By United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) mandate, the International Volunteer Day (IVD)[1] is celebrated annually on 5 December with the aim of celebrating volunteers and organisations efforts, promote their values and disseminate their work.
The focus of the IVD 2020 is “Together We Can Through Volunteering” in order to highlight the role of volunteers in raising awareness, inspiring others and achieving the SDGs.
“the efforts of 1 billion volunteers is an important foundation at a pivotal moment for development to enable us to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic”
(UN Deputy Secretary General Amina J. Mohammed)
During the COVID 19 pandemic, volunteers have been at the forefront of medical, community and societal responses. Community volunteers are recognised by the World Health Organisation as key stakeholders for risk communication and community engagement. Their effort during the covid-19 pandemic has been huge and should be further recognised. IVD2020 is dedicated to volunteers worldwide and aims at recognising their valuable contribution.
Some of the questions to be raised during the debate are:
According to your experience, how the Covid-19 pandemic has affected volunteering?
What are the most important challenges faced by volunteers in the new era Covid-19?
How social distancing and restrictions imposed has affected your work as volunteer?
What about digital technology? Kindly let us know how the Covid-19 pandemic has affected the use of digital technology in your work as volunteer?
Every crisis brings challenges, but also opportunities. Please identify new opportunities of volunteering brought by the new reality Covid-19 pandemic.
How do you see volunteering in the near future?
Share your best volunteering experience.
Check out the provisional programme and keep posted to know more!
Entrepreneurship is an important driver of economic growth and it provides economic opportunities everywhere.
Despite women entrepreneurs are to make a greater impact across economies, only 34.4 % of the European Union (EU) self-employed and 30 % of start-up entrepreneurs are women. In order to increase women´s participation in economy and entrepreneurship, special policy attention is needed on matters including but not limited to education, and non-discrimination, in areas such as access to finance and property rights.The OECD Recommendation on Gender Equality calls on governments to reduce the gender gap in entrepreneurship activity and support women entrepreneurs in confronting issues and strengthening the necessary skills to their success. Women´s full and effective participation and equal opportunities for leadership at all levels of decisionmaking, including the economic, as well as to give women equal rights to economic resources, as well as access to ownership and control over financial services are some of the targets established by the Sustainable Development Agenda 2030.
The session, which will take place on 25th November from 3pm to 5pm London time, aims at sharing businesswomen knowledge, supporting women´s entrepreneurs and promoting networking within the Women’s Entrepreneurship Day (WEDO) global movement.
Businesswomen and women´s entrepreneurs invited to the online discussion will share experiences, views and testimonials as well as will address the following questions as well as other raised during the session:
What led you to follow your own project?
Why do you think there is still such a big difference in the gender of entrepreneurs?
What were the main difficulties you have faced as entrepreneur, as women entrepreneur? If you have come across some.
What are the major challenges that women face in micro and medium business?;
What are the business skills all women entrepreneurs need to develop to achieve success?;
Share a tip about entrepreneurship
Best business models;
The role of cooperation and networking in business development.
The COVID-19 pandemic marked a disrupting point for the world, compounded by an unprecedented global health crisis with severe economic and social impacts that highlighted existing inequalities and differences. Low income neighbourhoods are more likely to be hit by coronavirus cases and its negative impact. and impact as most of them may lack access to health care, lost their jobs and became unemployed.
At the beginning of 2020, the path towards the achievement 2030 SDG Agenda was on track and the global community committed to accelerate efforts and sustainable solutions to the world’s biggest challenges, ranging from eradicating poverty and reducing gender inequality to addressing climate change. However, in only some months, the COVID-19 pandemic brought an unprecedented situation and threatens to reverse years of progress on the global goals, on poverty, hunger, health care and education. While the virus has impacted everyone, it is especially affecting the most vulnerable people.
Urgent and innovative responses are needed to surpass this period of crisis but people should be at the centre of these solutions to achieve more equitable and sustainable outcomes for all. Against this backdrop, the community has played an exceptional role in the social response to the global pandemic by providing care and attention to the most vulnerable and affected.
Our planet is drowning in plastic pollution (UN Environment Agency)
The Climate Crisis – A Race We Can Win #UN75: Sustainable cities and Plastic-free lifestyle
2020 is the 75th anniversary of the United Nations. In this framework an initiative for promoting dialogue in main global issues was launched to celebrate it along the year. Despite the COVID-19 pandemic marked a disrupting point for the world, compounded by an unprecedented global health crisis with severe economic and social impacts, climate emergency remains one of the most important challenges. The Sustainable Development Agenda urges us to take action to combat climate change (SDG13) which will affect more than 39 million people. Plastic pollution exacerbates climate change and represents a dangerous thread to biodiversity as plastic needs 100 years to degrade in the environment.
According to the World Economic Forum plastic production is expected to double by 2040. Each year, 17,000,000 barrels of oil are used to produce plastic, including 500,000,000,000 plastic bags used yearly. By 2030, greenhouse gas emissions from plastic could reach 1.34 billion tons per year what will affect our capacity to keep the global temperature rise below 1.5˚C. Plastic pollution threats ocean health and marine life as has a strong impact on food safety and quality and human health. Annually, 13,000,000 tonnes of plastic are leak into the ocean and 100,000 marine animals are killed by plastics. Current scientific studies are determining how microplastics can affect phytoplankton’s ability to sequester carbon dioxide.
We need to switch the paradigm and urgent action is needed from the industrial sector but from citizens as well. Single-use plastic products are everywhere and became integral to our daily lives. Actions to slow the flow of plastic at its source and its consumption as well as to improve plastic waste management are needed.
2020 is the 75th anniversary of the United Nations. In this framework an initiative for promoting dialogue in main global issues was launched to celebrate it along the year. However the COVID-19 pandemic marked a disrupting point for the world, compounded by an unprecedented global health crisis with severe economic and social impacts. In these harsh times, more than ever global governance and leadership should be strengthened in order to build a better future for all.
The UN General Assembly each 21 September as a day devoted to strengthening the ideals of peace. The International Day of Peace 2020 is dedicated to “Shaping Peace Together” and aims to celebrate compassion, kindness and hope in world frightened by COVID-19 pandemic. A special moment that the United Nations celebrates in the framework of its 75th anniversary and a programme of global conversations aimed at building the peaceful and prosperous future that we all want.
Young people will be invited to share thoughts on how to weather this storm, heal our planet and build peace[1] and debate on the following questions raised by UN and other proposed by participants during the exchange:
What does peace mean to you?
When you envision a peaceful world, what do you see?
What actions are needed to make your vision a reality?
