As a Humanitarian Affairs Officer, Lepani’s assignment focused on fostering coordination and liaison with partners in the field, with a special emphasis on the Federated States of Micronesia (FSM), the Republic of Marshall Islands, Nauru, Palau, Kiribati and Tuvalu. These countries fall under the purview of OCHA’s Office of the Pacific Islands.

The Archipelagic and Island States Forum (AIS Forum) is UNDP Indonesia’s one of a kind project, serving as a platform to bring together 47 archipelagic and island states to collaborate on common challenges and opportunities faced by island nations. Talei and Linnet are the AIS Forum’s Programme Development Specialists for the Asia Pacific and Caribbean Regions respectively.

Suva, Fiji: On Monday 7 March UN Women organized an awareness-raising event in UN Park, Suva, where information about various gender issues was distributed from a number of different organizations and UN agencies, including the Office for the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), where I am currently serving as a UN Volunteer. Monday morning was hot and sunny, and music contributed to the festive mood at the Park. A quiz about women’s progress was organized by UN Women, and a banner was set up to be signed by participants.

As Fiji prepares for elections in 2014, join the volunteer civic educators who are traveling around the country to inform people about democracy, their rights and to encourage women to get involved with decision-making. The National Initiative on Civic Eduction was set up to support democratic culture through Civic Education.