A Q&A with the UNV's Online Volunteering service.

How long has Online Voluntering been running?

The Online Volunteering (OV) service was launched by the United Nations Volunteers (UNV) programme in 2000. Originally managed in partnership with NetAid a joint initiative by Cisco Systems and the United Nations Development Programme, the OV service has been entirely managed by UNV since 2004.

What was the inspiration behind the service?

UNV is committed to supporting global efforts to achieve the Millennium Development Goals, aimed at ending extreme poverty and addressing other development challenges through the promotion of volunteerism, including the mobilization of volunteers.

To meet this aim UNV has, in recent years, launched several initiatives to provide expanded opportunities for a wider group of citizens to volunteer for development. In addition to placing some 8,000 UNV volunteers every year to support governments, UN agencies, communities and organisations in developing countries and economies in transition, UNV also offers online volunteer opportunities through its OV service.

The OV service is a free facility that connects development organisations worldwide with online volunteers in order to:

• Facilitate host organisations' access to a broader pool of knowledge, resources and social capital to support their capacities' development;
• Offer individuals an additional way of volunteering for development and contribute to achieving the Millennium Development Goals.

How many opportunities do you have?

Since its inception, 2,700 online assignments have been published on the OV website, offering 12,500 volunteering opportunities (2,727 in 2006).

How can organisations post opportunities?

Organisations receiving the support of online volunteers via the OV service are:

• Non-profit;
• Officially registered in their country of origin;
• Currently active and operational, with projects for the benefit of developing countries and with a clear commitment to the Millennium Development Goals;
• Non-discriminatory and in compliance with UN policies and the principles of the UN Charter.

Organisations apply to be registered with the OV service. Upon approval by the OV team based on the above criteria, the organisation's profile is published on the OV website.

The organisation can then submit assignments which are screened by the OV team according to the criteria below before being published on the OV website.

Published assignments:

• Contribute to sustainable human development and the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals;
• Can be undertaken from anywhere in the world;
• Can be delivered via the internet (for instance, assignments' outputs can be documents, emails of advice, or online services such as moderating online discussions or networking).

What sort of opportunities are most common on the site?

The OV service provides the largest database of online volunteering opportunities devoted to global and national human development challenges.

Organisations using the OV service ask for online volunteers to:

• Provide technical expertise (e.g. advice on waste disposal, contract drafting);
• Support the management of projects and resources (e.g. project planning, volunteers' management);
• Contribute to managing knowledge (e.g. data collection, database development);
• Facilitate communication and networking (e.g. newsletter production and translation, moderation of online discussion groups).

Are there any plans for future development?

We are in the process of re-designing the OV service's website. The new OV service will, among other things, be multilingual, more accessible and hence even more inclusive by allowing a larger representation of users from developing countries and an increased participation of users with special needs.

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