Nearly 150 participants from government institutions, academia, and UN agencies attended the launching ceremony. Mr. Wang Jiarui, Chairman of China Soong Ching Ling Foundation, Mr. Hang Yuanxiang, Executive Vice Chairman of the China Soong Ching Ling Foundation, Mr. Olivier Adam, UNV Executive Coordinator, Mr. Zhang Yi, Deputy Director General of CICETE and Mr. Devanand Ramiah, UNDP China Deputy Residence Representative jointly launched the project.

The eruption of the Guatemala’s Volcano of Fire ocurred on June 3, 2018, causing the death of more than 300 people and the evacuation of more than 4,000 inhabitants in the surrounding areas.

Imagine living close to a river and not knowing if and when the rivers will rise above normal levels. Imagine a large wave of rain flooding your land, destroying your home while washing away your dear belongings. This was the reality of many Laotians during the rainy season in 2018.

According to civil society organizations, one person is killed every 27 hours in Brazil because of their sexual orientation or gender identity, and Brazil ranks first in the world in the number of trans people killed every year (TGEU, 2018). The country still has laws criminalizing homophobia and transphobia, and it does not have comprehensive public policies for the LGBTI population.

As a UN Youth Volunteer with a disability, Kasunjith provided a unique and personal input to the discussions related to inclusion and played a key role in advocating for needs specific to the disabled community. If not us then who? ‘Inclusion’ cannot be fostered without the participation of people with disabilities. It is very important that the disabled community is not left behind in the recognition of Sustainable Development Goals. --Kasunjith Satanarachchi Devesurenda, during the 2019 ECOSOC Youth Forum

My UN Volunteer assignment dates back to the late 1990s.  At that point, I was already working with UNDP in the Lao PDR, so serving as volunteer offered additional learning and networking opportunities. Being one of the largest UNV programmes at the time, the Lao PDR had a strong and diverse group of UN Volunteers that I became part of. An Orientalist, I always drew my motivation from building country capacities and learning local cultures. 

In 2013, South Sudan entered a civil war – a conflict which continues till today. The impact of insecurity has had a profound impact on people. Poverty has worsened, from 44.7 per cent in 2011 to 65.9% in 2018. Female-headed households (48.6 per cent of all households in South Sudan) experience more severe depth of poverty owing to detrimental social norms, and limited access to education, productive assets and resources.

Grace Otieno, a UN Volunteer who serves as an Air Operations Planning Officer at the MOVCON aviation section of the United Nations Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo (MONUSCO).  Posted in Goma, Grace is working in a largely male-dominated sector. Her everyday tasks include planning for daily flights, coordinating ramp activities for smooth and timely flights and briefing the crew on their daily route requirements as per UN procedures. 

Almost three decades of civil war in Angola have decimated its wildlife, during a time where the country had other priorities and the maintenance of protected areas and conservation of biodiversity were neglected. Now the country has the challenge to recover its biodiversity and rehabilitate its protected areas.

The National Voluntary Report of Colombia 2018, identifies as the main milestones of the country the creation of an intersectorial institution aimed at leading the implementation of the SDGs, and the alignment between the peace negotiations and the 2030 Agenda. With the signing of the Peace Agreement, Colombia began a new era where the construction of a stable and lasting peace will allow Colombian society to concentrate on achieving true sustainable development.