UNV is based in Bonn, Germany, with around 150 staff members at headquarters, and 6,500 volunteers deployed in the field. UNV also has an Office in New York, five Regional Offices in Amman, Bangkok, Dakar, Nairobi, and Panama City and around 60 Field Units that represent the organization at the country level.
See a short history of the United Nations Volunteers
UNV seeks to leverage the power of volunteerism and volunteers as a means of implementation and people engagement for the attainment of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
UNV’s Strategic Framework 2018-2021 focuses on two main outcomes, and on institutional effectiveness:
- The efforts of Member States to deliver on the 2030 Agenda are supported through volunteerism as an effective means of implementation and people engagement.
- The United Nations system is supported to deliver on the 2030 Agenda through the engagement of UN-Volunteers and the integration of volunteerism.
UN Volunteers play an invaluable role in development, linking institutional and national initiatives with community action and with people on the ground. They are involved in the planning of programmes and projects, the work to bring them to fruition and the final steps of monitoring and evaluation.
UNV’s international, national and community volunteers enhance international and South-South exchanges; they strengthen regional cooperation; and they build trust between diverse communities and peoples.
UN Volunteers raise awareness about the 2030 Agenda among the constituencies with which they work. Like they did with the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), UN Volunteers organize local campaigns and devise creative approaches for SDG achievement, particularly in remote areas and among marginalized populations, such as women and youth.
UN Volunteers dedicate their services and energy to achieving development targets. They bring skills and they build skills. UN Volunteers facilitate knowledge sharing and transfer, while leveraging local expertise. UN Volunteers will help monitor SDG progress using citizen-driven qualitative and quantitative data collection. The model behaviour of volunteers inspires others to strive for the SDGs locally.