On December 5^th, the United Nations is celebrating the International Volunteer Day (IVD). This year, the UN volunteers are celebrating this day along the theme of “Volunteer for an inclusive future” by focusing on the Sustainable Development Goal 10 – reduced inequalities. However, in order to be able to reduce inequalities, you need to discover and expose them first. Let me explain what I mean by that while sharing my own volunteer experience.

My name is Lukas Wenninger and I have been interning for the Congregation of the Mission at the United Nations in New York for the past two and a half months. I graduated from Niagara University in the Spring 2019 which makes this internship my first working experience as a graduate. Both my schedule as well as tasks at work vary vastly from day to day as I am primarily supporting the work of my boss, Fr. Guillermo Campuzano, CM who is the main UN NGO Representative of our Congregation here in New York. However, as he has a lot of things on his plate, we are always busy and trying to accomplish as much as we can every day, since there is so much to do. Therefore, my volunteer work experience has been very exciting so far. From attending UN events, UN committee meetings, preparing and attending NGO events and committee meetings to meeting high-profile delegates and partners to establish long-term partnerships – I have had the privilege to gain insight on numerous activities in and around the United Nations here in New York.

I have been challenged and learning so many things – both big chunks on how the UN works all the way to little details of what to say and read between the lines. It seems like a never-ending process, especially due to the ambitious goals of both the UN and Civil Society. The 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) provide the basic framework of every work done around here. Those are the parameters to measure the progress of this world while being a constant reminder that both the UN and Civil Society needs to strive harder after the SDGs. Even though the SDGs seemed very, almost too ambitious for me at the beginning of my volunteer experience, I had to realize that the reality of our planet is more serious than those goals could potentially cover.

That leads me to my initial statement on this year´s theme by the UN “Volunteers for an inclusive future” by highlighting SDG 10 which is reduced inequalities. In order to able to reduce inequalities, it is crucial to acknowledge and discover the shocking amount of inequality in our world prior to that. I can´t reduce something that I don´t know of or that I have little idea about. Therefore, I am very grateful for my boss, and his leadership style of handing over responsibilities to me continuously to grant me the repeated opportunity to discover more about the real condition of our planet. Comparing the Lukas who just started the internship to the person I am right now, I must admit that I had no clue about the existential, political, social, economic crisis that this world has been living in.

Obviously, being a volunteer means that you don´t make money with your daily work. However, if it takes this experience for anyone to wake up and come out of his bubble/comfort zone, I highly recommend it anytime and in whatever capacity possible. There might be people reading this article thinking that they already have a good understanding of what is going globally and who feel that they are doing all they can to contribute meaningfully to change this world sustainably. Right now, I would include myself in this group. Nevertheless, I know that this perspective will certainly change until tomorrow and possibly even today. “Volunteer for an inclusive future” – we live in a world that admires and pities volunteers for the same reason: they are giving up their time to bring about change. As much as I enjoy my volunteer experience on behalf of the Congregation of the Mission at the United Nations here in New York, I admit that I am dealing with this tension on a regular basis.

Is it worth it? Some people/things will never change! Couldn´t I use my time in a better way? All those question

s come up regularly because of my current volunteer experience. However, looking at the privileged life I have been living, the blessings God has shared with me, the small steps forward and lives we could change through our work so far – it encourages me to keep chasing after God´s heart, for what I believe is right. Yes, it almost seems foolish in today´s world to volunteer for anything. Yes, there is a lot of injustice, oppression and discrimination going on right now that we can´t prevent in that very moment. BUT: that doesn´t mean that it isn´t worth it. Due to this volunteer experience, I am constantly challenged to think critically about what I do and even what I believe to know. It is through this experience that I can get a hunch on how an inclusive future could look like in this world.

Volunteers are a great reminder in our hectic and capitalistic world that money can´t solve our problems and existential crisis. It requires people who put their heart into the work and volunteering is a prime opportunity to do that. Even though I will hopefully move on to a job one day that will pay me to cover my expenses continuously, I am already very grateful for this experience and I am determined to continue to volunteer as it is a crucial element of bringing about sustainable change that this world desperately requires. Together, we can make a difference in this world and bring about sustainable change. No money on this earth can accomplish what people with their heart can do. It seems to be the only way to achieve an inclusive future for all. If volunteerism is a crucial element to accomplish that, I encourage all of us to volunteer and gain firsthand experiences of how we can change this world sustainably together. I, for my part, can share cheerfully that it has been worth it!

Lukas Wenninger
CM Volunteer