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NYC calls for volunteer facilitators for 8th National Youth Parliament

International Year of Youth Joint Statement

Photo Gallery : World Humanitarian Day

UNIC Manila commemorates World Humanitarian Day

Volunteerism can help gov’t recover, for free

Land of Many Waters (June 2010)

I dreamt of South America. Two months before I was to finish my contract in Africa , I got an e-mail from UNV for an assignment in Guyana . I gladly accepted and went through the process of recruitment. My dad, mom and brothers, as always, rooted for me and were ecstatic for me — never mind that, at the back of their minds, they find me strange and not your “typical” doctor … a doctor who chases her dreams in the farthest corners of the earth. But they love me nonetheless.

City Mayors urged to do more for MDGs (June 2010)

In a bid to rally support for the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), a high UN ranking official identified yesterday to city mayors critical areas where action is needed for them and other local government units (LGUs) to achieve the MDGs and as an end result, improve better living conditions to their electorate.

RP among top 5 in volunteer work vs climate change (June 2010)

The country registered more than one million hours of effort to tackle climate change and other environmental issues, the United Nations office here said.

The top five countries are India, which registered 53,917 hours, followed by Pakistan, 40,710, Nigeria, 31,647, Kenya, 32,277, and Philippines, 26,112.

Belgian UN volunteer releases alternative World Cup song (June 2010)

It is not only footballers’ goals that count in this year’s World Cup. In Pretoria, the Belgian Christophe Verhellen is coordinating a UN campaign coinciding with the tournament and designed to boost the profile of the Millennium Development Goals and the fight against poverty. For that campaign, Christophe teamed up with eight prominent African musicians, including Yvonne Chaka Chaka and Baaba Maal. Their alternative World Cup song, 8 Goals for Africa, aims to educate millions of football fans about the Millennium Development Goals. The song’s refrain is certainly very stirring:

World Environment Day 2010 (June 2010)

The United Nations General Assembly designated 2010 as the International Year of Biodiversity. As ever, voluntary action will be key to achieving its goals.

United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon calls for such voluntary action in his own message for World Environment Day, appealing to everyone to help sound the alarm about the impact of human activities upon biodiversity and the world we live in. "Get involved, speak out," he says. "Learn and teach others. Show leadership and help clean up."

The Japanese volunteer brokering a balance for youth (June 2010)

In a country like Sierra Leone, helping the group most vulnerable to conflict – youth – is a huge responsibility. And overseeing key programmes for their sustainable integration into society is a UNV volunteer.

Natsuko Kaneyama from Osaka, Japan, is a UNV volunteer Programme Manager for Youth and Peacebuilding at UNDP. Formerly deployed as a UNV volunteer to Sierra Leone by the Hiroshima Peacebuilding Center, she now runs two main portfolios; youth employment and peace reconciliation.

Putting the Civil Society Sector on the Economic Map of the World (May 2010)

The past twenty-five years have witnessed a spectacular expansion of philanthropy, volunteering, and civil society organizations throughout the world. Despite the promise that this development holds, however, the civil society sector is poorly understood by policymakers and the public at large, often encumbered by legal limitations, and inadequately utilized as a mechanism for addressing public problems.

UNV doctor from RP finds his niche (May 2010)

An author once said “Do not go where the path might lead, go instead where there is no path and leave a trail.”

This statement holds true for all volunteers at UNV – serving in all parts of the world where UN presence is much needed.

Indeed, it is a new experience. Volunteers are immersed in different races, cultures, religious beliefs, languages and behaviors.

UN Reps Visit Karakalpakstan to See Projects Inspired by Volunteerism Idea (April 2010)

To succeed in development efforts and make progress towards the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), it is important for people to be involved. To do so, we all need to encourage the active participation of local volunteers. Today volunteers are playing an important role in the development of local communities and in achieving their MDGs.

The UN Resident Coordinator, Ms. Anita Nirody together with representatives of the World Health Organization, United Nations Population Fund and United Nations Development Program traveled to Karakalpakstan to see how the UN family is tapping into the essence of volunteerism to support its initiatives in Karakalpakstan.

Korea's Overseas Volunteer Corps 3rd Largest in World (March 2010)

Korea's corps of overseas volunteers is the third largest in the world, statistics revealed on Sunday. According to the statistics by the state-run Korea International Cooperation Agency, Korea sends 1,000 new volunteers to 43 countries every year, third only to the Peace Corps of the U.S. (3,801 volunteers to 72 countries) and the Japan's Overseas Cooperation Volunteers (2,000 volunteers).

Even when considering the total number of volunteers at work, as volunteers usually have a two-year contract with the KOICA, Korea still ranks third with 1,538 volunteers in 43 countries. The U.S. has 8,079 volunteers in 74 countries, and Japan has 3,147 in 77 countries. Germany is in fourth place with 970 volunteers in 42 countries.

After 40 years, global volunteer group exits RP (March 2010)

AFTER four straight decades of volunteerism in the Philippines’ rural communities, UK-based Voluntary Service Overseas (VSO) is ending its engagement here this month.

Malou Juanito, VSO Bahaginan executive director, said the program office of the international development organization VSO has completed its mission in the Philippines, culminating a legacy of global volunteerism to help alleviate poverty and aid the disadvantaged in the country.

Volunteers rally for Haiti recovery (February 2010)

Pretoria, South Africa and Georgetown, Guyana : It's been demonstrated time and time again how important voluntary action is in the immediate aftermath of natural disasters. Jonas Scherrens was volunteering with human rights organizations in Haiti when the country was devastated by an earthquake on 12 January this year.

VSO Bahaginan and AKAP Pinoy empower the disabled for May 2010 (January 2010)

MANILA, Philippines - The United Nations World Health Organization estimates that one in every 10 Filipinos is living with physical disability. With the upcoming elections, VSO Bahaginan, a development organization that engages volunteers and institutional partners into a wide range of volunteer programs, and AKAP Pinoy, a network of more than 446 disabled people’s organizations (DPOs) working to uplift the quality of life of PWDs, have joined forces with the Commission on Elections (Comelec) to empower PWD to exercise their right to vote in the May elections through a series of initiatives.

Haiti earthquake response (January 2010)

Bonn, Germany : Haiti has suffered a force 7.0 earthquake and a series of aftershocks resulting in widespread damage, including to the United Nations compound. Communications have been interrupted.

The United Nations Volunteers (UNV) programme is urgently seeking information about the health and safety of our 220 UNV volunteers currently stationed in Haiti.

"Our immediate concern is for the safety and wellbeing of UNV volunteers, UN staff and the people of Haiti," said UNV Executive Coordinator Flavia Pansieri.

Online volunteering opens the door to world citizenship (December 2009)

"I'm a little embarrassed to admit," Tiffany Shaw-Diaz says, &"that I couldn't find Ghana on a map."

Few Americans probably could, but Shaw-Diaz did something about it. She not only learned where the small African nation is located (Atlantic coast, right next to Togo, if that helps), but she found an inspired, and inspiring, way to learn more about the place and its people, and then help them live better lives.

And she didn't stop there.

Volunteers' action makes 'ultimate' statement (December 2009)

Copenhagen, Denmark: "Volunteers do. Volunteers act. They are doing something about climate change; making things happen and improving lives," said UN Volunteers Executive Coordinator Flavia Pansieri at the UN Climate Change Conference (COP15) yesterday. "Millions of people are taking action for the environment as volunteers. Their actions are more powerful than any statement about solving climate change and they deserve recognition and support. Governments need to take note and include volunteers in their solutions to climate change."

Who said "No, we can't"? (December 2009)

Have you ever wondered how, directly or indirectly, your volunteer work helps other people?

You do not bring in millions of dollars to build and rebuild highways, schools, and bridges. You may not produce instant answers when and where they are desperately needed. You are crying together when you're supposed to cheer them up. You feel either “too young” or “too old" to do anything, inadequate to make any significant differences to other people’s lives.

This video has been around on Youtube for sometime now and remains an inspiration to countless change makers like you who strive to make this world a better, peaceful place to live in.

Season's greetings from the UNV Philippines.

Volunteers who risked lives during calamities honored (December 2009)

President Arroyo Thursday conferred various awards to individuals and public and private institutions, as well as special citations to volunteers who risked their lives during the rescue operations during the onslaught of tropical storm “Ondoy” and typhoon “Pepeng.”

The Chief Executive conferred the 2009 Volunteers award to three individuals and four organizations for their volunteerism activities as well as posthumous special commendations to volunteers who died while conducting rescue operations during the onslaught of tropical storm “Ondoy” in September as well as the devastation brought by typhoon “Pepeng in October.

2The Last Volunteers to the Philippines (December 2009)

Volunteer Service Abroad (VSO) has decided that the Philippines is all grown up now, and more than capable of sourcing volunteers from its own citizens rather than recruiting abroad.

“The Philippines has the talent-pool and skills to fulfill all the volunteer roles in our country”, says Mindanao VSO Peace-building Programme manager Romulo de la Rosa (Billy).

“We are a middle income country with a lot of professionals. We just need to provide the organizational structures to get the people with the right skills to the right places and ensure their skills are made the most of ”, he says.

United by a common goal, fallen UN staff aimed to help Afghans (November 2009)

Lawrence Mefful's family and colleagues say it was typical of the United Nations security officer and devout Christian to put the well-being of others before his own safety.

UNV mourns the deaths of two UNV volunteers serving in Afghanistan (October 2009)

The United Nations Volunteers (UNV) programme is deeply saddened by the tragic deaths of two UNV volunteers, Ms. Jossie G. Esto, 40, from the Philippines, and Ms. Yah-Lydia Wonyene, 47, from Liberia, who were killed in an armed attack on a United Nations guest house in Kabul, Afghanistan today.

The attack killed three other United Nations personnel and wounded several others, including a UNV volunteer.

UN Family observes UN Day by helping Typhoon (October 2009)

It has been a tradition of the United Nations system in the Philippines to organize a get-together for all UN staff and family to celebrate UN Day on the 24th of October. However, given that there are still many Filipinos affected by the floods and heavy rain, a more modest UN Day celebration was organized.

Global Youth Volunteerism on Philippine Soil (October 2009)

The United Nations Volunteers Programme (UNV), in partnership with the Universidad Autonoma de Madrid (UAM), and the University Volunteer Network, recently welcomed 5 volunteers from Spain who will be stationed in Zone One Tondo Organization (ZOTO) in Navotas, Earth Rights Peoples Rights in Alabang, and the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) in Makati City.

Leading volunteer organizations gear up to volunteer year anniversary (October 2009)

Bonn, Germany (21 October) ・Volunteer organizations, governments and international organizations from across the world are joining UN partners to plan for 2011, the tenth anniversary of the International Year of Volunteers.

The consultative meeting aims to discuss preparations for the anniversary year in 2011, often referred to as 'IYV+10'. The dialogue will take place at the Bonn headquarters of the United Nations Volunteers (UNV) programme from 22-23 October 2009, and should result in an enhanced Plan of Action for the anniversary year with ideas on guiding themes and milestone events.

Gleaming in Glory (October 2009)

UNV team organized an annual retreat from 30 September to 2 October 2009 in Bauko, Mountain Province. In collaboration with the Sinto Elementary School, four UNV volunteers took part in various activities with young children and their teachers and parents, such as re-paining school buildings, showing films, and conducting outdoor games.

Kobe reaches out to GK (July 2009)
abs-cbnNEWS.com

MANILA (22 July) ・Aside from holding a basketball camp and promoting a new shoe model in his recent visit to Manila, Kobe Bryant made it a point to show his support for the Gawad Kalinga Community Development Foundation (GK).

GK is a nation-building movement which engages all sectors of Philippine society, including the government, academe, corporate, non-government organizations, religious, and civil society.

Seal the Deal 2009 (July 2009)

The UN-led Seal the Deal Campaign aims to galvanize political will and public support for reaching a comprehensive global climate agreement in Copenhagen in December.

Climate change affects us all. Nine out of every ten disasters recorded are now climate related. That is a scarey fact. Rising temperatures and more frequent floods, droughts and storms are impacting millions of people痴 lives. And set against the backdrop of global warming is a global financial crisis. Clearly, planet Earth needs our attention.

Mindanao State University (MSU)-IIT Builds Cisco Local Academies in IT Essentials (July 2009)

MSU&-Iligan Institute of Technology (MSU-IIT), Iligan City, Philippines, is a Regional Academy (RA) partner of Cisco in IT Essentials: PC Hardware and Software. As an RA, MSU-IIT functions as a training and support center for local academies and maintains the instructional and program quality standards set by Cisco and the CATCs; recruits and provides support to local academies; delivers training to instructors to local academies and provides ongoing and timely support.

Comic book project: Visit Efren G. Penaflorida Jr (June 2009)

The UNV Philippines will promote volunteerism this year through a unique idea of presenting a role model as a comic book hero. For this purpose, the UNV Philippines has chosen Efren G. Penaflorida Jr who will be the hero of the comic

Red Cross taps 'Network of 143 volunteers' vs. A (H1N1) spread (June 2009)

Red Cross 143 volunteers around the country have been mobilized to help in the early detection, control and prevention of the possible spread of the Influenza A(H1N1) flu virus, Philippine National Red Cross (PNRC) Chairman Sen. Richard J. Gordon said today.

Gordon made the announcement in the wake of reports that the number of confirmed cases of people infected with the A(H1N1) flu virus has jumped to 46.

Modern revolutionary heros of Cavite (January 2009)

By Angelo Garcia, Manila Bulletin---In Philippine history, Andres Bonifacio’s KKK (Kataas-taasang, Kagalang-galangang Katipunan ng mga Anak ng Bayan) campaigned for the rights of every Filipino against oppressors by arming themselves with machetes and fighting for the country to the last drop of their blood.

Today, a group of young people in Cavite is creating their own sort of Katipunan, fighting for children’s rights, arming themselves with compassion and determination to push for change

* Efren G. Peñaflorida Jr. (above photo) is the founder of DTC and a 2008 Search for Outstanding Volunteers Youth Awardee.

City College of Calapan hosts YES4MDGs (January 2009)

Calapan, Oriental Midoro---City College of Calapan hosted YES4MDGs from January 31st to February 2nd in Calapan City, Oriental Mindoro. "This activity highlights the dynamic partnership among the UN agencies, government, academe, and non-government organizations toward stronger multi-sectoral collaboration in development efforts," says Joselito de Vera, PNVSCA Executive Director, in his statement delivered by Corazon Macaraig, PNVSCA Chief Volunteer Service Officer. "Starting from our own home, in our schools, and in our communities, we can start making small differences which, when put together, will have lasting and valuable impact to our society and our country."

"The whole student parliament of City College of Calapan (CCC) is excited about participating in the YES4MDGs," says Cidney Pamela Bejasa (16), President of CCC Student Parliament. "Insights brought to us by great speakers awakened our consciousness."

The next YES4MDGs is scheduled to take place from February 12-13 in the University of Northern Philippines in Vigan City. For registration, please contact the United Nations Association of the Philippines.

Photo: Cidney Bejasa holding YES4MDGs certificate

See YES4MDGs photos

Reaching out college students (January 2009)

Manila, NCR---United Nations Volunteers programme conveyed to the students enrolled in the National Service Training Programme (NSTP) the importance of youth involvement in development through volunteer activities at the Philippine Women痴 University on January 21st.

Introduced in 2002, NSTP is comprised of three major components-Civil Welfare Service, Literacy Training Service, and Reserve Officers Training CorpsTraining Corps-and is designed to reinforce the role of youth in developing the country.

All students in university levels are required to enroll in NSTP for 2 semesters to receive credits. Unlike practicum, the emphasis is placed more on building a stronger nation by getting the youth involved in activities that are likely to benefit the public.

Search for 2008 Outstanding Volunteers (12 December 2008)

The annual celebration of the National Volunteer Month was marked by the 2008 Search for Outstanding Volunteers (SOV) award presentation that took place on December 8th in the Manila Hotel.

SOV is composed of two parts: the Volunteer Lifetime Achievement Award (VLAA)--the highest honor--and the National Outstanding Volunteer Awards (NOVA).

Among many nominees, 3 youths, 4 adults, and 3 organizations are awarded NOVAs in recognition of their exemplary performance to building stronger communities through promoting volunteerism.

The VLAA was awarded to the the Philippine National Red Cross for its innovative approaches to integrating volunteerism into development.

Photo by PNVSCA

See 2008 SOV Awardees

UNDP Country Director runs for volunteerism (December 2008)

Renaud Meyer, UNDP Country Director, joined the 10km run on December 7th at the University of the Philippines--Diliman.

Advocacy Run for Volunteerism was jointly hosted by UNV, PNVSCA, and RUNNEX-- a runners' group composed of private sector executives--to celebrate International Volunteer Day and National Volunteer Month.

Photo by JP Agcaoili

"United support" for volunteerism (December 2008)

Wearing International Volunteer Day (IVD) t-shirts, the UN staff in Manila came together to demonstrate their unity for promoting volunteerism on the December 5th International Day .

Renaud Meyer, UNDP Resident Representative a.i., delivered the UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon's message on IVD in his opening remark at the Symposium on Youth Volunteering & HIV/AIDS Prevention.

The symposium was jointly hosted by UNV & PNVSCA, with the full support from civil society organizations, individual volunteers, and UN agencies, and attended by over 250 young people from universities and volunteer organizations in Metro Manila.

Photo by JP Agcaoili

Future teachers inspire IVD symposium (December 2008)

Two students from the Philippine Normal University (PNU) will host the Symposium on Youth Volunteering & HIV/AIDS Prevention scheduled on December 5th at PNU.

Audrey Ruth Angcos(22) [right] and John Ziggy Candolesas (19) [left] are both attending PNU and major in elementary education to become school teachers.

Photo by Hiro Takita