The United Nations Volunteers programme (UNV) and the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) will host the Global Technical Meeting on Reimagining Volunteering for the 2030 Agenda. The online special event will take place from 13 to 16 July 2020 during the High-level Political Forum on Sustainable Development.
Throughout the event, representatives from member states, UN entities, civil society including volunteer organisations, the private sector, academia and the world’s volunteers will come together to reimagine volunteering for the 2030 Agenda.
More than 13,000 people have registered their attendance. To join and receive the links to the sessions, please register at volunteerSDGs.org.
Speakers include Amina Mohammed, UN Deputy Secretary-General, who will open the event; Hindou Ibrahim, President of the Association for Indigenous Women and Peoples of Chad, who will speak about indigenous peoples and climate action; and Anju Dhital and Prakriti Dhungel, two volunteers from Nepal, who will speak about disability and inclusion.
Panelists include Achim Steiner, Administrator of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP); Francesco Rocca, President of the IFRC; and Olivier Adam, Executive Coordinator of UNV.
Discussions will be organized around the Plan of Action to Integrate Volunteering into the 2030 Agenda, a mandate set forth by a UN General Assembly Resolution. The Plan of Action is the puzzle connecting volunteering to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by enhancing people's ownership of the 2030 Agenda, integrating volunteering into national efforts, and better measuring the impact of volunteering.
Volunteering is expanding and changing alongside our societies and economies. Survey results and research show that volunteering has enormous potential to address today’s global challenges. We must keep up.
UNV Executive Coordinator, Olivier Adam says
‘volunteering brings a distinctive set of attributes to the global efforts to deliver the SDGs including social connections, solidarity and local knowledge.’
IFRC Secretary General, Jagan Chapagain says
‘we need new, innovative and next generation models of volunteering that nurture and protect the safety, security and well-being of people who provide support and services to communities in need.’
2020 is a year of urgency and reflection, taking into consideration the pandemic as well as rising inequalities, long-lasting conflicts, and climate change. This year also marks the start of the Decade of Action. Now is the time to collectively rethink the future we want and how volunteering can help us achieve it.
At the Global Technical Meeting, participants will share their ideas about how to leverage the next generation of volunteering and the actions of one billion volunteers.
With the right resources, policies, and financing, the next generation of volunteering will go faster and further.
For further information, please contact:
Matthew Cochrane, Manager, Media and Advocacy, IFRC: matthew.cochrane@ifrc.org, +41 79 251 80 39
Zuha Al-Hammadi, GTM Communications Officer, UNV: zuha.al-hammadi@unv.org
Massimiliano Leone, Head of Digital Media, ITCILO: m.leone@itcilo.org, +393346517750