Brunei Darussalam
Human Development Index Ranking (UNDP, 2022)
49
Population (UNFPA, 2023)
0.5 milion

Volunteer statistics (ILO)*

Source: ILOSTATS. The data is collected by ILO from national statistical offices. As national statistics on volunteer work are produced using a variety of approaches and tools, direct and cross-country comparisons are not recommended. For more information, visit https://ilostat.ilo.org/topics/volunteer-work/

No data

Measurement work

Data source

  • 2007
  • 2008
  • 2009
  • 2010
  • 2011
  • 2012
  • 2013
  • 2014
  • 2015
  • 2016
    • Census
  • 2017
    • Labour Force Survey
  • 2018
  • 2019
  • 2020
  • 2021
  • 2022
  • 2023
  • 2024

Laws, Policies, Schemes on Volunteering

Does the country have a piece of legislation on volunteering?

No data

Does the country have a national policy, scheme, plan or strategy specific to volunteering?

Yes

Name of specific policy, strategy or plan on volunteering at the national level. Year created Source link What are the relevant SDG areas/crosscutting themes of the policy, plan scheme or strategy?

Program Khidmat Bakti Negara

2011 View source

Program Khidmat Bakti Negara

2011 View source

Does the country have a sectoral and cross-sectoral policy, scheme, plan or strategy that mentions volunteering?

Yes

Name of specific policy, strategy or plan on volunteering at the national level. Year created Source link What are the relevant SDG areas/crosscutting themes of the policy, plan scheme or strategy?
2020 – 2024 Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sports Strategic Plan 2020 View source
Dasar Belia Negara dan Strategi 2020-2030 dan Pelan Tindakan 2020-2024 (National Youth Policy and Strategy of 2020-2030, and Action Plan of 2020-2024) 2020 View source
National Youth Policy and Strategy 2020-2035 2020 View source

VNR Reporting

Voluntary National Review Report of Brunei Darussalam

View source

Reporting positive contribution of volunteering to the SDGs


Reporting on volunteering connected to matters of gender equality, women's empowerment or similar

Paragraph 1, page 4

A whole of nation approach, spearheaded through inter-ministerial engagement, is crucial in implementing this Plan of Action. The role of other stakeholders is also necessary, through the inclusion of various corporate social responsibility (CSR)-related programmes and volunteerism activities that target poverty eradication.

Paragraph 2, page 10

In addition, as a close-knit society, the community spirit remains strong in Brunei Darussalam. The sense of responsibility, empathy and caring for those in need is nurtured from an early age, and as such, volunteerism and community involvement, led by the younger generation, is very much active in the country. During the COVID-19 pandemic and the month of Ramadhan this year, volunteers played an important role in assisting the public and frontliners, including by producing Personal Protective Equipment, as well as helping to distribute food rations to families in need. Youth volunteers have also distributed food rations to nearly 3,000 households of families in need in April and May 2020.

Paragraph 3, page 13

Hand4 H and Brunei, a non profit organisation founded in 2016, focuses on volunteerism to create awareness amongst the people of Brunei Darussalam (particularly the youth) and to instill the act of giving ( love and money) to have a positive impact to the com munity, especially for the underprivileged families in the country. Hand4 H and has collaborated with other NGOs, particularly youth organisations, in peer to peer volunteer mentoring, through effective knowledge transfer, classroom training and also ‘hands on’ training; as well as the cultivation of volunteer talents, with trainees going to the ground to experience for themselves. One example is Project Amal, a collaboration with nine youth organisations, with the objective of providing clothing for underprivileged families.

It involved 200 volunteers as well as public donors. More than 33,000 pieces of clothing were donated. [...] The youth in Brunei Darussalam acts as a key contributor to attaining a better and more sustainable future for the country. SCOT provides a platform to raise awareness and educate the youth on issues regarding poverty in Brunei Darussalam. It also provides volunteering opportunities, a space for youth engagement, and come up with projects that gravitate around the SDGs. [...] An annual event held during the festive season which visits 100 families across Brunei Darussalam and provides them basic necessities, to help ease the hardship of socio-economically challenged families. In 2019, more than 40 local youth volunteered to distribute these household necessities to the families. [...] Social Kitchen A project that ran once a week during the holy month of Ramadhan in 2019, where single mothers were recruited to prepare food packets to be sold and donated to mosques for sungkai (the breaking of fast). The programme helped equip single mothers with business, technical and marketing skills in order to empower them to be more entrepreneurial while at the same time encouraging youth to volunteer their time and to assist the single mothers.

Paragraph 4, page 29

Brunei Darussalam also introduced the Assistant Teacher Volunteer Programme to enable volunteers to be placed in schools to assist pre-school teachers to ensure that all students are better able to access quality early childhood education.

Paragraph 5, page 35

Homework Club: This is a pilot programme to provide supplementary teaching by staff and volunteer teachers to underprivileged primary level students from selected schools. With the aim of raising the academic levels of underprivileged students based on school assessment tests and scores, the programme focuses on Mathematics and English Language skills. Snacks are also provided during the programme. Future plans include extending the programme into more schools and increasing the involvement of the private sector and individuals through volunteering or sponsorship of resources or meals.

Paragraph 6, page 104

Brunei Darussalam held the chairmanship of ASEAN in 2013, with the theme ‘Our People, Our Future Together’. During this chairmanship, the country promoted the collective commitment of the people, bound together through the spirit of unity and diversity, to bring forward an ASEAN community that is politically cohesive, economically integrated and socially responsible. In that year, Brunei Darussalam issued the 2013 Bandar Seri Begawan Declaration on Youth Volunteerism and Entrepreneurship, which called for the active involvement of the youth and young professionals in volunteerism and entrepreneurship programmes.

Paragraph 7, page 106

These stakeholders, especially the youth, have been active in advocating and addressing issues directly relevant to the SDGs, such as sustainable development, poverty, inclusitivity and the important role of volunteerism spirit and youth.

Paragraph 8, page 107

MyActionForSDGs, led by Nurul Hadina Haji Alias as the ASEAN MY World 2030 Advocate in Brunei Darussalam, is an awareness campaign that aims to inspire individuals, organisations and the local community to start taking action for the SDGs. It is supported by the UN SDGs Action Campaign, UNDP Bangkok Regional Hub and UN Volunteers Asia-Pacific. The campaign aims to create a positive change in society towards the SDGs, through increasing awareness of its importance, localising and unifying community action supporting SDGs and connecting local supporters with the Global Day of Action.

No mention

Voluntary National Review Brunei Darussalam 2023

View source

Reporting positive contribution of volunteering to the SDGs

Paragraph 1, page 59

Sphiere Sdn. Bhd.: An IT and Digitalization based micro company whose services specialise in developing mobile applications, websites, software, and graphic design where they identify their customers' problem statements and provide IT digitalised solutions. In August 2022, Sphiere Sdn. Bhd. launched a tree-planting mobile application called Atmosphiere, where they hosted a Tree Planting event to commemorate the milestone. The application encourages the public to contribute to the reforestation and afforestation of Brunei Darussalam by subscribing to a tree-planting service or volunteering to plant trees. The concept for the tree-planting mobile application was born out of a collaboration between Shell LiveWIRE Brunei, the Forestry Department, the Department of Environment, Parks and Recreation (JASTRe), and the Brunei Climate Change Secretariat (BCCS). In October 2022, Sphiere Sdn. Bhd. signed a landmark agreement with BSP to develop a greenhouse gas emission monitoring and visualisation application for BSP operations.

Paragraph 2, page 66

Giving back to the community in a time of crisis became a priority for volunteers as they dedicated their time and energy to prepare and deliver food rations provided by the Government to people under the Quarantine Order during the COVID-19 pandemic.F ood distribution centres were supported by volunteers from government agencies and the youth. The Youth Volunteers COVID-19 Task Force (Sukarelawan Belia COVID-19) in collaboration with the Brunei Darussalam Red Crescent and supported by MCYS, the National Disaster Management Centre (NDMC) under MOHA, and MOH held a drive through donation campaign that allowed the public to contribute food items or cleaning materials for underprivileged families affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. On 7 August 2022, during the 16th National Youth Day celebration, His Majesty the Sultan and Yang DiPertuan of Brunei Darussalam launched the Mengalinga App, a platform for people to register as volunteers; for organisations to offer programmes; and directory for NGOs in Brunei Darussalam. This is a collaboration between MCYS, Baiduri Bank, UTB’s students, and Nextacloud (a youth company).

Paragraph 3, page 88

Reef Check Brunei (RCB) is a registered NGO dedicated to the conservation of coral reefs in Brunei Darussalam through education, research and conservation. Founded in 2016, RCB’s mission is to empower people to save the nation’s reefs and ocean through the three key pillars and aims to train volunteer divers to become EcoDivers to conduct Reef Check Survey to monitor the status of Brunei Darussalam’s reefs. RCB currently runs at 18 members who actively volunteer their time during the weekend to help out with the organisation’s operation. Project AWARE Dive Against Debris ® Survey: This is an international movement under PADI AWARE where volunteer divers conduct underwater marine-debris clean-up operations and collect data on the number of debris obtained during each dive. River Clean-Up Operations (RECOVER): SOA BN,a youth-led NGO, engaged more than 200 volunteers who had successfully collected more than 310 bags of waste. For their fifth clean up activity, volunteers hauled in 244 kilogrammes of waste from the river.

Paragraph 4, page 97

There was also a rise in volunteers where Sukarelawan Belia (Youth Volunteers) assisted at hospitals, clinics and vaccination centres; assisting in food deliveries and logistics.

Paragraph 5, page 109

Youth volunteers have shown that volunteering efforts can lead to collective action through shared interests and values. This is exemplified in the case of Green Brunei, a youth-led platform that is committed to environmental sustainability, where the organisation frequently hosts beach clean-up, waste-collecting, and tree-planting activities. Utilising their network of volunteers, the group regularly collaborates with other stakeholders such as government, schools and education institutes, private firms, and other NGOs alike causing a bigger impact. For example, Green Brunei organised a river clean-up activity with Mitsubishi Corporation, attended by government officials, the local community, and school children. This merging of like-minded people in the spirit of volunteerism oversaw the collection of over 400 kilogrammes of trash. To date, Green Brunei has organised 245 events, planted 1,958 new trees, collected over 46,000 kilogrammes of trash, and engaged with 18,202 volunteers through their programmes.

Paragraph 6, page 109

MCYS has taken steps to develop a Native Mobile Application (Mengalinga), with strategic partners UTB and Baiduri Bank, where its primary function is to provide a platform to enable event organisers and NGOs to promote volunteering opportunities and connect volunteers through the application. The mobile application launched in 2021, playing the role of the Government’s national center for volunteerism, promotes awareness talks, networking events with like-minded people, and links to NGOs and volunteering groups.

Paragraph 7, page 109

The link between volunteering activities in the country and SDGs need to be clearly established and closely linked to effectively measure achievements made from volunteering activities. Aside from that, mechanisms for effective reporting and data collection must be prepared and strengthened in order to record these achievements accurately. Measuring the impact of volunteering activities to specific SDG indicators will promote a more organised and coordinated volunteering efforts towards sustainable development.

Paragraph 8, page 110

Suggested actions that could help in realising green and sustainable nation, and building on key initiatives that support environmentally-friendly businesses and sustainability projects, include the adoption of renewable energy [.... ] supporting relevant agencies in data collection and improving the nation’s data capacity through collaborations from researchers and volunteers;

No mention
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