Volunteering is even more essential in times of crisis,
echoed panelists at GTM2020
Find the agenda here:
https://unitednationsvolunteers.swoogo.com/gtm2020/Agenda
In a highly unequal region like Latin America, the COVID-19 pandemic is threatening to worsen
inequalities. Volunteers are critical, not only to the pandemic response, but to build back a new
normal which leaves no one behind. But are our systems fit for new ways of engaging people? Can
volunteering be used as a means to address inequalities and accelerate the Sustainable
Development Goals (SDGs)?
Day 2 of the Global Technical Meeting on Reimagining Volunteering for the 2030 Agenda zoned in
on how volunteering can be a game-changer in the Decade of Action.
The contribution of volunteering to the SDGs is immense. Based on the survey conducted by the Plan
of Action secretariat, over 90% of the respondents believe that volunteers contribute significantly to
the SDGs, particularly on health and education.
“The value of volunteers in development efforts is invisible because it is not measured and
documented, especially the work of informal volunteers,” emphasized Rafael Diez de Medina, ILO
Statistician.
To reimagine volunteering, “we need open and accessible data to support volunteering efforts,
close knowledge gaps and build trust with governments and civil society,” stressed Lev Jakobson,
Vice President of the Higher School of Economics in the Russian Federation.
Peter Kanyandago, Professor of Ethics and Development Studies at Uganda Martyrs University,
added the need to diversify the evidence base, noting that “there is a tendency for the North to
help the South do research. I think something that could be explored is the opportunity for the
South to help the North”.
At the same time, “we need to build evidence from the ground up and move away from top-down
assumptions underpinning existing volunteering evidence“, said Bianca Fadel, a researcher at the
Northumbria University.
During COVID-19 pandemic, local volunteers have indeed been supporting local efforts to collect
data and provide information especially in hardest to reach areas, as shown by examples through
Peru’s ‘Bicentennial Project’ and Thailand’s ‘Friends of Thailand’.
Such data is important to uphaul policies integrating volunteering and improve their effectiveness. In
addition to collecting evidence, “We need to think about new partnerships and ways of working,
and how and why people-led action through volunteering has a critical role to play,” remarked Cielo
Morales of ECLAC.
To better understand how the strengths of volunteering can accelerate the SDGs, a new tool called
the Acceleration Matrix developed by volunteering and SDG stakeholders, was presented. The
matrix brings together four acceleration characteristics with the six contributions of volunteering
namely, solidarity, inclusion, ownership, participation, innovation and inspiration.
In building new societies post-COVID19, the matrix can guide policy makers to activate people’s
contributions by engaging with volunteering as an SDG accelerator.
“Volunteers can change the reality only if they have a good opportunity.Volunteers are the ones
who will take the SDGs to the locals”, remarked Wjdan Al-Matari, Volunteer and Founder, Helping
Hudaida Migrants Initiative.
Day 3 to discuss how next generation
volunteering could look like
The session on Wednesday will look at how our understanding of volunteering is changing and
discuss innovative policies and practices to support next generation volunteering. In addition,
regional contexts on reimagining volunteering will be explored in the five regional breakout sessions.
Check out the full programme for more information.
Read the draft document on Policy Blueprints: An Enabling Environment for Volunteering
#GTM2020 ON THE WEB AND SOCIAL MEDIA
Watch the live recordings of Session 1, Session 2(to be updated) and Session 3
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Read the Daily Digest from Day 1
See the social media wall here: https://walls.io/volunteerSDGs
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