United Nations (UN)’s International Volunteer Day for Economic and Social Development, more commonly referred to as International Volunteer Day (IVD), is annually observed across the globe on December 5 to celebrate the efforts of volunteers and organizations by sharing their values and promoting their work among communities, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), UN agencies, government authorities, and the private sector.
The theme of International Volunteer Day for Economic and Social Development 2022 is ‘Solidarity through Volunteering’.
- According to the UN, the theme represents ‘volunteering is where compassion meets solidarity’.
Background:
i. The UN General Assembly (UNGA) adopted the resolution A/RES/40/212 in 1985 and proclaimed December 5 of every year as International Volunteer Day for Economic and Social Development.
ii. The 1st International Volunteer Day was observed on 5th December 1985.
Key Points:
i. The monthly number of volunteers aged 15 years and over amounts to 862.4 million worldwide.
ii. Most volunteer work is still done informally amongst individuals, with 14.3% of the global population taking part, while 6.5% of working-age people globally participate in formal volunteering through an organisation or association.
IVD 2022 Event:
i. Annually, the UN Volunteers (UNV) programme conducts events to commemorate the IVD.
- The campaign of the UNV for IVD 2022 is ‘Together, act now. Volunteer for a better tomorrow’.
ii. Every year, UNV unites thousands of volunteers, advocates for volunteer recognition, and collaborates with partners to integrate volunteerism into development programming.
Note:
The current UNV Strategic Framework spans the years 2022-2025 and directs the organization’s efforts toward Sustainable Development Goals.
State of the World’s Volunteerism Report (SWVR) 2022:
i. The 2022 State of the World’s Volunteerism Report (SWVR): “Building Equal and Inclusive Societies”, the 4th edition of the flagship publication(SWVR) of UN Volunteers (UNV) produced every 3 years, presents new evidence on the relationship between volunteers and the state.
ii. The 1st SWVR of UNV was released in 2011 with a focus on universal values for global well-being. The 2nd & 3rd reports were published in 2015 and 2018 respectively.
iii. The SWVR report aims to enhance the recognition, facilitation, networking and promotion of Volunteerism globally.
iv. Unique Features of SWVR are Robust evidence; Diverse voices; and Policy implications.
The Key Findings of the 2022 SWVR:
- Volunteerism can promote a culture of collaborative decision-making
- Volunteerism can alter unequal power relations.
- Volunteerism offers diverse pathways to civic participation but remains unequal.
- Volunteers build bridges.
About the United Nations Volunteers (UNV) Programme:
Executive Coordinator- Toily Kurbanov (Russian Federation)
Headquarters- Bonn, Germany
