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. 

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.

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). 

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.

"At its heart of We the Women is the idea that we, the women, have the power to come together and craft sustainable solutions for our shared future." The words of Angela Polinsky echo some 1000 Online Volunteers like herself who participated in the first-ever global campaign centering on women. These volunteers gathered the voices of over 25,000 women in 185 countries in a survey, the data of which, informs global priorities and how the international community can address them. 

Grace Kironcho and Ousséni Demba Sidibé come from different parts of Africa and serve with two different United Nations entities. Grace serves with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and Ousséni is with the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA). What connects them is a common goal — volunteering and through it — humanitarian assistance to the most vulnerable populations in their home continent. We pay tribute to all humanitarians as we mark the World Humanitarian Day.

World Humanitarian Day is observed annually on 19 August. As we pay tribute to and and salute the courage of humanitarians around the world, we bring you a story of three UN Volunteers, Elena Mansour, Lama Sheta, and Mohamed Moursy whose volunteer actions underpin the crucial support needed on the ground for one of the deadliest conflicts — Gaza.