Kalinga Times Correspondent
Bhubaneswar, Dec 4: A Volunteer Fair will be held in the city on Saturday to celebrate volunteerism in Odisha and worldwide.

The fair is being organised as part of the International Volunteer Day (IVD) celebrations, celebrated every year on December 5.

The event will provide an opportunity to individuals who want to contribute to their community to connect with NGOs needing volunteers to work on different social issues.

This year, Volunteers of United Nations Volunteers (UNV) programme in Odisha will participate and share their experiences to underline the contributions volunteerism can make to social and economic development.

The United Nations General Assembly created International Volunteer Day (IVD) in 1985 as an annual celebration of voluntary action for volunteers, volunteer organisations and governments.

The one-day Volunteer Fair is being organised in association with the VSO (Voluntary Service Overseas) volunteers in Eastern Odisha and will take place at the CYSD premises.

To mark the occasion, United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Odisha has also organised a discussion on `Volunteerism in Resettlement and Rehabilitation,” followed by a film show.

Like in other countries and states, the UNDP in Odisha works hand in hand with the United Nations Volunteers (UNV) programme to advance peace and human development through volunteerism. An integral part of the UNDP family, the UNV Volunteers foster empowerment, engagement and broad-based ownership of development process.

UNDP partners with UNV to improve post-disaster and post-conflict environments by rebuilding communities and infrastructure, developing capacities and engaging marginalised populations, women and youth. Another key area of this partnership is UNDP's support to democratic governance.

The UNV Volunteers spread across Odisha provide specialist technical support to governments and other stakeholders at state and local levels in Disaster Risk Management (DRM), Resettlement and Rehabilitation (R&R), Strengthening of Human Development Report (HDR) and Panchayat Raj Institution (PRI) Capacity Building.

UNV volunteers work with local authorities and communities, ensuring that governance is grounded in the principles of human rights, access to justice, inclusion and gender equality.