Mutlaq and Abdullah are Saudi UN Volunteers on parallel journeys, turning national expertise into global experience through the fully funded partnership between UNV and Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Economy and Planning.

This is also Armenia’s first time hosting the UN biodiversity conference. The decision to hold COP17 in Yerevan was taken at COP16 in Cali, Colombia, where more than 800 UN Volunteers supported the conference.

Troubled beginningsMy own entry into the UN was as a young tour guide at the UN Headquarters in New York. This opportunity opened a window into a vast and complex institution. Explaining the UN to visitors from around the world helped me see it from the inside – its energy, complexity and extraordinary potential. That experience set me on the path to UNDP.

In 1999, a cyclone struck Odisha in eastern India.Mukeshkumar Prajapati was thousands of kilometers away in Jamnagar, Gujarat, completing his medical training in pediatrics. When a call went out for medical specialists willing to help, he volunteered. His dean hesitated to send him alone. Mukesh never made the trip. But something had already revealed itself, something that would repeatedly shape the next quarter-century of his life—the impulse to step forward.

My mother was a teacher before she became a political trailblazer: Senegal’s first woman mayor and vice-president of the National Assembly. She led at a time when leadership by women was rare. She did not ask for permission to care. She simply did. And she showed me by example, that being a woman is not a limitation, but a source of strength.From her, I learned courage. Not the loud kind, but the steady kind. The courage to be who you are. To stand for others. To believe that leadership is not about status, but about responsibility.

Development begins with dignityLater, in public service and academia, those instincts deepened. I learned that development is not abstract. It is about dignity. About equity. About whether people feel seen in the systems that shape their lives. Policies matter, but only when they translate into real change.

The volunteers have been prepared to take on specific duties across four key areas: the Green Zone, Blue Zone, hotels, and transportation. During the training, they were introduced to their assigned work areas and stations, and briefed on their roles, responsibilities, and the essential organizational information needed to support the conference. 

Through awareness sessions and community outreach, volunteers helped people across Uzbekistan better understand digital risks and protect their rights online. The first article on this topic included the experience of UN Volunteer, Umidjon Khujabekov, and his contribution to promoting safer digital spaces. Now, four more UN Volunteers reflect on the moments that showed them the real impact of their work. 

A national UN Volunteer, Falimanantsoa, serves with the

The young matter