Collective Responsibility: Society at its Best

“At the heart of volunteerism are the ideals of service and solidarity and the belief that together we can make the world a better place. In that sense, we can say that volunteerism is the ultimate expression of what the United Nations is all about.”
– UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan

In 1970, the United Nations General Assembly created the United Nations Volunteer Program (UNV). Recognizing that volunteering brings benefits to both society at large and the individual volunteer, it serves the causes of peace and development by providing opportunities for participation by all peoples. Volunteers in general and the UNV in particular, contribute to more cohesive societies by building trust and reciprocity among citizens while making important economic and social contributions.

Each year there are nearly 5,000 qualified men and women of 150 nationalities working as UN volunteers in developing countries, and as we have seen recently, often at great risk. For these people, volunteering is an expression of support for a principle which is the heart of the United Nations: that by working together we can make the world a better place for all. This is collective responsibility at its best.

Realizing that not everyone is able to take leave of job and family to volunteer on a professional, full time basis, the UN in 1999 created NetAid, a non-profit organization that uses the internet to form partnerships to connect volunteers with development organizations and NGOs. With NetAid, online volunteers support projects with advice, translations, research, programming, web design, or any type of service that can be provided through on-line communication. Over 10,000 people and 250 organizations around the world are now involved in this exciting project enabling individuals to make a significant contribution towards eradicating poverty in the developing world without leaving their home by offering their talents and skills and whatever time they can afford. This program takes advantage of today’s technology to enable people all over the world, from various walks of life, to offer themselves as a resource to fight poverty and contribute to the global community.

For information on the UN Volunteer Program visit: http://www.unv.org. For information on Net Aid or to be an online volunteer, visit: http://www.netaid.org.

See also: NGO's Today: Diversity of the Volunteer Experience