United Nations and GIZ Volunteer work
Bonn · The UN and GIZ are hosting a landmark conference on volunteering at the UN Campus in Bonn.
Working conditions for development aid workers are tough, as Andreas Altmann found out. He was in north-west Afghanistan as a volunteer with the German Agency for International Cooperation or GIZ. He was advising people on the ground about agricultural matters, “but we had a ten week power cut.” He was driven even the shortest distances by car and was not allowed onto the roof of his accommodation because of snipers. He was evacuated after four months when the situation became critical.
He now has another project, but at the moment is in Bonn, taking part in the International Volunteering Cooperation Organisations 2016 conference on the UN-Campus. It began with a reception on Sunday and there are lectures, roundtable discussions and more until Wednesday. He is one of around 150 volunteers from various organisations who are attending. The conference is being organised by GIZ and the United Nations Volunteers (UNV), who are both members of the Forum for Volunteering in Development.
“The role of volunteers will become increasingly important in the future,” said GIZ board member Hans-Joachim Preuß. GIZ works in more than 100 countries throughout the world at government, district and local level, but does not reach many parts of the population. These are approached by volunteers. Richard Dictus, Executive Coordinator of the Volunteer Programme, said volunteers also gave the United Nations a human face.
Like that of Josefine Ulbrich, who started youth programmes in Kazakhstan and worked in an anti-corruption agency in Afghanistan after completing a degree in peace and conflict studies. How did she do this? “After my degree, I wanted to have an active role in development work. The UNV programme was ideal: I could work together with young people,” she said.
“The role of volunteers is to make systems more robust, so they are no longer as fragile,” explained the Forum leader, Chris Eaton. The main theme of the conference is increasing the resilience of communities to global risks through volunteering. To do this, responsible people with particular skills are needed. “Many people want to work as volunteers. But it’s expensive for us to station someone abroad. Therefore we have to be sure they are the right people.” The standard is very high, added Preuß.
The volunteers are mainly expecting to use the conference to swap experiences with people from other organisations. Altmann is also hoping to discuss how volunteer work can be made more effective.
For more information on the United Nations Volunteers Programme, go to www.unv.org (Original text: Stefan Knopp. Translated by Kate Carey)
