Last week Richard Dictus, Executive Coordinator of the United Nations Volunteers (UNV) programme, joined distinguished guests such as the Crown Prince Haakon of Norway and the Norwegian Minister of International Development, in speaking at Fredskorpset’s Youth Leadership Conference in Oslo.

Richard Dictus, Executive Coordinator of the United Nations Volunteers (UNV) programme welcomed his first official visitors to the United Nations in Bonn on 22 January 2013.  Mr Dictus moderated a roundtable exchange between UN organizations within the UN family in Bonn and Members of the German Parliamentary Committee on Economic Cooperation and Development. Members of the German Parliament present were:  Dr Christian Ruck (head of delegation), Dr Sascha Raabe, Ms Helga Daub, Mr Niema Movassat, and Ms Ute Koczy.

A dedicated trust fund has been set up by the United Nations to boost youth volunteerism and harness the energy of young people around the world to contribute to achieving development goals while enhancing their own lives. Announced by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the United Nations Volunteers (UNV) programme, the new youth trust fund is an important milestone in developing the inspirational UN Youth Volunteers Programme.

“Volunteering for Development: Innovation and impact in a changing development environment” was the theme of this year’s  annual meeting of the International Volunteer Cooperation Organisations (IVCO 2012) held in Ottawa from 14-17 October. The conference brought together senior representatives of volunteer organizations from all around the world.

The United Nations Volunteers (UNV) programme is partnering with the Asan Nanum Foundation (ANF) of the Republic of Korea to promote youth engagement in the achievement of human development goals.   Through this partnership, UNV and the ANF aim to positively harness the energy of UN Volunteer Interns towards the advancement of peace and development around the world, while enhancing their participation, citizenship and work-related skills.  In 2013, the Foundation will provide full funding for ten young Koreans under the UNV Internship Programme.

At the beginning of October, UNV organized a regional consultation for a new initiative:  the Arab Youth Volunteering for a Better Future Programme.

In Albania, the country with the highest percentage of youth in Southeast Europe, Roma youth face heavy discrimination. Their exclusion from sports competitions, school events, vocational training and community life often has a negative impact on their self-confidence.

According to Marie-Josée Jacobs, Luxembourg's Minister for Family and Integration and Minister of Development Cooperation and Humanitarian Affairs, once a young person becomes a volunteer, it changes their life and they remain engaged. Ms Jacobs was speaking at a press conference chaired jointly with UNV Executive Coordinator Flavia Pansieri at which a new Memorandum of Understanding between Luxembourg and UNV was signed.

In the context of Rio+20, the United Nations Volunteers (UNV) programme has launched a public participation campaign entitled "Volunteering for the Future We Want" on UNV China’s Sina and Tecent Weibos on 25 June 2012. Weibo is technically the Chinese translation for microblog. Sina Weibo is similar to a hybrid of Twitter and Facebook, and it is one of the most popular sites in China. Tencent Weibo is also a microblogging site where users may broadcast a message of up to 140 Chinese characters through the web, SMS or smartphone.

Inspired by millions of volunteers acting for sustainable development around the world, UNV at Rio+20 is calling on decision-makers to recognize the importance of volunteering and civic engagement for the future of our planet. UN and other global leaders have repeatedly highlighted the need for the engagement of volunteers and communities to achieve the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and sustainable development. A strong people-centred approach to development through voluntary action is already happening in the field, integrating social, economic and environmental transformation.