteers contribute to peace and development worldwide.

The United Nations Volunteers (UNV) is the UN organization that contributes to peace and development through volunteerism worldwide. UNV is the only entity capable of mobilizing large numbers of highly qualified volunteers, who serve the UN system in war-torn communities, classrooms, hospitals and homes.

Volunteerism engages people from the ground up to make lasting changes. The United Nations Volunteers (UNV) is the UN organization that contributes to peace and development through volunteerism worldwide. It promotes the spirit of volunteerism, which is spreading as a way of life. UNV is the only entity capable of mobilizing large numbers of highly qualified volunteers, who serve the UN system in war-torn communities, classrooms, hospitals and homes.