UNV Guyana History and Purpose
Our Mission
Statement:
Volunteering brings
benefits to both society at large and the individual volunteer. It makes
contributions economically as well as socially. It contributes to more
societies by building trust and reciprocity among citizens. The United
Nations Volunteers is the United Nations organization that supports
sustainable human development globally through the promotion of
volunteerism, including the mobilization of volunteers. It serves the causes
of peace and development through enhancing opportunities for participation
by all peoples. It is universal, inclusive and embraces volunteer action in
all its diversity. It values free will, commitment, engagement and
solidarity, which are the foundations of volunteerism.
Our Purpose
UN Volunteers (UNV) programme is the
volunteer arm of the UN System which was created by the UN General Assembly
in 1970 and administered by
United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), UNV
works through UNDP country offices to send volunteers and promote the ideas
of volunteerism around the world. It extends hands-on assistance for peace
and development in 140 countries. UN Volunteers – mid-career professionals
from 160 countries – have made a tangible contribution to the efforts of the
United Nations, governments and community groups in fostering peace and
improving living conditions.
Our
Visibility in Guyana
UNV Programme in Guyana have currently 15 volunteers: 14 international and 1 national, working with the Ministry of Health, Bureau of Statistics, PAHO/WHO, Regional Development Council of Linden and UNV programme.
We are present in Guyana since 1984 and a total of more than 200 Volunteers have served in Guyana inclusive of
national and international specialists on assignments attached to the
following institutions:
Institute of Applied Science
and Technology
University of Guyana
Ministry of Health
Guyana Forestry Commission
State Planning Secretariat
Ministry of Agriculture –
Hydraulics Division
Ministry of Finance
Guyana Pharmaceutical
Corporation
Guyana Geology and Mines
Commission
Guyana Manufacturing and
Industrial Development Agency
Guyana Elections Commission
United Nations
Children Education Funds (UNICEF)
Pan American Health
Organization (PAHO/WHO)
United Nations Development Programme
(UNDP)
Georgetown American School
Department of International
Economic Cooperation
Public Corporations
Secretariat
Bank of Guyana (Central Bank)
Ministry of Agriculture
National Agricultural
Research Institute
Bureau of Statistics
United Nations Dispensary
Guyana Responsible Parenthood
Association
Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Ministry of Foreign Trade and
International Cooperation
Civil Defense Commission
UNAIDS
Guyana Marine Turtle
Conservation
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UNV General Programmes
(links below will be opened in Acrobat Reader or web page)
Volunteering brings benefits to both society at-large and the individual Volunteer, contributing to a more cohesive society by building trust and reciprocity among citizens. In the words of UN Secretary-General, Kofi Annan,
“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”
Based in Bonn, Germany, UNV is the UN organization that supports sustainable human development globally through the promotion of Volunteerism, including the mobilization of Volunteers. Administered by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), UNV works in close collaboration with governments, civil society and other United Nations Organizations, Funds and Programmes, as well as many Volunteer-involving organizations and networks.
Each year, UNV provides a channel for more than 7,000 skilled professionals from 160 different countries to engage as UN Volunteers in some 140 developing countries. Since starting its operations in 1971, the UNV Programme has mobilized more than 30,000 UN Volunteers to serve the causes of peace and development.
Reaffirming the programme’s commitment to promoting south-south cooperation, the majority of these UN Volunteers are nationals of developing countries. Possessing a university education or advanced technical training as well as several years of work experience, they support the activities of UN Agencies and other partners in 115 professional categories including such diverse areas as health, humanitarian relief, peace-building, human rights, electoral supervision, HIV/AIDS, education, ICT, income generation, gender mainstreaming, environmental management and urban development.
Working towards achieving the Millennium Development Goals - MDGs (www.undp.org/mdg) is a particularly important facet of the UNV Programme which seeks to harness the ingenuity, solidarity and creativity of millions of ordinary people through Voluntary action. To reinforce its focus the UNV Programme has developed the “Volunteerism to meet the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) targets grant facility” to be executed in each country. (www.undp.org.gy/unv/mdg.htm) (UNV Guyana MDG Grant brochure)
In addition to sharing technical expertise, UN Volunteers demonstrate commitment and solidarity in promoting the ideals of Volunteerism often by working in their spare time with communities in activities ranging from renovating classrooms, to building wells and distributing clothes to the needy. They are professionals who work on a peer basis. They listen and discuss; teach and train; encourage and facilitate. Volunteers also share and exchange ideas, skills and experience.
UN Volunteers are essential to the process of social mobilization, poverty reduction and decentralized local government – with community members, government officials and on a peer to peer basis, they liaise, facilitate, train, motivate, inspire and encourage their peers.
There is an International and a National scheme under the UN Volunteers programme. An UNV assignment varies from 3 months to 2 years or more. Visit www.unvolunteers.org to become involved in the international programme or contact the local UNV Office for the national programme (UNV Guyana National Programme brochure) or to request the assignment of a volunteer, either international or national, to your organization.
Part of UNV’s resources comes from country and regional funds provided by UNDP. Other significant sources include the regular programme budgets of UN agencies, contributions from host Governments, special purpose grants by donor Governments and the UNV Special Voluntary Fund. Contributions to UNV's Special Voluntary Fund and other funds exceed $17 million annually.
In supporting Volunteerism for Development, UNV also coordinates the contributions of thousands of people who Volunteer online, and manages a global Volunteer portal, www.onlinevolunteering.org, that serves as a resource for the recognition, facilitation, networking and promotion of Volunteer action.
Volunteers from all over the world are helping organizations serve developing countries, without leaving their own communities. These OnLine Volunteers (OVs) translate documents, write articles, research data, build web sites, mentor young people, design logos, and engage in many other projects to benefit organizations serving people in the developing world. OVs are volunteers without frontiers (UNV Guyana Online Programme brochure).
Additionally the Corporate/Private Sector Programme, through the United Nations International Short-Term Advisory Resources (UNISTAR), provide strategic advice to clients, which can be small- and medium-scale enterprises (SMEs), trade and industry groups, nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), as well as government policy makers and institutions strengthening private sector development.
The assignments can last from one week to a maximum period of three months and volunteers receive an allowance to cover their costs. In general, their mission expenses are covered by the sponsoring companies/organizations. Clients cover local transportation and interpretation fees if needed.
They bring a wide range of competencies and technical expertise such as planning, engineering, financial management, industrial design, product development, food processing, marketing, quality control, Information and Communication Technology (ICT), waste management etc. (UNV Guyana Corporate / Private Sector Programme brochure)
The UNV "Transfer of Knowledge Through Expatriate Nationals (TOKTEN)" programme, on the other hand, provides an official framework and multidimensional and multisectoral umbrella to facilitate the return of motivated and talented expatriate nationals men and women for short-term assignments to support the development efforts in their countries within an enabling environment guided and supported by the UN System. Following the UN System approach of building self-reliance, the UNV TOKTEN programme will focus on capacity building of the national government and UN agencies at the country level through transfer of knowledge of expatriate national Volunteers.
TOKTEN Volunteer assignments are usually for short terms, ranging from about two weeks to three months, depending on the needs of the recipient institution and availability of the Volunteer. Flexibility of the duration of the assignment might be considered to meet a specific country’s context. (UNV Guyana TOKTEN Programme brochure)
Under the Information and Communication Technology umbrella, the United Nations Information Technology Service (UNITeS) is a global Volunteer initiative to help bridge the digital divide, led by the UNV Programme. (UNV Guyana UNITes brochure)
UNITeS has two primary goals (www.unites.org):
· To promote volunteer involvement as a fundamental element of successful information and communications technologies for development (ICT4D) initiatives.
· To work with the UN Volunteers (UNV) programme and a coalition of organizations to support projects and initiatives that involve volunteers to improve the capacity of individuals and institutions in developing countries to make practical use of ICTs in their development processes in a a variety of areas (health, education, governance, gender equity, environment, HIV/AIDS, etc.).
In addition to this ongoing work, UNV organizes an annual event which focuses the eyes of the world on Volunteering. International Volunteer Day for Economic and Social Development (IVD) was adopted by the UN General Assembly in 1985.
 Held on December 5th, IVD provides an opportunity for Volunteer-involving organizations and individual Volunteers to work together in projects and campaigns promoting their contributions to economic and social development at local, national and international levels. By merging United Nations support with a grassroots mandate, IVD is a unique opportunity where governments government agencies, non-profit and non-governmental organizations, community groups, the private sector and Volunteer-involving organizations can work together to attain common goals.
The General Assembly also proclaimed 2001 the International Year of Volunteers (IYV). The idea for an IYV at the beginning of the 21st Century was to stimulate national and international policy debate and to advocate for the recognition, facilitation, networking and promotion of Voluntary action.
The UNV Programme was designated as focal point for the follow-up to the IYV and IVD by the United Nations General Assembly.
For a brochure of this presentation and activities in Guyana of the UNV programme click here. For a shorter version click here.
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UNV Guyana History and Purpose
