ESC: Volunteering in The United Nations Association of Bulgaria (UNA)

The United Nations Association of Bulgaria (UNA) is a non-profit association registered under the legislation for non-profit organizations in Bulgaria. The main goals of the association according to art. 4 of its founding contract for Association are: “to assist in uniting the Bulgarian public in support of the whole principles and United Nations initiatives; to work for education and educating young people in the spirit of UN values ​​and universal respect for fundamental human rights and freedoms; to stimulate youth volunteering and the desire of young people to work for the benefit of society. The mission of the Association is to work for informing and uniting the Bulgarian public in support of the goals, principles, and tasks of the Organization of The United Nations aims to strengthen international peace and security, development of understanding and cooperation between people and respect for fundamental human rights and freedoms. As a leading organization in Bulgaria, working In favor of multilateralism, our activities are guided to a very large extent by The United Nations Sustainable Development Agenda 2030 through promoting and implementing the 17 UN Sustainable Development Goals. We work to build global competencies among adolescents and all, who understand the importance of lifelong learning. We organize youth activities or initiatives to represent, protect and develop interests and the needs of young people, with an emphasis on human rights education and prepare young people to work for their peers in different situations and areas of public life, including through a presentation by a Bulgarian Youth Delegate when discussing youth issues at the UN General Assembly. We assist state and public organizations in the implementation of their international commitments under UN conventions and programs, in particular to world human rights education programs and world human rights programs for youth. Within the association since 2002 there is a strong youth section, that is a member of the youth network of the World Federation of UN Associations. Through the youth section UNA in Bulgaria is among the active members of the National youth forum. The youth section has a significant degree of autonomy, conducts annual General Assembly and elects its own management. The Chairman of the Board of the youth section takes part in the meetings of the Board of the association.We are a member of the World Federation of United Nations Associations (WFUNA) together with over 100 other national associations. We are also a member of the Bulgarian Platform for International Development and the National Youth Forum.