Volunteering for development

Beyond looks at the UN Volunteers Programme and one example of positive change -- the FGM Project

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Volunteers from Think Twice in action in their communities (Puppet theatre on UN Millennium Development Goals)

"Change does not come coincidently but through our small ideas, beliefs, dreams and hard work."

Young Egyptians are increasingly becoming aware of the opportunity they have to play a key role in shaping their present and future communities, and are progressively identifying creative means of engaging themselves in the development process.

Volunteering is fast emerging as one such vital channel leading to participatory development. Youth demonstrating their solidarity by willingly contributing their time and effort has a crucial impact on the development of society and further expands young people's sense of civic responsibility, tolerance and respect.

Sara Refaat, a former United Nations Volunteer (UNV), describes her experience as follows: "As a graduate student of political science and human rights law, I had always been interested in observing and studying Egyptian society. Egypt is a very diverse society, but I never fully realised the complexity and beauty of this country until I had the chance to visit 22 governorates as part of my volunteer work."

Volunteering also allows young people to acquire valuable skills and experiences that will help them in their professional careers and future lives. Sara noted that, "as a UNV I was responsible for monitoring and evaluating a project aimed at renovating 150 schools in 27 governorates in Egypt. On a professional level, I gained a lot of experience. Besides successfully conducting the field visits and carrying out my tasks, I enhanced my communication skills through communicating with people from different backgrounds, interacting with government officials, and people from various public institutions. On a personal level I learned a lot about Egyptian culture, the way of living, and also Egypt's countless natural resources. Finally, through my UNV assignment, I hope I made a difference towards developing Egyptian society. Without doubt my UNV assignment made a difference to the person I am now." Hence, ensuring adequate volunteer opportunities for young people is highly beneficial to society at large.

Volunteerism and civic participation are integral values of the Egyptian people, deeply embedded in the country's history, traditions and culture. However, promoting enhanced youth participation and volunteerism entails overcoming certain negative social and cultural stereotypes that limit the role of youth in society and sometimes work against the key role that youth can play in the development process.

Above all, many young Egyptians face serious barriers to their personal development, such as lack of access to health, education and adequate employment opportunities, all of which compromise their ability to participate meaningfully in the development of their communities through volunteering. Promoting youth volunteerism inevitably requires a shift in how adults and young people view themselves and more importantly, a shift in how society at large perceives the role of youth in the development process. Young people should not be seen as passive recipients but rather as essential contributors to the development of their societies.

Volunteering for development entails tackling issues that directly affect youth, such as poverty, universal primary education, gender equality and empowerment, reducing child mortality, maternal health, HIV-AIDS and other diseases, ensuring environmental sustainability and youth unemployment. Seizing the enthusiasm and commitment of young people through volunteerism is the perfect vector to face these challenges and guarantee future sustainability.

The sustainability of youth volunteer initiatives, however, is ultimately dependent on the existence of an enabling and supportive environment for volunteerism. It is therefore crucial to work towards ensuring all sectors of Egyptian society's support for volunteer activities and promoting the establishment of socio-political and economic structures that encourage and sustain the work of young Egyptian volunteers.

Volunteer activities supported by the United Nations Volunteers Programme build on Egypt's existing volunteering and civic participation potential by encouraging activities that channel the efforts of Egyptian society towards achieving development goals. At present a total of 70 national UNVs work in 11 sectors, namely: activism, children, education, environment, gender, human rights, information and communications technology, poverty, the private sector, youth and refugees.

Fourteen Egyptians currently work abroad as international UN volunteers in Bangladesh, Malawi, Timor Leste, Trinidad and Tobago, Sudan, Syria and Yemen.

An example in progress

The Female Genital Mutilation (FGM)- Free Village Model constitutes an excellent example of how advocacy, volunteerism and youth participation can serve to mobilise society at large even on sensitive cultural issues such as FGM.

The FGM-Free Village Model project constitutes a national initiative aimed at eliminating the practice of female genital mutilation in Egypt by addressing issues linked to social pressure on women/young girls and targeting a total of 120 villages across the country. It is being implemented by the National Council of Childhood and Motherhood with the support of the UN Development Programme and various donors.

The success of this experience shows the importance of involving volunteers. In this project, the key role played by enthusiastic groups of young UNV volunteers has led to the adoption of an innovative approach that targeted entire communities and has succeeded in engaging religious leaders, doctors, lawyers, judges, government officials, media, youth, community leaders and NGOs in the campaign.

At present, 43 national UNVs are involved in the project.