Effective peace building requires trust to ensure open dialogue between stakeholders, a sense of community ownership in the rebuilding process and feeling of self-reliance and empowerment among members of the community. Civic engagement through channels such as volunteerism offers an essential mechanism for building trust. Read

Lake States, South Sudan: “As a UN Volunteer working with the United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) it is imperative for me to contribute my expertise and experience to activities that mitigate social exclusion in society.

I liaise with county government, local authorities and communities in an attempt to prevent or alleviate conflicts.” Read

70 online volunteers have contributed extensively, during several months, to the Peace Bag for EuroMed Youth toolkit, drafting, reviewing and translating the 191 page publication into 12 languages, as well as creating the layout and a web version. The Peace Bag, which offers practical tools to promote a culture of peace at the local and regional level across the Mediterranean, has been developed in a participatory process that involved 18 youth-led and youth-serving organizations from 14 countries in the region, coordinated by the Fundació Catalunya Voluntària. Read

Monrovia, Liberia: Joining the United Nations Mission in Liberia (UNMIL) as a UNV Judicial Systems Monitor in 2007 has allowed me to help further development not only for the people I serve in Lofa and Montserrado Counties, but also for myself. Read

Dili, Timor-Leste: Within media relations at the United Nations Integrated Mission in Timor-Leste (UNMIT), I am part of a production team that puts out the Daily Media Review, the twice daily summary of all national and international news related to Timor-Leste, sent to the more than 2,700 UNMIT staff and 15 United Nations agencies in Timor-Leste. Read