To commemorate International Volunteer Day on 5 December, the UN in Indonesia and the Ministry of Youth and Sports hosted the inaugural Indonesia Volunteer Awards, which recognises the extraordinary contributions volunteers make to their communities.

The judges narrowed down a total of 315 submissions to five volunteers—including two persons with disabilities and three women—who received awards for their contributions in the areas of Climate Action, Disability Inclusion, Youth Development and Sustainable Development Goals. A further four finalists were selected for Pemuda Hebat 2022, the Ministry of Youth and Sports' programme that recognizes young people’s contribution to the development of the country.

Indonesia is home to over 28,000 registered volunteers, but there are likely to be hundreds of thousands of volunteers who are not included in the official statistics. Fifteen UN agencies engaged 117 volunteers from a diverse range of backgrounds in 2022. Their unique skills have been instrumental to the UN’s efforts to accelerate Indonesia’s progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals.

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“Volunteering brings me so much happiness and enhances my self-fulfilment in ways that I don’t get from my usual day-to-day work,” said Bintang Aulia, a UN Volunteer with UN Women and award winner in the SDGs category. At UN Women, she supports the development of social media content on gender equality, women’s empowerment, and addressing gender-based violence.

Arlin, Director of Pejuang Muda WTC received the award for Climate Action based on his organisation’s efforts to protect forests from damage caused by illegal logging and mines. Arlin and his organisation carry out routine patrols and make available information on their findings. "Receiving this award is an extraordinary recognition not only for me but also for my friends in the organization who dedicated their time, energy, and efforts to serve the communities around them,” Arlin said.

More than 100 people attended the awards ceremony, including Wisler Manalu, Assistant Deputy of Partnership and Youth Development, Ministry of Youth and Sports, Macocha Moshe Tembele, Ambassador of Tanzania to Indonesia and Stephane Dovert, Director of Institut Français Indonesia, which hosted the event.