Lao People’s Democratic Republic

Paragraphs that mention volunteering

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Inputs from youth and volunteer groups were obtained for the VNR process. With support from development partners, several consultations on SDGs engaged volunteer groups and young people in Vientiane, Savannakhet, and Sekong provinces. The aim was to draw on volunteers’ and young people’s inputs to achieving the Agenda 2030.

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Ways to harness the power of volunteers: The approaches discussed included partnerships with local administrations, data collection by involving youth and volunteer groups within the SDG indicator and monitoring framework; and role models for younger generations to engage in volunteer and community work.

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Volunteer contributions to specific SDGs in Lao PDR: Volunteers are at the heart of the community radio project (SDGs 3, 4, 5, 10, 16). The Youth Resource Centre run by volunteers in Savannakhet works to empower vulnerable young people aged 14-22, disadvantaged families, and victims of human trafficking.

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Strategies to reach the most vulnerable groups need to consider what has worked. Community radio volunteer broadcasters in Xieng Khouang, Sekong, Oudomxay and other provinces and relevant districts have been able to reach vulnerable groups, especially women and girls, with radio installed in mobile phones

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Strengthening service delivery to the most deprived, using participatory strategies. Such strategies involve empowering village health volunteers, farmer groups, and village extension workers with the required knowledge and support.

Paragraphs that mention the integration of volunteering into development plans, policies and strategies No mention

Paragraphs that mention volunteering

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Inputs from youth, volunteer groups and Lao civil society: As youth make up more than half of the Lao population and the majority of volunteers in the Lao PDR are youth, it is imperative that their perspectives are taken into account when evaluating the Lao PDR’s progression towards achieving the 2060 Agenda and thereby contribute to the country’s development over the coming years. Some of their volunteering activities that have contributed to SDGs include: Advocating for capacity building for a community on poverty reduction and socio-economic development (SDG 1);
- Providing food supplies to primary schools in remote and rural communities (SDG 2);
- Assisting in raising awareness on reproductive health for youths and guiding them to reliable sources of information at Vientiane Youth Center (SDG 3);
- Promoting reading for children, providing learning materials, assisting in school construction, and volunteering to teach young children in rural communities (SDG 4);
- Conducting activities to promote gender equality (SDG 5);
- Providing academic and career planning advice for youths in schools and career expos (SDG 8);
- Conducting a workshop on inclusion and access for people with disabilities, and advocating for equality for LGBTQ+ (SDG 10);
- Volunteering in the Second-Hand World project, a UNDP award winning project aiming to promote circular economy (SDG 1, 12 & 13);
- Conducting skill development workshops on climate change awareness for youths in communities and joining awareness raising campaigns on environmental issues (SDG 13);
- Providing legal advice (SDG 16); and
- Advocating for community involvement in community development activities (SDG 17 and SDG 18).
Realising their contributions, the Government in collaboration with some key partners organised a series of discussions with volunteer groups, young people and civil society on the SDG implementation as a follow up from the first VNR. Some of key recommendations from youth, volunteer and Lao civil society discussions are highlighted as follow (key recommendations are those relating on the key selected SDGs for this VNR. For other SDGs, key recommendations are to be highlighted during meeting of SDG focal points as follow up activities after this VNR): [...]

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Encourage youth to volunteer more to increases self-confidence and provide safe space for youth to raise their voices and express their opinion;

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Support volunteers so they can add their valuable contribution to SDG implementation.

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Involvement of youth and volunteers in a systematic way to implement and monitor the progress of SDGs will ensure the participation and contribution of all partners in the society to achieve the SDGs.

Paragraphs that mention the integration of volunteering into development plans, policies and strategies No mention