A society without "responsive citizens" is not sustainable according to the head of the United Nations Volunteers (UNV) programme.

The annual joint conference of the United Nations and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) concluded on 5 September 2011 in Bonn, Germany, with calls for civil society to encourage people to realize that their local concerns were connected to the larger global issues.

From the Red Cross to Fairtrade, NGOs are meeting with UN bodies in Bonn to discuss ways of making societies more sustainable. It's a message that's been falling flat, but NGOs say time is running out.

Volunteering needs to be made more attractive to the public if it is going to tackle global issues like sustainability, participants of the United Nations conference have today been told.

Next week's annual joint conference of the United Nations and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) will focus on sustainable development, volunteerism and the power of individuals to effect change and transform communities. A record 2,000 representatives from 100 countries and territories are expected to attend the three-day 64th annual conference of the UN and NGOs, organized by the UN Department of Public Information (DPI), in partnership with the DPI/NGO Executive Committee, Germany and United Nations Volunteers.

In the lead-up to next week's UN DPI NGO Conference Sustainable Societies Responsive Citizens in Bonn, the first official press conference was held at UN Headquarters in New York. Donna Keher, chief of UNV Partnerships and Communications Division, stressed the importance of the role played by people as volunteers to achieve sustainable development.