Rwanda and the world mark International Volunteer Day for Social and Economic Development (IVD).

This is the day when we celebrate the commitment and impact of the spirit of volunteerism that is in the process of making the world a better place.

It is a day for all the volunteers across the globe to take pride in what they do and to promote the contributions of volunteering to others.

It is a day when volunteers, volunteer-involving organizations and their work in support of peace and sustainable development are recognised and applauded.

At the same time, we also celebrate the values that sustain volunteerism – striving for the common good out of free will and without necessarily expecting any material reward, in a spirit of solidarity, reciprocity, mutual trust and belonging.

These values are universal and transcend the boundaries of culture, language and geography: every year, hundreds of millions of people around the world volunteer to help others. In fact, a recent study showed that 16% of people worldwide volunteer their time and skills to a cause.

This means that, if they were a nation, these volunteers would form the 10th largest country in the world in terms of population! This tremendous force of action has undeniably and greatly helped advance the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) across the planet.

The act of volunteering also has a broad impact on societies and on the individuals involved, in a mutually beneficial way. Indeed, it enables us all to engage in and influence the future of our communities.

This experience creates, in turn, a transformational relationship which can increase a society’s physical, economic, spiritual and social well-being by strengthening the sense of belonging and contributing to the community.

It helps to build an active and healthy society, critical to a peace that is durable and development that is sustainable.

In Rwanda, there is good reason to celebrate volunteerism and volunteers. In fact, volunteering has always been an integral part of the Rwandan culture: self-help and mutual aid activities have been and are still today used as a means to support community cohesion and to resolve socio-economic issues.

Ubudehe, Kujya mu Mujishi, Umudugudu, Abunzi and Gacaca are just a few examples of this tradition of volunteering which, in some cases, have been modernized and drawn on by the Government of Rwanda to meet the country’s current challenges which is a key factor in the durability of the country transformational process.

While 16% of the world population takes part in volunteer activities, a survey by a coalition of Rwandan NGOs of a sample of over 1000 individuals found out that, of these, 46% carried out an organizational based volunteer work and 40% were directly involved in volunteer work individually.

A particular example from Rwanda – the volunteer community health-care workers in rural areas – was actually used in the Report of the United Nations Volunteers programme on the State of the World’s Volunteerism to showcase how volunteers, with just a bit of support (in this case, mobile phones and training), can actually save lives.

The Government of Rwanda has been quick in recognising the potential of volunteerism in strengthening and accelerating development in the country and ensuring its sustainability.

Its evaluation of the first Economic Development and Poverty Reduction Strategy (EDPRS) showed that the Districts with higher community participation in development processes were also the Districts with the strongest and fastest gains in terms of development indicators.

Based on these results, it is no surprise that the Government of Rwanda has prioritised the adoption of a new National Policy on Volunteerism with the aim of integrating volunteerism in the national development process and harnessing the human and professional resources potential for the realisation of the EDPRS targets and vision 2020 developmental aspirations.

The One UN in Rwanda, after supporting the elaboration of the policy, will continue to aid its implementation in close partnership with the National ITORERO Commission, which has been designated as the principal governmental institution for the promotion and coordination of volunteer activities in the country.

In this context, I would like to quote the United Nation Secretary-General in his message on the occasion of International Volunteer Day 2012: “Let us also remember that volunteering can embrace all people, from the activist who works full-time for a cause to the occasional citizen who reaches out when he or she can.

Each sets an example of the spirit of compassion we need. Each makes a valuable contribution to reaching our common goals.”

Indeed, the beauty of volunteerism is that it allows each and every one of us to contribute to peace and development in our community, country or globally.

Recently, on the occasion of the World Aids Day, I underlined and applauded the role taken on by the Intore in reducing new HIV infections within the Rwandan Community.

This is a perfect example of volunteerism which we can all follow, at any level and in any field, by contributing time, skills and dedication!

Finally, I join the United Nation Secretary-General to applaud and thank the 7,700 United Nations Volunteers around the globe who support efforts to prevent conflicts, help societies recover from fighting, promote sustainable development, assist in crisis situations and carry out numerous other projects for the greater good.

In particular, I recognise among them the more than 70 Rwandan nationals who contribute their skills to help the populations of countries such as Haiti, South Sudan, Ivory Coast, Chad or East Timor.

On the International Volunteer Day, let us celebrate and recognise the role of volunteerism and volunteers in achieving the MDGs and, as we start defining the post-2015 global development agenda, in further building the future that we want.

{Author is UN Resident Coordinator/UNDP Resident Representative in Rwanda.}