Reporting on UN Volunteers serving with the Global Human Resource Development Programme of Japan

News

25 May 2018

Bonn, Germany

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The Programme for Global Human Resource Development for Peacebuilding and Development (HRD Programme) is a joint partnership between the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan, the Hiroshima Peacebuilders Center (as the current implementing partner) and UNV. It was established in 2007, and is funded by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Phase 9 was deployed in 2016-2017, and phase 8 in 2015-2016.

Mariko Kato served with UNICEF in Kyrgyzstan, contributing to social cohesion in the border region to Tajikistan through training of trainers in Russian language teaching and theatre for development. Through this UNICEF Cross-border Cooperation for Sustainable Peace and Development project, a total of 9,802 people were reached.

(UNV, 2017)

The HRD Programme aims to advance the reach and impact of volunteerism through the strategic deployment of skilled individuals to UN agencies engaged in peacebuilding and development. Working alongside national counterparts, UN Volunteers with the HRD Programme contribute to empowering women, youth and marginalized groups, build trust among local communities involved in some of the world’s most fragile peace processes, and work at regional and national levels to improve UN coordination.

UN Volunteers contribute to sustainable development and often gain transformational experience when on assignment, learning about other cultures and learning about themselves. I appreciate the UN Volunteers serving through the HRD Programme, and Japan for its contribution in upholding the value of volunteerism and giving young professionals such unique opportunities as UN Volunteers. --Olivier Adam, Executive Coordinator, UNV

PHASE 9, 2016-17

In 2016-17, the HRD Programme deployed 14 UN Volunteers, eight of them women, to a wide range of geographical and thematic contexts in 12 countries. From engendering social cohesion and ethnic tolerance on the Kyrgyz-Tajik border to facilitating family tracing and reunification in the EU migrant crisis, HRD Programme volunteers put themselves front and centre of the world’s most pressing crises, driving peacebuilding efforts from the ground up and demonstrating the profound transformation that volunteerism can effect upon local communities.

PHASE 8, 2015-16

In 2015-16, the HRD Programme deployed 14 UN Volunteers, 11 of them women, to a wide range of geographical and thematic contexts in 11 countries. From countering sexual harassment on campus in Bangladesh to supporting equitable access to early childhood care and education in the troubled Mindanao region of the Philippines, HRD Programme participants flew the flag of volunteerism high while contributing to conflict resolution, ending violence against women, empowering marginalized youth and harnessing technology to deliver positive change.

MEET UN VOLUNTEER ATSUKO MARUYAMA, WHO SERVED WITH WFP IN PAKISTAN

The World Food Programme is supporting the Government of Pakistan to halve the food-insecure population by 2025. One of WFP’s most important interventions in addressing food insecurity in the country is known as the ‘Food Assistance for Assets’ livelihoods project (FFA).

Atsuko’s role as a UN Volunteer was to support the FFA project, providing much-needed planning, implementation, resource allocation, training, monitoring and reporting functions.

Results include: social cohesion strengthened as a by-product of ‘Food Assistance for Assets’ livelihoods project.

Atsuko held high the flag of volunteerism by utilizing whatever time she could spare, even her annual leave, for the betterment of vulnerable communities. --Atsuko’s supervisor

MEET UN VOLUNTEER EIJI TAKAO, WHO SERVED WITH UNICEF IN SUDAN

The large-scale irregular movements of populations in Eastern Sudan expose many vulnerable people, particularly adolescents travelling alone, to the potential dangers of exploitation, forced labour and human trafficking.

Eiji, a lawyer specializing in child law, was deployed to UNICEF Sudan as a child protection officer to assist and monitor the implementation of vocational training to adolescents in order to reduce their vulnerability through acquiring the skills – and seed funding – to operate their own businesses.

Results include:

500 vulnerable adolescents vocationally trained and provided with reintegration kits
Five ‘one-stop shops’ for justice and social welfare established in two states, including child‑friendly spaces
Training manual on justice for children developed, and 15 trainers trained

Promoting volunteerism is a key aspect of the sustainable contribution that these volunteers make around the world. They provide a model for how volunteerism can propel individuals and communities from being the passive recipients of assistance to becoming the drivers of their own peace, reconciliation and development processes.