About

Born from the initiative of a group of young Venezuelans in 2003, Enlace Voluntario Venezuela was created in order to link organizations and promote volunteering towards development. In 2007 the organization was renamed the Organización Venezolana de Jóvenes para las Naciones Unidas (OVJNU, Venezuelan Youth Organization for the United Nations). OVJNU’s mission is to empower youth in humanitarian contexts towards development. From 2007 to 2020, the organization has executed 14 projects on issues of democracy, diplomacy, sexual and reproductive health and the environment, reaching over 15,000 young people.

The OVJNU promotes the Sustainable Development Goals of the United Nations and the Summit of the Americas, by offering training opportunities in the areas of water, food and energy, and building alliances for development. It seeks to create employment opportunities and confront poverty through activities that develop leadership and entrepreneurship skills in youth.

The talent of the youth of Venezuela determines the potential for the future economic growth and social development of the country. Creative and resourceful young people offer a better perspective for the construction of an ideal country and of social equity that it is desired to achieve. But reality shows that only training and investing in the present can build tomorrow.

OVJNU supports innovative programs geared towards sustainable development, offering a comprehensive and entrepreneurial approach to create new opportunities and social services for youth organizations, community councils, youth guilds, and groups of young people in condition of vulnerability (women, afro-descendants, indiginous and other ethnic minorities, LGBTQIA+ individuals, people with disabilities or contagious diseases, etc.).

Objectives

The goal of the OVJNU is to increase the entrepreneurial spirit, interpersonal and business skills of the youth of the region, and thus benefit all the Organizations, Institutions and Companies where young people live in the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela.

In its strategic plan 2021 – 2025 “Jóvenes En Cardumen’’, OVJNU  aims to empower youth in three strategic lines – Water, Energy and Food in humanitarian contexts – through the Youth Schools and Parliaments with the transversal axes of the LGBTI community, Migrants, Refugees, Children and Women for the involvement of programs and the creation of favorable public policies, through the Humanitarian Technical School, the Global School of Energy and with the participation of the World Youth Parliament, World Youth Parliament for Water with the projects UN Potable Home (Biorena Filters), Community Energy Saving (Solar Furnaces) and More Humanitarian (Risk Management) run in vulnerable communities. These initiatives offer a platform for the exchange of experiences for young people from America and Africa through online training and interviews with global leaders.

Partnerships

Since 2007, OVJNU has been a collaborating partner of the Young Americas Business Trust (YABT), an international non-profit organization that works in cooperation with the Organization of American States (OAS), to promote the social and economic development of young people around the world. Since 2013 the organization is also is part of the Major Group for Children and Youth, the self-organized and mandated mechanism by the United Nations General Assembly for young people to participate in a meaningful way in certain United Nations processes. OVJNU is also part of the Humanitarian Response Plan in Venezuela together with OCHA and international and local agencies and the Youth Sustainable Energy Hub.