SDG 3: Good health and well-being, SDG 4: Quality education, SDG 5: Gender equality, SDG 8: Decent work and economic growth, SDG 10: Reduced inequalities, SDG 17: Partnerships for the goals
Meet Rafiatu Umarayi Alhassan and Samuel Peprah Bekoe. Both are UN Volunteer Field Coordinators and part of Young Africa Innovates (YAI) with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in Ghana, a bold initiative helping young people across all 16 regions of the country turn their ideas into solutions.
08 August 2025
West and Central Africa
Success stories
SDG 1: No poverty, SDG 2: Zero hunger, SDG 3: Good health and well-being, SDG 4: Quality education, SDG 5: Gender equality, SDG 6: Clean water and sanitation, SDG 7: Affordable and clean energy, SDG 8: Decent work and economic growth, SDG 9: Industry, innovation and infrastructure, SDG 10: Reduced inequalities, SDG 11: Sustainable cities and communities, SDG 12: Responsible consumption and production, SDG 13: Climate change, SDG 14: Life below water, SDG 15: Life on land, SDG 16: Peace, justice and strong institutions, SDG 17: Partnerships for the goals
In 1968, the Shah of Iran, Mohammed Reza Pahlavi, made a visionary call for the establishment of a formal United Nations Volunteers programme. During an honorary speech at Harvard University, he emphasized the need for an international legion dedicated to combating the true enemies of humanity: poverty, hunger, and social injustice. His words resonated deeply, planting the seeds for a global volunteer movement.
06 May 2025
Global
Success stories
SDG 2: Zero hunger, SDG 6: Clean water and sanitation, SDG 10: Reduced inequalities, SDG 17: Partnerships for the goals
At the time of the earthquake, more than 70 UN Volunteers were serving with 10 UN partners in some 19 duty stations across Myanmar. About one-third of these volunteers are now part of the recovery efforts on the ground with the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), and the World Health Organization (WHO). The guiding principle here was to recruit local volunteers who knew their communities and were from within the system.
28 April 2025
Asia and the Pacific
Article
SDG 5: Gender equality, SDG 17: Partnerships for the goals
Yağmur Söylemez, UN Volunteer from Türkiye navigated through her volunteering experience and shared, "Volunteering gave me the courage to confront inequalities head-on, raise my voice and inspire others to take action." She raised awareness on the structural barriers facing women in their daily lives.
28 February 2025
Europe and Central Asia
Success stories
SDG 8: Decent work and economic growth, SDG 10: Reduced inequalities, SDG 15: Life on land
Like many young Africans, I saw potential where others saw waste.
The olive by-products often discarded became my inspiration. I embarked on a mission to transform this "waste" into valuable products that sustain both the environment and the people around me. This initiative called OleaRevive isn’t just about sustainability; it’s a story of empowerment.
Through our work, we’ve created opportunities for rural farmers, women, and youth, helping them turn what was once seen as worthless into something meaningful, economically and socially.
13 December 2024
East and Southern Africa
Success stories
SDG 8: Decent work and economic growth, SDG 12: Responsible consumption and production, SDG 17: Partnerships for the goals
Atsushi is from Chiba city in Japan and started his UN Volunteer assignment with UNDP on 7 December 2024. He is based in Djibouti, where he will support agricultural businesses and food security till almost the end of 2025. The project is funded through the Japanese Supplementary Budget and titled, 'Support to UN response to water and food insecurity caused by climate change and drought in Sub-Saharan Africa through the deployment of Japanese Specialists as UN Volunteers.'
11 December 2024
West and Central Africa
Success stories
SDG 4: Quality education, SDG 8: Decent work and economic growth, SDG 10: Reduced inequalities
Being African means enabling our communities to grow and thrive.
The spirit of Ubuntu—uplifting our communities.
Growing up, I noticed that young Africans are often encouraged to pursue set career paths like law, medicine, or engineering. But in a changing world, the question should shift from “What do you want to be?” to “What problems do you want to solve?”
02 December 2024
East and Southern Africa
Success stories
SDG 10: Reduced inequalities, SDG 15: Life on land, SDG 16: Peace, justice and strong institutions, SDG 17: Partnerships for the goals
I am a Doctor of Interdisciplinary Social Sciences by vocation, although my educational background is diverse, ranging from completing the Institute for Digital Media in Dublin to earning a master's degree in health management, pedagogy, political ecology, and more. I am quite specific and like to combine different tools, knowledge, and experiences to achieve my goals.
27 November 2024
Europe and Central Asia
Success stories
SDG 2: Zero hunger, SDG 5: Gender equality, SDG 8: Decent work and economic growth, SDG 10: Reduced inequalities
In 2019, one of my films was screened in Germany, and a particular scene sparked unexpected reactions. It showed a family sharing a meal from one plate—a common practice in my Cameroonian household, symbolizing togetherness and community. Yet, some viewers interpreted it as a symbol of poverty, a reminder of how easily our cultural narratives are misread. In Cameroon, we sometimes joke by calling our country "The Continent," hinting at a wider misconception that Africa is one homogenous place.
25 November 2024
East and Southern Africa
Success stories
SDG 1: No poverty, SDG 2: Zero hunger, SDG 3: Good health and well-being, SDG 4: Quality education, SDG 5: Gender equality, SDG 6: Clean water and sanitation, SDG 7: Affordable and clean energy, SDG 8: Decent work and economic growth, SDG 9: Industry, innovation and infrastructure, SDG 10: Reduced inequalities, SDG 11: Sustainable cities and communities, SDG 12: Responsible consumption and production, SDG 13: Climate change, SDG 14: Life below water, SDG 15: Life on land, SDG 16: Peace, justice and strong institutions, SDG 17: Partnerships for the goals
The global contributions of volunteers and their significance to peace and development worldwide remain largely unquantified. There are three challenges in this respect—the lack of comprehensive data sets on volunteering, the obstacles faced when attempting to compare these data sets, stemming from the use of various tools and methodologies, and the absence of a cohesive measurement framework.
25 November 2024
Global
Article