More than 2,500 UN Volunteers, half of them women, have supported the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR) in delivering on its mandate in 95 countries over the past six years. The two agencies have signed a Memorandum of Understanding reaffirming this long-standing partnership.

More than 2,500 UN Volunteers, half of them women, have supported the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR) in delivering on its mandate in 95 countries over the past six years. The two agencies have signed a Memorandum of Understanding reaffirming this long-standing partnership.

Inspired by a strong will to make a difference, young people are very keen to tackle the challenges faced by youth all over the world. This is why UNV and AIESEC are organizing a workshop in Dakar, Senegal, on 7-8 September 2016, with the objective to harness Africa’s youth potential to meet the SDGs through volunteerism.

On 26 August 2016, during a side event preceeding TICAD VI, Richard Dictus, the Executive Coordinator of the United Nations Volunteers (UNV) programme and Ambassador Dr. Kipyego Cheluget, Assistant Secretary General of the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) towards establishing the COMESA Youth Volunteer Scheme (COMESA-YVS). The MOU signing was a culmination of extensive discussions between the two organizations led by the UNV Regional Office for Eastern and Southern Africa based in Nairobi.

Africa needs a people-led development pathway that puts the role of youth at the core of the continental development agenda. Thus concluded the colorful side event jointly convened by the United Nations Volunteers (UNV) programme and the Africa Union Commission (AUC) on 26 August 2016 to head off the sixth Tokyo International Conference on Africa Development (TICAD VI) held for the first time in Africa, in Nairobi from 27 to 28 August 2016. 

Africa needs a people-led development pathway that puts the role of youth at the core of the continental development agenda. Thus concluded the colorful side event jointly convened by the United Nations Volunteers (UNV) programme and the Africa Union Commission (AUC) on 26 August 2016 to head off the sixth Tokyo International Conference on Africa Development (TICAD VI) held for the first time in Africa, in Nairobi from 27 to 28 August 2016. 

Nairobi, Kenya: The transition from the year 2015 to the year 2016 marked a remarkable moment in environmental governance for sustainable development globally. The world gained a set of universally agreed development goals, a financing for development agreement, and even more critical for the global environment, the Paris climate change agreement that finally promised to cap global warming to below 2 degrees Celsius.

With over 4,000 participants, the 11th Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM11), held July 15-16 2016, was the largest diplomatic gathering to come to Mongolia to date. In addition to the main international summit, there were nine preceding meetings. Some 1,200 young men and women assisted these events as youth volunteers, garnering much recognition for their great work. The President of Mongolia commended them for being the first-ever and the biggest youth volunteer group in Mongolia. Each and every volunteer was given a certificate of appreciation.

With over 4,000 participants, the 11th Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM11), held July 15-16 2016, was the largest diplomatic gathering to come to Mongolia to date. In addition to the main international summit, there were nine preceding meetings. Some 1,200 young men and women assisted these events as youth volunteers, garnering much recognition for their great work. The President of Mongolia commended them for being the first-ever and the biggest youth volunteer group in Mongolia. Each and every volunteer was given a certificate of appreciation.

On 28 June 2016, the United Nations Volunteers (UNV) programme concluded a partnership agreement with Yamaha Motor Co., Ltd. UNV has long been engaging with different private sector partnerships, even before the launch of the UN Global Compact in 2000. UNV placed over 200 volunteers from the private sector for short-term assignments to support such diverse areas as food industry and environmental assessments.