UNV and UNDP promote volunteer service for the Beijing Winter Olympics

The United Nations Volunteers (UNV) programme and UN Development Programme (UNDP) launched an innovative project promoting sustainable urban development through volunteer service for the Beijing Winter Olympics. This project is in partnership with the Beijing Volunteer Service Federation (BVF) and China International Centre for Economic and Technical Exchanges (CICETE).

Launched end March 2021, the project aims to promote volunteer service for the Winter Olympics, develop a collaboration network for volunteering in Olympic cities and enhance youth engagement in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) through volunteerism.

In selecting 28 outstanding candidates to serve as volunteers with UN entities in China and abroad, UNV will be empowering international volunteering talents, and bolster the professionalism of China's volunteer management system.

Building on lessons learned from past experiences, UNV will also offer expertise, advisory services and an international network for volunteering in Olympic cities, as well as experience in global cooperation on sustainable urban development.

The Beijing Organizing Committee for the 2022 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games congratulated on the successful signing of the project. It is expected to deepen the global partnership, based on Olympic volunteerism, strengthen the professionalism of international volunteering talents and make a positive contribution to the success of the games through collaboration.

Nearly 100 participants from UN entities, government institutions, academia and the private sector attended the ceremony. Ms Devanand Ramiah, UNDP Deputy Resident Representative, Mr Zhang Yi, CICETE Deputy Director-General and Mr LI Junhui, BVF Vice President, expressed high expectations of the project in their statements.

Shalina Miah, UNV's Regional Manager for Asia and the Pacific, joined in signing and launching the project virtually. She praised the outstanding achievements of the first three phases of cooperation and expressed her confidence that the project would have a successful outcome.

UNV is delighted to work together with partners to advance the local volunteer infrastructure, capacity building and the internationalization of volunteer service in Beijing. Our main focus is on enabling talented young people in China through this pilot, which will provide them with opportunities to serve as UN Volunteers globally. --Shalina Miah, UNV Regional Manager for Asia and the Pacific.

UNV’s partnership with the Beijing Volunteer Service Federation dates back to 2007, when the two partners first collborated on volunteer training and strengthening volunteerism for development within the context of the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games.