United Nations Volunteers and Samsung Promote a Global Launch of Online Volunteering Service in Brazil

This month, UNV is launching its new Online Volunteering service from Brazil to the world and in collaboration with Samsung Latin America Office.

Brazil has been selected as the location for the global launch as the country ranks #4 worldwide for the number of UN Online Volunteers and has a high potential for growth in online volunteering activities in general. Brazil has always been very supportive of Volunteerism as well as of South-South cooperation within and between regions, cooperation that UNV’s Online Volunteering service facilitates. Lastly, inclusive multi-stakeholder partnerships have emerged as a necessity to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and the first private sector partner of the Online Volunteering service is based in Brazil (Samsung Electronics Latin American Office).

The adoption of the SDG is a unique opportunity to shift to a development agenda that is more transformative, universal, inclusive and sustainable.  In this regard, UNV wants to leverage its long experience in citizen engagement and technology based solutions to ensure volunteers and volunteerism of all forms are part of the SDGs implementation.

UNV recognizes that online volunteering is a global force for change. The global launch event will be an opportunity to discover how organizations and volunteers can team up online to effectively address challenges to sustainable development– anywhere in the world. At the event, UNV will unveil the new Online Volunteering service website, which provides volunteers and organizations across the globe with an even faster, more inclusive and more appealing way to connect with each other and to join forces for peace and development.

Together with the redesigned website, UNV will launch two additional services.  The 1-click query will allow organizations to reach out to half a million people to provide real-time data for their projects. UNV will also launch its new employee online volunteering solution for global companies, together with Samsung, its first official partner for this service.

“We are very proud to establish this unprecedented partnership with UNV. For us, from Samsung, it represents a great and innovative step in our commitment with volunteering actions, already practiced by the Company for over 20 years”, highlights Francisco Cuesta, vice-president of Human Resources and Corporate Citizenship at Samsung Latin America.

Press Conference (Global Launch in Brasilia)

Date: July, 15^th (Friday)

Time: 2:00 pm

Venue: Brasil 21 Convention Center (foyer and auditorium)

Participants:

• Richard Dictus, UNV Executive Coordinator
• Peter Poschen, United Nations Resident Coordinator, ad interim
• Márcio Correia, Brazilian Agency for Cooperation General Coordinator
• Francisco Cuesta, vice-president of Human Resources and Corporate Citizenship at Samsung Latin America
• Dirk Brengelmann, Germany’s Ambassador to Brazil
• Representative of an organization which has already utilized the Online Volunteering service with great success
• Karol Arámbula, UN Online Volunteer

About United Nations Volunteers

The United Nations Volunteers (UNV) programme contributes to peace and development through volunteerism worldwide. Samsung works with partners to integrate qualified, highly motivated and well-supported UN Volunteers into development programming and promote the value and global recognition of volunteerism. UNV is active in around 130 countries every year. With Field Presences in over 80 countries, UNV is represented worldwide. UNV is administered by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and reports to the UNDP Executive Board. UNV was created by the UN General Assembly in 1970 and has operated in Brazil since 1998.