The Volunteer Group Alliance’s virtual side event on the "State of the World’s Volunteerism Report 2022: Volunteer-State partnerships and deliberative governance," took place at the UN’s High-level Political Forum (HLPF) on Sustainable Development on Tuesday, 5 July 2022, co-hosted with United Nations Volunteers.

Moderated by VGA's Board Chair Mei Cobb, the event featured the following speakers and highlights: 

Emma Morley, Chief of Volunteer Advisory Services Section at UNV: "Volunteers understand their communities and needs, and can help shape the policies that affect them. They help to create results that meet the actual needs of communities as defined by communities, not by others."

Néné Fatoumata Tall, Minister of Youth of Senegal: "Senegal recognizes the importance of volunteerism as a means of mobilizing all layers of society to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals and contribute to social inclusion, solidarity among people, and respect for human rights."

Joy Karim-Masache, Senior Monitoring and Evaluation Officer of the National Planning Commission of the Government of Malawi: "Volunteers bring valuable technical skills in support of humanitarian work and help build strong partnerships between development stakeholders in the country."

Carolina Vaca Bolivian, Volunteer for the EnLAzando project of France Volontaires, shared her experience on her mission in Ecuador in support of the national network of volunteers and her participation in the development of a law on theft and how she will reinvest this experience in her country.

Resources provided included the 2022 State of the World’s Volunteerism Report and The Global Volunteering Standard. 

The planning of the event was supported by France Volontaires, Voluntary Service Overseas (VSO), International Association for Volunteer Effort (IAVE), International Forum for Volunteering in Development (Forum), and Norwegian Agency for Exchange Cooperation (NOREC).

You can find a recording of the event here.