Peace building relies on the concept of voluntary action and active civic engagement. UN Volunteers can be the ideal interlocutor to deliver constructive messages about participatory processes, build trust and promote dialogue.

In addition, many often perceive UN Volunteers as politically and socially impartial and non-threatening, making them effective actors among different stakeholders in the peace building processes, especially as they come from the communities that the UN supports.

UNV supports initiatives involving community-based organizations and local volunteerism that can play a decisive role in improving the lives of the poor, while simultaneously benefiting the environment.

Achieving the goal of environmental sustainability requires the ingenuity, solidarity, and creativity of many millions of ordinary people, particularly through volunteering.

The contribution of volunteerism in response to the HIV epidemic has been critical in reaching out to vulnerable groups, strengthening community support around people living with HIV and in capacity building and advocacy efforts.

As most primary health care takes place at the community and household levels, a valuable example of volunteer activity has been the development of community-based grass-roots organizations of volunteers involved in caring for People Living with HIV and in educating the public about HIV prevention.

In disaster response, the role and contribution of volunteerism is well recognized. In fact, when a disaster happens, volunteers are normally the first to act.

The impact of volunteers in times of crisis can be tremendous; as the extent of damage – in terms of economic and human loss – is greatly influenced by the initial response.

UNV has significant experience in disaster prevention and risk reduction.

On 2 June 2014, CIVICUS, a global alliance of civil society leaders which advocates for citizen participation, launched its State of Civil Society Report 2014: Reimagining Global Governance.  The paper by the United Nations Volunteers (UNV) programme on Volunteerism, civic engagement and the post-2015 agenda was among more than 30 contributions to the report from the world’s leading experts on civil society as we

Volunteerism is one of the most basic expressions of solidarity and societal cohesion, often arising out of long-established traditions of sharing and reciprocal
exchanges. When the values of volunteerism are structurally integrated into global efforts to eradicate poverty and sustain development and peace, volunteerism becomes a powerful means of engaging people in these challenges. Volunteerism helps transform the pace and nature of development and consolidates
peacebuilding.

Sustaining Livelihoods Affected by the Aral Sea Disaster is a joint UN Programme of five UN Agencies (UNDP, WHO, UNESCO, UNFPA, UNV) and local authorities of Uzbekistan to improve the welfare of the most vulnerable groups due to Aral Sea ecological crisis in the Autonomous Republic of Karakalpakstan within Uzbekistan. The health component of the UN Joint Program targets at enhancing the capacity of primary health care workers to meet the health consequences of the Aral Sea environmental disaster with a specific focus on addressing the needs of women and the youth.

10 Questions & Answers explain the new Sustainable Development agenda, the role of volunteerism in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and potential activities for volunteers.

This Q&A is part of a UNV toolkit on how volunteerism can contribute to achieve the SDGs that is designed to support substantive contributions to planning and programming at national level. The toolkit includes selected policy and knowledge documents, communications materials and links.