There was no speech therapy service in Bosanski Petrovac says Senija Ferizović, "As someone whose focus is speech therapy, I work with children and adults facing communication difficulties. Due to the high number of similar challenges occurring in different age groups, I have conducted various activities with beneficiaries, gaining new practices from assessment, intervention, stimulation, to individual and group work. This type of assistance and support cannot be obtained in other institutions in our community.

Thibault's volunteering journey with the United Nations spanned from end of 2022 to early 2024. He supported, “Leveraging Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) to Achieve net-zero emissions and climate-resilient Development, in Response to the Climate Emergency,” a project implemented in partnership between the Government of Japan and UNDP’s next phase of the Climate Promise: From Pledge to Impact.

With a graduate degree in Development Studies and previous experience in human rights, Saumya contributes her skills to causes around climate justice. As an Online Volunteer, her day-to-day work was a horizon-scoping exercise on existing tools for environmental human rights defenders and climate activists. This involved researching different tools and classifying them on the basis of their typology based and target areas.

My interest in the United Nations began while I was still in high school student. I was part of Model UN, an educational model of the UN where students learn about diplomacy and international relations. I started my volunteer journey as an Online Volunteer through the United Nations Volunteers in November 2023 with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Bureau for Policy and Programme Support and the Sustainable Development Goals Integration Team. 

Pakistani nationals serving UN Volunteers serving abroad bring a wealth of skills, and expertise varying from knowledge management, public information, medical field, human resources management, disaster relief efforts to engineering. During their assignments, they also transfer their knowledge to local communities and empower them. Responding to natural disasters

Lucy A Tilley, in collaboration with another Online Volunteer, Abdul Mustafazade, supported AccLab by designing communication materials, visuals and social media posts on collective intelligence, solidarity and crowd-mapping. AccLab disseminated these materials on the UNDP website and social media platforms. This helped raise awareness on climate action, sustainable development and sustainable water management while also increasing the participation of local people.

When the war started on 24 February 2022, Hanna couldn’t believe this was happening to her country. The conflict was so sudden that nobody, including Hanna, was ready. After she realized the severity of the situation, she volunteered to help others.“It is a great grief when children suffer, when rockets hit residential buildings and not only houses, and at night, when people are sleeping.” Hanna Chepil, UN Community Volunteer with UNDP Moldova

The Community UN Volunteers were selected from 22 unions under Bandarban and Rangamati districts representing the marginalized group of ethnic minorities descending from tribal groups in the hard-to-reach terrains of Hill District Regions - 58% women. The volunteers began their assignments in December 2023 to support the multi-donor Local Government Initiative on Climate Change (LoGiC).

Through the UNDP Transitional Justice project funded by the United Nations Peacebuilding Fund, UNDP South Sudan has been collaborating with Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) in the Greater Bahr El Ghazal; Greater Equatoria and Greater Upper Nile areas to ensure that the voices of South Sudanese are included and heard in all processes. The CSOs have been using their communication channels to provide information about the transitional justice mechanisms to communities of victims and survivors of conflict.

The high-level gathering convened more than 450 onsite participants and more than 3000 online viewers. They included representatives from the Government, UN partners, members of the Diplomatic Corps, Volunteer Involved Organizations, academia, influencers, and volunteers who came together to recognize the spirit of volunteerism in shaping a better world.