Volunteer Coaching is a mutually beneficial virtual initiative for both UN Volunteers and certified coaches.
For UN Volunteers, it offers personalized guidance and support for both personal and professional development. By participating, volunteers can gain valuable insights, enhance their skills for performance, and build confidence in their roles.
For coaches, it offers practical coaching experience for higher certifications and connects them to a wide range of UN professionals.
In 2020, World Health Organization African Regional Office (WHO AFRO) and United Nations Volunteers (UNV) launched the Africa Women Health Champions initiative. Dr. Matshidiso Moeti, WHO Regional Director for Africa underpins the aim of this initiative where more than 145 young African women from 38 nationalities served as UN Volunteer health champions — these are her reflections.
The Africa Women Health Champions initiative is surely an investment in the African woman and through her, in the health of African people.
So why did I start this initiative?
I have been convinced for years that WHO, like many other organisations, needs far more women in leadership positions.
Twenty-two Online Volunteers mentored almost 200 applicants in developing project proposals for Youth4Climate (Y4C) a global initiative co-led by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the Government of Italy.
“Online Volunteering gave me a sense of connection and hope during challenging times and an opportunity to support important causes like climate action,” shared Anastasia Andreeva. Like many young people volunteering for climate action, Anastasia wanted to do the same. She applied to the call for Online Volunteers to support Y4C.
World Mental Health Day is observed in October. In the lead up to and beyond, the day aims to raise awareness and reduce stigma of mental health worldwide. Okba Doghim and Gulnara Zhakupova reflect on their UN Volunteer assignments and how they make mental health care a priority in crises and emergencies.
Compassion, commitment, impact—these are not just words for Okba Doghim—they describe his motivation to volunteer.
Thirteen Online Volunteers collaborated with Commit Global, a non-governmental organization (NGO), and translated documents that helped people overcome language barriers. In the lead-up to International Translation Day, we look at the vital role of Online Volunteering, especially regarding the humanitarian context.
Salome Margvelashvili, an Online Volunteer, inspired by — tech for social good — Commit Global's mission chose to volunteer through UNV's Online Volunteering Service. "Throughout my academic career, I've maintained a strong focus on understanding the complexities of crisis man
Young people play a vital role in driving the development and prosperity of their countries. Read a story of a young volunteer with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in Bosnia and Herzegovina who gave his time and effort to show that small communities matter and that youth is the most important building block in making this happen.
Borko Unković, UN Community Volunteer in Youth Engagement was based in the Municipality of Gacko in southeast Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Yi Nam Xu (Deanna) is a UN Volunteer with the United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat) supporting sustainable urban solutions for local communities in Lao People's Democratic Republic. She is a Knowledge Management Assistant and manages the organization's data system. Her assignment is fully funded by the Agency for Volunteer Service, Hong Kong (SAR China).
With a background in Land Surveying and Geo-Informatics, Deanna sees her volunteer assignment with the United Nations as a platform for meaningful contribution to sustainability—something she's been passionately pursuing as part of her university studies as well.
I consolidate climate vulnerability and disaster risk data from diverse UN entities and development partners into a unified platform, thus enhancing data accessibility and improving urban planning and decision-making processes.” Yi Nam Xu, UN Volunteer with UN-Habitat.
Yiran Zhao, Xinhao Yao, and Xiangyu Jin serve with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), and the United Nations Volunteers (UNV) Country Office in Bangladesh. Through their service as fully funded UN University Volunteers, they brought out-of-the-box ideas to help development efforts along with a lot of energy and enthusiasm.
These three volunteers were part of 40 UN University Volunteers deployed under the joint partnership of UNV, the Chinese Young Volunteers Association (CYVA), and the China International Center for Economic and Technical Exchanges (CICETE).
I write and develop content to combat cyber harassment of women in Bangladesh," says Yiran Zhao with UNDP. While Xinhao Yao adds, "I got to learn about the rich culture of the country and ways to promote it via my service with UNESCO." And, Xiangyu Jin from UNV Country Office shares, "I got to coordinate youth empowerment initiatives in Bangladesh and saw how youth can create a meaningful impact in a country's development."
Let’s hear more from UN Volunteers and UN entities in this inspirational video from Bangladesh.
