New Tags for Sustainable Development Goals

The United Nations General Assembly has proclaimed 2026 the International Year of Volunteers for Sustainable Development. This milestone—achieved through the collaboration of Member States of the General Assembly—offers an opportunity to celebrate volunteers and their contributions on a global stage. "As we look ahead to the International Year of Volunteers for Sustainable Development in 2026, let's acknowledge the vital role of volunteers as change-makers who weave through the fabric of the 2030 Agenda, helping to accelerate action in the second half of our journey. Their commitment shapes a world where sustainable development is not merely a goal but a shared reality we create together,” said Deputy Secretary-General of the United Nations, Amina Mohammed. Key Messages Volunteerism is a driving force for sustainable development. The designation of 2026 as the International Volunteer Year underscores the vital role volunteers play in advancing the global goals. By fostering community engagement and collective action, volunteering contributes meaningfully to humanitarian efforts and long-term development. Volunteerism is a powerful enabler of humanitarian action. Volunteers play a vital role in responding to humanitarian emergencies and driving progress toward a more resilient world. Everyone has a role to play in the International Volunteer Year 2026. Governments, UN entities, other regional and international organizations, academia, and civil society and private sector are invited to actively participate in the year by recognizing the value of volunteers, integrating volunteering into policies and plans, ensuring safe and fair volunteering environments, and promoting knowledge-sharing to develop new forms of volunteering. The International Volunteer Year 2026 strengthens the connection between volunteering and global progress. It aims to deepen global understanding of volunteerism through research, information-sharing, and education and to address emerging challenges that new models of volunteering are facing. Valuing volunteers is vital. There is a need to recognize and measure the contribution of all volunteers, whether they’re part of an organization or helping informally. Stay tuned to explore what Member States, United Nations organizations and other stakeholders, including civil society, private sector and academia are going to do to observe IVY 2026 → International Volunteer Year | Knowledge Portal on Volunteerism

Hello Be the Changers! Thank you so much for engaging with our new platform. We'd love to hear from you how you find it so we can improve our service. We want it to work for you! Follow this link to answer a few short questions about your experience. We hope you have a wonderful holiday season, but if you find this time of year hard, please do reach out to someone. Here are some local resources: Tayside Suicide Prevention The Tayside Suicide Prevention website , which can also be downloaded as an app to your mobile phone, provides: Information about suicide How to help Local, Tayside and national support agency contacts Guidance on creating a safety plan . The Neuk - Adult Mental Health Crisis and Suicide Prevention Centre Telephone: 01738 718070 There is a safe and welcoming environment provided for those who are in crisis. This may be due to situational stress that is affecting mental health and wellbeing e.g. relationship breakdown, bereavement, loss of job or coping with lifestyle changes. If you need a safe space, need to talk, or need someone to listen staff are available to listen and care. Further information can be found on the Neuk website. The Lighthouse (Children and Young People Suicide and Self Harm Crisis Service) Telephone: 0800 121 4820 They offer crisis support to anyone who is at risk with their mental health. This includes whose who are at risk of suicide or self-injury or are in emotional distress or crisis. They offer a safe space to talk and be supported. Staff and volunteers are available to offer a welcoming, non-judgemental approach. Family support is available for any parent/brother or sister/ carer etc. of young people accessing the service. Further information can be found on the The Lighthouse website . Here's to a new year full of community, volunteering and new opportunities! All the best, Emily Skilton, Development officer for Volunteering, Third Sector Interface Perth and Kinross.

Group applications: one contact person for an entire group We at the TSI facilitate employer supported volunteering and one of the recurring obstacles is that there are often one or two pioneers within a company, but it is difficult to activate all employees. With the help of group applications, we can facilitate the pioneers. We bring the right people into contact with each other, while all applications and their impact are registered! A group application is several applications made in one go which is created by one "group representative". The group representative becomes the point of contact for all communication and notifications regarding the applications and their status. In this way, we keep the contact between the organisation and the group central and the rest of the group doesn't have to do anything. This feature was developed with employer supported volunteering in mind, but can of course be used for any situation! How do you make a group application? Use the 'Group application' button on the activity page to start the process. A pop-up will appear. Select (if you are an administrator of multiple organisations) the organisation on whose behalf you want to apply. You can only select members of that organisation. Select which members you want to register on whose behalf by typing their name. You can also choose to add all members first (via the link below the text field) and then deselect the members you do not want to register one by one. If a person has already registered, you can no longer select this person. Group applications are never placed on a waiting list. If there is not enough capacity for the entire group, the error message "There is not enough capacity for your group" will appear. In this case, contact the organisation directly to discuss the options. Click on 'Proceed to the application form'. Fill in the question or the questionnaire. The answers you give apply to each person you're applying for. Click on 'Proceed to confirmation'. Please read all points carefully so that you understand the consequences. Click on 'Create group application'. And that's it, now it is up to the organisation to get in touch with you. Important things to note: Any organisation admin or moderator can make an application on behalf of people who are members of that same organisation, but it is not possible to add members of sub-groups or teams. You can only add members of your own organisation(s). Someone who is an administrator at multiple organisations can choose on behalf of which organisation they are applying. All communication goes through the group representative, including any status changes, and that the individual members do not receive any communication about this. As a group representative, you are responsible for communicating with the members you have registered and must therefore ensure that everyone is in the right place on time. To find out more information, follow this link How do group applications work?