Regional Launch of UNV 2022 State of the World’s Volunteerism Report (SWVR) and Launch of League of Arab States (LAS) Regional Strategy on Volunteerism

Your Excellency Dr. Nivine El Kabbage

Your Excellency Ambassador Dr. Haifa Abou Ghazala

Distinguished guests, ladies, and gentlemen  

Sabah el Kheir “Good morning”

It’s my great pleasure to be here with you today to celebrate the launch of the State of World’s Volunteerism Report 2022, along with the League of Arab States and United Nations Volunteers.  

The State of World’s Volunteerism Report is an important UN flagship publication – issued every three years since 2011 – with the aim to inform and advocate the role of volunteerism in peace and development.

The 2022 fourth edition of the report titled “Building Equal and Inclusive Societies” presents new evidence on the role of volunteerism in promoting the sustainable development agenda and the relationship between volunteers and states.

I am pleased to read different contributions from the Arab countries highlighted in the report; amongst which H.E. Dr. Nivine Al Kabbaj's thoughtful contribution from Egypt, CSOs from Lebanon and young volunteers from Tunisia.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Volunteerism is one of the most powerful tools for promoting peace, inclusivity and realizing the sustainable development agenda.

The volunteers are “the backbone of our societies” as described by the UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres. “They strengthen social cohesion and help to protect communities, especially by reaching those most in need.”

The report highlights that globally, 862 million people (aged 15 years and older) – or 11 per cent of the total global population performs one or another form of volunteering activity every month.

With the adoption of the Volunteer resolution by the Third Committee of the UN General Assembly in December 2021, it is expected that volunteerism will be integrated into national development strategies, plans and policies and hence giving volunteers an even more prominent place in achieving sustainable development.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

The UN in Egypt is currently working with the Government on the new cycle of our strategic program partnership - the United Nations Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework for the period 2023 to 2027.

The Framework reaffirms the shared vision between Egypt and the UN system – as a means to implement the national priorities of Egypt and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

I am proud that volunteerism is clearly integrated in our five-year Cooperation Framework on the basis of the government’s commitment to engage volunteers in the implementation of its national programmes.

Globally, since its establishment in 1971, the UN Volunteers has played an active role in humanitarian and development programs. UNV started with 41 volunteers and experienced a dramatic growth throughout following years, leading to over 10,000 volunteers deployed globally in 2021 to 160 countries around the world, supporting the work of 56 UN partner agencies. This is a clear indication for the mainstreaming of volunteer service into the work of the United Nations.

As UN system, collectively with UNV in Egypt, we have been working towards building creative ways to foster inclusion, reduce inequalities and accelerate the achievement of the SDGs.

A few examples: UNV-UNDP for Young Professionals with Disabilities ensures meaningful engagement of persons with disabilities, UNV-UNFPA Young Innovator Fellowship ensures integration of youth in development programs, and UNV-UNHCR partnership enables refugees to become UN Volunteers.

Led by UNV Egypt, we are currently working together with the Ministry of Social Solidarity in developing the national strategy for volunteerism.

I was also pleased to see H.E. the Minister of Youth and Sports presenting volunteerism as one of the four pillars of Egypt Youth Strategy, which was developed with the support of UNFPA.

All these are prominent examples of us “walking the talk” and embracing volunteerism in our work.

I am proud to say that volunteerism is not only being recognized at the national level.

With thanks to the outstanding collaboration between the League of Arab States, UNFPA and UNV, today we are also launching the Arab Strategy on Volunteerism. A strategy that will lay the foundation for regional action to support volunteerism and implement the State of the World Volunteerism Report recommendations.

Distinguished guests,

I would like to conclude by highlighting key actions outlined in the World’s Volunteerism Report that can guide policy makers to deliver on the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development:

First: There is a need to invest in the data on volunteerism; to close the gap in volunteerism data and generate better-quality and more comparable data. "What is not counted does not count.”

Second: Unlocking the potential of volunteerism can be attained by adopting (1) gender-sensitive measures that can optimize women’s participation in volunteering, (2) leveraging volunteers’ expertise, knowledge and experiences, and existing support network and (3) recognizing informal volunteers’ work and their contributions.

Finally, I would like to express my gratitude to the thousands of volunteers across the Arab region and in Egypt for their extraordinary contributions and commitment to shaping our common future.

I thank you.