In Malawi, the Spotlight Initiative (SI) was rolled out in 2019 and is being implemented jointly by the UN Development Programme (UNDP), the UN Population Fund (UNFPA), the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and UN Women in six districts: Nkhata Bay, Mzimba, Dowa, Ntchisi, Machinga and Nsanje. 

A UNV assignment at a critical & historic moment for Timor-Leste

Since 2018 the Astana Civil Service Hub (ACSH), a flagship initiative of the UN Development Programme (UNDP) and the Government of Kazakhstan has grown to become an important and valued knowledge exchange platform for 40 participating countries. 

As part of the next State of the World’s Volunteerism Report, UNV commissioned a study based on original multi-country quantitative data to understand patterns of volunteer participation during the global COVID-19 pandemic, volunteer motivations and experiences, and what these might mean for people’s voluntary participation.

The UN Community Volunteers represent the UNDP in these communities and are responsible for implementing the project at various levels. They assist in identifying small and medium enterprises with small initiatives and support them in organizing their projects.

Even before the pandemic, millions of people took to the streets to make their voices heard.

In the collective imagination, 'refugee' refers to a person living in a white tent, or who is homeless, very vulnerable and inspires pity and compassion. We challenge you to a mindshift, as we share the story of two refugees who dismantled this perception. Mikaelou Demba Dia (33) and Ibrahima Watt (36) arrived from Mauritania in Senegal in 1989 due to the Senegalese-Mauritanian conflict. They are among 20 refugees awarded an Albert Einstein German Academic Refugee Initiative (DAFI) scholarship to pursue studies in Law and Human Resources, respectively.

Today, we live in a world without borders: we are currently experiencing a global pandemic which does not follow borders; international terrorism does not follow borders; climate change does not follow borders. To address these borderless problems, you must have citizens across the world who are equally borderless and conscious about supporting the planet. I believe this is where volunteering plays a significant role and that we must invest in a future for these responsible citizens.