“Cheese exchange”: an initiative for women’s economic empowerment

Martina Schlapbach
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During a field monitoring mission as a UN Volunteer Associate Project Officer with UN Women in Tajikistan, I got to know the female leaders of two dairies which, independently from each other, approached me with their idea to produce a hard cheese as a more durable dairy product.

During a field monitoring mission as a UN Volunteer Associate Project Officer with UN Women in Tajikistan, I got to know the female leaders of two dairies which, independently from each other, approached me with their idea to produce a hard cheese as a more durable dairy product.

Increasing youth employment in Tajikistan through the promotion of entrepreneurship

Start-Up Choihona project
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In Tajikistan, where 70 per cent of the population is under the age of 30, it is essential to enhance entrepreneurship and create more decent and fulfilling jobs for young people. The Start-Up Choihona project, initiated by the United Nations Volunteers (UNV) programme, is a joint initiative of government, development and private sector partners to support innovative entrepreneurship to increase youth employment.

One international UN Volunteer, ten community volunteers, and one UN Online Volunteer are running the Start-Up Choihona project, which has so far organized two national entrepreneurial competitions promoting innovation and youth employment. Quarterly competitions offer an opportunity for new entrepreneurs to present their unique business ideas to a panel of judges. Given the chance to pitch their ideas, Tajik entrepreneurs have the chance to get feedback on whether their business ideas could work and gain access to valuable networks of potential business partners and investors.

Why UNV is the key to gender parity at the UN

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Impactpool's most recent talent survey shows that women who served as an UN Volunteer before their first UN staff position are close to 70% more likely to stay in the UN system compared with colleagues not having any previous UN Volunteer experience.

Refugees turned UN Volunteers educate fellow refugees

Beirut, Lebanon
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Helping refugees and asylum seekers get basic social services in Serbia

Chihiro Saito
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As part of my assignment, I visit Reception and Transit Centers where most refugees and asylum seekers are housed. I am responsible for ensuring asylum seekers’ basic social service needs are met and human rights respected.

"I am Chihiro Saito – international UN Volunteer from Japan serving with United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in Serbia. I work as Associate Field Officer in a team that responds to the refugee and migrant situation in the country. As part of my assignment, I visit Reception and Transit Centers where most refugees and asylum seekers are housed. I am responsible for ensuring asylum seekers’ basic social service needs are met and human rights respected. I have attained so much knowledge and experience working with asylum seekers and refugees. 

UN Volunteer professional profiles: UN Youth Volunteers

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This professional profile shows the minimum requirements to serve as a UN Youth Volunteer, and highlights potential assignments as well as volunteer entitlements.

UN Youth Volunteers can make an impact by improving access to and delivery of basic services, especially primary health care, HIV/AIDS and basic education, and enhancing community resilience and capacities for disaster risk reduction and for the environment, including for instance, by supporting community adaptation to climate change.

Volunteering to determine refugees’ status in India

Andrea Marilyn Pragashini Immanuel, Gauri Talwar and Shreya Bose
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Andrea Marilyn Pragashini Immanuel, Gauri Talwar and Shreya Bose are national UN Volunteers currently serving with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in New Delhi, India. These three women are Refugee Status Determination Assistants and through their volunteer assignments they make a difference to the lives of the countless people they interview every day.

Andrea Marilyn Pragashini Immanuel: “Refugees bring with them their culture, traditions, history and a truckload of experience. They strive through unimaginable hardship, incomprehensible misery and through it all find the strength to smile. They have taught me perseverance, to never give up hope even when everything fails and to strive hard. They have taught me to appreciate life, peace and prosperity.

Creating opportunities for more resilient communities in Serbia

Jelena Maric Lukovic
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Before becoming a UN Volunteer, I spent eight years in the Commissariat for Refugees and Migration of the Government of Serbia working on issues of forced migration, assistance to refugees and internally displaced persons. This experience gave me a deep understanding of why timely humanitarian response is integral to migration and it showed me that, to be effective, these responses need to be followed by developmental responses in support of peace.

My name is Jelena Maric Lukovic. I serve as national UN Volunteer Resilient Programming Assistant with United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in the Republic of Serbia.

Enhancing rural livelihoods and food security with FAO in Viet Nam

Barbora Chmelova
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Every day at the UN, I experience the utmost feeling of broadening my horizons in terms of both professional and personal development. I truly appreciate the opportunity to work with experts, which offers me great possibilities for learning and networking.

I am currently serving as an international UN Youth Volunteer in Agricultural Economics with the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations in Hanoi, Viet Nam. I’m one of the six UN Youth Volunteers fully funded by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Czech Republic in 2017.

We have a relevant mandate

Joel Ayim Darkwah
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Joel Ayim Darkwah is a national UN Volunteer, Assistant Programme Officer (Sustainable Development) at United Nations Developement Programme in Ghana. Monitoring UNDP projects is one of his tasks, including monitoring some project interventions in disaster preparedness in remote areas. His assignement as UN Volunteer made him understand the nature of the developement work and how relevant it is. He hereby shares his thoughts...

Last March 2017, I had the opportunity of travelling to the northern part of Ghana to monitor some project interventions in disaster preparedness and to assess the impact on the beneficiaries. As I journeyed through the most remote parts of that region, I couldn’t help but to engage myself in deep thoughts about development across the country and particularly in such areas where many challenges are persisting.

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