International Volunteers Day 2020 Celebrations

On IVD 2020, UNV Sri Lanka recognised and appreciated the thousands of volunteers and frontlines responders across the country for their efforts during COVID-19 pandemic in line with the theme ‘Together We Can Through Volunteering.’ In the run up to IVD, UNV featured a series of articles authored by youth and volunteer organisations, academia, WHO and UNV on volunteerism, showcased volunteer stories in the COVID-19 responses, hosted a series of webinars together with partners.

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International Volunteers Day 2020

On 5 December, UNV, WHO and other partners hosted a virtual celebration to recognise and appreciate the hundreds of volunteers and frontline responders across the country for their exemplary and courageous efforts in COVID-19 response. This event brought together over 170 participants on Zoom and another 800+ joining through Facebook.

All the activities can be viewed below.

PREVIOUS IVD CELEBRATIONS IN SRI LANKA

HIGHLIGHTING

Frontline Functionaries during the COVID-19 Pandemic

In 2020, as the COVID 19 pandemic spread across the world, volunteers were at the forefront of medical, community and societal responses.

The COVID-19 Strategic Preparedness and Response Plan of WHO identifies community volunteers as key stakeholders of risk communication and community engagement. This encapsulates the value-add volunteers are making to COVID-19.

On IVD 2020, UNV welcomed this opportunity to underline the significant role of volunteers during COVID-19 and their efforts in COVID-19 responses and recovery.

Throughout the campaign leading up to the IVD 2020 celebration, we thanked volunteers worldwide and also shed light on the difficulties and needs of volunteers during the pandemic. Showing the impact of volunteers in their communities during this crisis, we delivered our message of ‘Together We Can Through Volunteering’ across the country.

International Volunteers Day 2020 Trailers

Call for Volunteer Stories in COVID-19 Response

In celebrating IVD 2020, UNV Sri Lanka and WHO Sri Lanka recognised and appreciated frontline functionaries and volunteers across the country for their actions and commitment in supporting COVID-19 prevention efforts. UNV showcased inspiring stories from individual volunteers, Volunteer Involving Organisations (VIOs) and Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) through a social media campaign and a video to celebrate IVD 2020.

International Volunteer Week

As part of this year’s celebrations for International Volunteer Day, Youth and Volunteer organisations were invited to conduct innovative sessions aligned with the theme of the year, for pre-registered audiences. The sessions were held during the first week of December 2020 as a pre-run event to International Volunteer Day.

01 DECEMBER – DIGITAL STORYTELLING