Hadijah works with important stakeholders like the Parliament of Uganda, Electoral Commission, Equal Opportunities Commission and coordinates the drafting of work plans and reporting progress of the programme activities. I became a volunteer wanting to support communities in achieving the Agenda 2030, reduce discrimination and improve women’s political participation, and have gotten a wealth of experience from my work, coupled with the satisfaction of being able to impact the lives of many.

The UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) is leading the timely provision of international protection and life-saving assistance to DR Congolese refugees in Nchelenge, with remarkable support from UN Volunteers. Fortunatus Kambaragwe and Dr. Jonathan Calbayan are both international UN Volunteers based in Nchelenge, Northern Zambia, working as Associate Programme Officer and Public Health Coordinator respectively.

Elsie Aroyan is serving with UNHCR as a UN Volunteer Community Services Assistant to protect the rights and build a better future for refugees, forcibly displaced communities and stateless people in Armenia. As a displaced person herself, Elsie can relate better than anyone to the pain, fears and challenges which these displaced persons and refugees suffer from.

Maria was a team leader for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) team at the Skaramangas site. Skaramangas was the biggest refugee camp in the Attica region, hosting around 3,400 refugees including several unaccompanied and separated children. UNHCR had a regular presence on the site, focusing on protection monitoring activities. Maria’s day-to-day duties involved identifying persons with specific needs and other vulnerable cases, and referring them to the relevant services, such as medical and psychosocial treatment. 

Volunteering is an essential tool for strengthening national capacities, promoting the implementation of development actions and the social inclusion of youth. In this regard, the United Nations Volunteers (UNV) programme helps Member States to create an enabling environment for the promotion of volunteerism and the development of volunteer infrastructures.

To respond to these challenges, UNV's adoption and implementation of youth initiatives, including providing young people with the opportunity to contribute to peace and development through UN Youth Volunteer assignment, has been successful in many parts of the world, such as in West and Central Africa. In this region, UNV continues its efforts to provide more young people with opportunities to advance peace and development and build their capacity through volunteering. 

Hyeon-Soo Jeon, from South Korea, was interested in starting a career in international development, and just after graduation was selected for an international UN Youth Volunteer assignment, fully funded by the Republic of Korea, with the United Nations Development Programme in Kosovo (as per UN Security Council Resolution 1244).

Marco Nardo, an Italian UN Volunteer who has been serving with UNHCR in Colombia for eight months, had the chance to join the Commemoration of World Refugee Day in Mocoa, his duty station, located in the south of the country.  He serves as Associate Protection Officer, mainly in charge of persons in need of international protection.

According to World Bank data, half of Sub-Saharan Africa’s population is under 25 years of age and each year until 2035, there will be half a million more 15-year-olds than the year before. While Africa’s youth bulge could present an opportunity for innovation and economic growth for the continent, many countries still struggle to provide sufficient perspectives for their youth. Youth unemployment continues to be a challenge for Sub-Sahara Africa with rates being as high as 60 per cent in some countries.

The Growth and Development Strategy III (2017-2022) recognizes the value of volunteerism in increasing the productivity of youth and unemployed Malawians. It envisages the establishment of a national volunteer service programme. The Ministries of Labour, Youth, Sports and Manpower Development and Finance, Economic Planning and Development will work closely with the National Youth Council of Malawi to develop a legal and regulatory framework on volunteerism, as well as an effective national coordination and implementation framework.