Peace is a broad word — it covers general domains of providing access to justice and building effective, accountable, and inclusive institutions. It also refers to specific United Nations mandates that are being implemented under peacekeeping and peacebuilding missions.  While the role of the UN in maintaining and restoring peace is pivotal in laying the foundations for a peaceful world, it is also important to note the role of young people, who are active agents of change. 

The winners are Ahmed Alrough in Yemen; Ana Maria Castro in Ecuador; Cemail Morina in Serbia; Dora Kunda in South Sudan; Emanuel Foukou in Cameroon; Mai Abdelwahab in South Sudan; Namchok Petsaen in Thailand; Njobati Sylvie Vernyuy in the Republic of the Congo; Seung Choe in Nepal; and Uyen Vu in Viet Nam.

The International Day of Trans Visibility is commemorated every year on March 31 – it is a date dedicated to promoting, celebrating and recognizing the participation of transgender people. However, in the Dominican Republic – as is the case in many places worldwide – transgender people are subject to discrimination and violence. An assessment of health needs of transgender people conducted in the country in 2015 uncovered that 79 pre cent of the transgender population had been denied employment or had been terminated because of their gender identity.

During the mission, Mr Kurbanov reiterated UNV’s support to the priorities of the UN Development System in China, as agreed for the UN Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework (2021-2025). Accordingly, UNV will enhance volunteer mobilization and knowledge exchange for the advancement of South-South Cooperation, localization of the SDGs, youth empowerment and environmental protection, among other priority areas of engagement.

The campaign will call on UN Volunteers to submit videos about the work they carry out with UN entities around the world to achieve the SDGs. These will be evaluated by Kopernik and UNV, in collaboration with Ricoh, and the winners will receive 360-degree cameras and training on how to use them. After the training, UN Volunteers will use the cameras to develop further 360-degree video content about the SDG challenges they are tackling in the field.