| United Nations Volunteers (UNV) |
| Category: (UN Agencies) |
Head of the Agency
Name: Ms. Raissa Muhutdinova
Job Title: UNV Programme Officer
E-mail: [email protected]
Global website: www.unv.org
Agency's local website: www.unv.org.kg
Agency's Background information: The United Nations Volunteers (UNV) programme is the UN organization that contributes to peace and development through volunteerism worldwide. Volunteerism is a powerful means of engaging people in tackling development challenges, and it can transform the pace and nature of development. Volunteerism benefits both society at large and the individual volunteer by strengthening trust, solidarity and reciprocity among citizens, and by purposefully creating opportunities for participation.
UNV contributes to peace and development by advocating for recognition of volunteers, working with partners to integrate volunteerism into development programming, and mobilizing an increasing number and diversity of volunteers, including experienced UNV volunteers, throughout the world. UNV embraces volunteerism as universal and inclusive, and recognizes volunteerism in its diversity as well as the values that sustain it: free will, commitment, engagement and solidarity.
Mission statement
The United Nations Volunteers (UNV) programme in Kyrgyzstan commenced its activities in 1996 with the Poverty Alleviation and Community Participation pilot project in the Osh Oblast. Since then, for more than a decade, UN volunteers in Kyrgyzstan have been perceived by the Government and the local communities as objective, highly skilled and capable of building essential relationships. UNV volunteers have been pivotal actors in social mobilization in the field, working with community members and Government officials.
Agency’s major interventions (practice areas):
The UN volunteers (international and national) are committed to making a difference by addressing development concerns in the countries they serve. UNV volunteers are operational partners in the development and implementation of UN systems' programmes and projects in the 140 countries where the United Nations Volunteers (UNV) programme operates. Their work focuses mainly on the following areas:
- Contributing to local capacity building;
- Fostering social mobilization and development; and
- Support to transferring skills
60 international UNV volunteers have served in UN organizations in Kyrgyzstan, providing expertise to national organizations, public institutions, and implementation of various programmes and projects. More than 120 national UN volunteers have been involved in diverse projects to further sustainable development.
Budget:
Total Budget: n/a
Major ongoing Projects
UNV Kyrgyzstan is currently involved in the One UN Programme -- a two-year response of the UN system to the effects of energy, food and economic insecurities in the country. UNV volunteers in Kyrgyzstan are particularly active in three response sectors under the One UN Programme: energy, environment, and risk management.
The current ongoing projects involving UNV under the umbrella of the One UN Programme are:
- Supply of reliable energy to rural first aid stations
- Rehabilitation of the Riparian Forests of Kyrgyzstan
- Cross-border natural resources and conflicts
Kyrgyzstan is one of the nine pilot countries where the United Nations Volunteers (UNV) programme together with the Johns Hopkins Center for Civil Society Studies (JHU/CCSS) is implementing the “UN Handbook on Nonprofit Institutions in the System of National Accounts”. The project foresees to create special “satellite accounts” documenting the scale and impact of nonprofit institutions and the value of the volunteer effort these organizations mobilize.
UNV in Kyrgyzstan implements the following volunteer schemes:
- International volunteers (specialists with minimum five years of professional experience in their specific field);
- National volunteers (field workers and specialists);
- Intern volunteers (graduates serving for one year assignment);
- University volunteers (university students for max. six months assignment);
- Corporate volunteers (senior experts for advisory missions);
- Online volunteers (volunteers for assignments via internet www.onlinevolunteering.org)
A part of advocating for volunteerism and the mobilisation of individual volunteers, UNV has a mandate for the integration of volunteerism in UN programmes and projects in Kyrgyzstan.
Main Agency's Partners: All UN Agencies
Main Agency's Donors: n/a
Downloads (PDF): 2008 Annual Report, Ashar Newsletter Volume 6 Issue 1, Ashar Newsletter Volume 6 Issue 2
