Promoting Volunteerism for Peace and Development

L A selection of the association’s products. Thanks to UNV and online volunteers, they are now just asmarketable as lines from big producers.The multiplier effectCollective action voluntarily undertakenfor the public good has characterizedmany great social movements. Thesynergy of 10, 100 or 1,000 peopleworking together achieves so much morethan one person or a handful of peopleworking in isolation. The more volunteersthat you are able to mobilize, the greateryour impact will be.Public education and advocacyDuring the course of your assignment,you may encounter a situation or a needthat is not yet fully recognized orunderstood by all concerned. In suchA project to promote local participation and volunteerism in waste management inGabú, Guinea-Bissau, offers a good example of how volunteerism can mobilize andbring people together to take development into their own hands. The projectmobilized more than 90 local volunteers in 16 neighbourhoods to actively participatein the town‘s waste management, and it also sensitized the local population to theimportance of volunteerism for development. According to Ana Forjaz, UNVProgramme Officer in Guinea-Bissau, although the project‘s substantive focus waswaste management and it contributed visibly to a major improvement of the servicedelivery and health situation in the Gabú region, the project also served as a pilotexperience for effective local governance within a broader UNDP/UNCDF localdevelopment programme.