Research Report
XVII. Model United Nations of Lübeck
2014
Forum:
Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC)
Issue:
Enhancing human resource development particularly in the area of volunteer work
Ex-President: Vice President:
Louise Lindberg (Malmö, SE) Shubhavi Arya (Singapore)
Contact:
ecosoc@munol.org
Background Information Human Resource Development (HRD) involves taking employees, or in this case volunteers and training them in relevant practices so as to make their contributions to support efforts more efficient and worthwhile. Educating volunteers allows them to do their jobs better, and as such allows organizations such as the UN to allocate their resources more efficiently. Take volunteers working in a medical area of a relief camp somewhere in Africa, if you were to be dropped in there we would be an extra pair of hands and could help with mundane tasks like carrying supplies around. This would force the few nurses and doctors to handle everything. From acute cases requiring immediate care, to drawing blood for a small blood test. Human resource development in the context of volunteers would involve perhaps training someone in how to draw blood for a test. Now the doctors and nurses can handle what they need to handle, leaving the smaller tasks to the normal volunteers. This applies to all forms of volunteering. If the person receives some form of training they will get better at their job thus streamlining the process.
Programme for Human Resource Development in Asia for Peacebuilding Peacebuilding is about resolving violent conflicts and establishing lasting peace. It involves restoring justice, healing trauma, reconciliation, development and leadership. For example: with violent conflicts never far from the headlines, a central part of the Government of Japan’s strategy to help foster lasting peace worldwide is the Programme for Human Resource Development in Asia for Peacebuilding (HRD Programme). Funded by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Programme aims to demonstrate the role of volunteering in peacebuilding and peacekeeping activities by fielding skilled, trained and committed citizens from Japan and other Asian countries. Volunteers deployed under the Programme bring new skills that expand the reach of peacebuilding efforts.
Increasing Volunteer work Encouraging volunteerism is an important focus of the sustainable involvement that HRD page 1 of 3
Research Report
XVII. Model United Nations of Lübeck
2014
volunteers make under the HRD programmes. The opportunity to volunteer is an occasion to become involved in peace, reconciliation and development tasks. Mediations and Peacemaking that include organizations and beneficiaries leave a more farreaching impact. HRD Volunteers make efforts to become role models and give inspiration to societies they work with. They play a major role in encouraging community involvement and promoting volunteerism.
Goals of the HRD Programmes 1. 2. 3.
Improving understanding an skills of volunteers through professional training with international organizations. Giving and enhancing real world experience with United Nations. Helping communities affected from disasters and wars and people excluded from development opportunities.
United Nations Volunteers “The United Nations Volunteers (UNV) programme is the UN organization that contributes to peace and development through volunteerism worldwide. Volunteerism is a powerful means of engaging people in tackling development challenges, and it can transform the pace and nature of development. Volunteerism benefits both society at large and the individual volunteer by strengthening trust, solidarity and reciprocity among citizens, and by purposefully creating opportunities for participation. UNV contributes to peace and development by advocating for recognition of volunteers, working with partners to integrate volunteerism into development programming, and mobilizing an increasing number and diversity of volunteers, including experienced UNV volunteers, throughout the world. UNV embraces volunteerism as universal and inclusive, and recognizes volunteerism in its diversity, as well as the values that sustain it: free will, commitment, engagement and solidarity.” -http://www.unv.org United Nations Volunteers.
Useful links
This pdf provides mapping strategies and good practices of Human Resource Development for volunteers in sports organizations in Europe: http://www.t4v.eu/News/T4V_EU_Final_Report_Steinbach_Guett_Freytag.pdf http://www.unv.org/en/partners/hosting-a-un-volunteer.html Annual report of 2012 by United Nations Volunteers programme: http://www.unv.org/en/news-resources/resources/annual-report-2012.html This link provides a lot of information on the subject of HRD in the context of volunteer work. It is also a real example of HRD being applied on volunteers: page 2 of 3
Research Report
XVII. Model United Nations of L端beck
2014
http://www.unv.org/fileadmin/docdb/pdf/2013/corporate/19978_UNV_HPC_Programme _Final_web.pdf
page 3 of 3