The International Volunteer Day was marked at the Lava Hotel on Friday with the spotlight put on the work of volunteers who have contributed to the development of Samoa over the years. 

The international event celebrated in Apia brought together saw the acknowledgement of the work of United Nations together with colleagues from the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), Australia AID, New Zealand's Volunteer Service Abroad (VSA) and the American Peace Corps. 

Simona Marinescu – who is the UN Resident Coordinator for Samoa, Niue, Cook Islands and Tokelau – said in her address to mark the occasion that Samoa already has a large population of youth and able-bodied individuals who can become national volunteers themselves.

"Our number one priority is to raise national volunteers and mobilising them to serve in-country instead of always relying on International volunteers," Ms. Marinescu said.

Volunteer work can also be of great benefit for the youth in Samoa, according to the UN Resident Coordinator, who urged young Samoans to consider applying to become volunteers. 

She added that the chance to learn and experience these opportunities at an early stage helps in the development of the young person's own skills and knowledge.

In the long run these opportunities for volunteer work in Samoa can become attractive achievements for the participants when they search for job opportunities and during their future endeavors.

The event at the Lava Hotel on Friday gave credit to the work done by volunteers across the Pacific and around the world. Volunteers are basically supposed to compliment programs delivered within the local communities within the countries.

In 2017 global estimates of volunteers throughout the world stood at 970 million.