The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development explicitly recognizes volunteer groups as key actors to achieve the seventeen Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Following the launch of the 2030 Agenda in 2015, the General Assembly of the United Nations adopted the Plan of Action for Integrating Volunteerism into the 2030 Agenda, through Resolution A/RES/70/129 "Integrating volunteering into peace and development: the plan of action for the next decade and beyond".

Almost three decades of civil war in Angola have decimated its wildlife, during a time where the country had other priorities and the maintenance of protected areas and conservation of biodiversity were neglected. Now the country has the challenge to recover its biodiversity and rehabilitate its protected areas.

Prior to my UNV assignment, I worked with the UNHCR representation in Ghana as a national staff member, thus UNV presented an excellent opportunity and platform to further develop a career in programme management in that it afforded me an opportunity to work and learn from more experienced colleagues. I was also particularly excited about international UNV as it was a platform where I could gain experience and knowledge of humanitarian response within the UN, particularly UNHCR.

Mr Tegegnework Gettu, UNDP Associate Administrator, opened UNV’s session at the meeting. He highlighted the strong UND/UNV partnership and noted how through its engagements with UNDP, UNV is constantly demonstrating how volunteers are vital to the success of development initiatives at local, regional and national levels. 

As a UN Volunteer, part of my assignment is supporting the implementation of the UN Free & Equal campaign in Brazil. Free & Equal is a global, unprecedented initiative by the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), launched in 2013, to promote equal rights and fair treatment for lesbians, gays, bisexuals, transgender and intersex people (LGBTI). In Brazil, our national UN Free & Equal campaign was launched in 2014.

Mr Daniel Sigelmann, Head of National Volunteers Programme and President of the Management Council of the Viva Voluntario Programme, Mr Niky Fabiancic, UN Resident Coordinator and UNDP Resident Representative,   Mr. President of the  Brazilian Scouts Association, Mr Didier Trebucq, UNDP Country Director and Deputy Resident Representative, Members of the Management Council, Distinguished guests Ladies and Gentlemen,

The UN Climate Change Conference COP 23 is taking place in Bonn, Germany, between 6 and 17 November. UNV is also present in different ways to make sure volunteerism is part of the conversation around the protection of the environment and the fight against climate change.

I was selected as a UN Online Volunteer for a project in which we developed content on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and spread it on social networks. I was already volunteering at an electronic newspaper and I asked for the authorization to use my weekly column to give the campaign more visibility.

This video introduces the new partnership signed by the United Nations Volunteers (UNV) programme and Samsung in April 2016 in a ceremony held in São Paulo, Brazil. With this unprecedented partnership, UNV aims to expand the global reach of its UNV Online Volunteering service as well as explore innovative methods of co-creation related to corporate volunteering for the Sustainable Development Goals.

The Brazilian Corporate Volunteer Council (CBVE) signed an innovative partnership with the United Nations Volunteers (UNV) programme in Brazil, with the objective to collaborate for the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals by mobilizing the commitment, solidarity and civic engagement that is unique to volunteerism.