Approximately one billion people are engaging in voluntary action globally.  Their activities range from delivering services, preparing and responding to disasters and providing technical assistance such as in mapping and monitoring climate and environmental data. The growing environmental awareness, often enabled by powerful and cheap new mobile and open technologies, is further triggering new data collection and monitoring efforts by volunteers. 

Approximately one billion people are engaging in voluntary action globally.  Their activities range from delivering services, preparing and responding to disasters and providing technical assistance such as in mapping and monitoring climate and environmental data. The growing environmental awareness, often enabled by powerful and cheap new mobile and open technologies, is further triggering new data collection and monitoring efforts by volunteers. 

In El Edén, a Mam indigenous community in the northeastern part of Guatemala, residents cut down hundreds of trees each year for their domestic energy needs. “We collect firewood in the dry season for the whole year. We look for wood which is completely dry, because it will burn for longer and we use less wood”, comments Celedonia Félix Matías, President of the organization Eucalyptus.

The ARNOVA conference was designed to create a public conversation on, as well as opportunities for presenting research about, pressing issues and vital opportunities facing the voluntary or nonprofit sector. It is both a showcase for the best and most current research, as well as a seed bed from which new research is born. This three-day event includes two plenary sessions, 180+ panel and/or paper presentation sessions, a poster session and numerous opportunities for networking/idea sharing.

The ARNOVA conference was designed to create a public conversation on, as well as opportunities for presenting research about, pressing issues and vital opportunities facing the voluntary or nonprofit sector. It is both a showcase for the best and most current research, as well as a seed bed from which new research is born. This three-day event includes two plenary sessions, 180+ panel and/or paper presentation sessions, a poster session and numerous opportunities for networking/idea sharing.

The ILO Department of Statistics and the UN Volunteers have joined forces to scale up efforts to improve the global availability, quality and use of statistics on volunteer work. Starting this month, the ILO-UNV partnership will focus on assessing the current status of volunteer work statistics around the world; engage directly with countries to identify good practices and challenges in volunteer work data collection and analysis; and develop practical survey approaches and tools to support countries’ efforts.

“Nothing for us, without us!” These were the chants that could be heard by disability groups at the World Conference for Disaster Risk Reduction in Sendai 2015. Views from the frontline, 2009-2015

On September 19, 2017, Mexico was hit by a 7.1 magnitude earthquake that toppled buildings in Mexico City and four surrounding states.  Only two hours earlier, I had left my meeting in a high-rise building to participate in the annual drill to commemorate the 1985 earthquake which struck on the same date 32 years ago.  As part of the exercise, schools and office buildings were evacuated. Some people considered the simulation useful when the real thing hit.

The purpose of this literature review is to set out a conceptual framework to inform the primary research methodology and protocol for 2018 State of the World’s Volunteerism Report, and to identify gaps that can be filled through primary research with communities. This review is based on analysis of different publications that touch on volunteerism and resilience, providing a synthesis of prior studies in order to inform the final report.

If there is one area where anecdotes seem to rule and myths abound in the field of volunteerism for development, on which views are strongly held and interesting debates had, it is on gender and volunteerism.  As a women’s rights activist, I can receive strong reactions from allies when I talk about UNV’s mandate to promote volunteerism – often equated with romanticising women’s further unpaid contribution as a ‘triple burden’ – especially in low income countries.  At the same time, volunteer-involving organizations, the most vocal and visible of whom tend to be in the Global Nort