Looking back on his experience of working with and managing dedicated UN Volunteers for more than 25 years, Jamshed has more than one story to tell of his encounters with volunteers as national change agents, first responders, women rights advocates and above all, agents of change. My first engagement with UN Volunteers was as a manager in UNDP offices in Ethiopia and Lao PDR, and what impressed me from the beginning was their dedication, resilience, and creativity in moving our work on advancing the SDGs forward.
In 2007, I came to the United Nations Volunteers Headquarters in Bonn. I was a Senior Programme Specialist for the Asia-Pacific, Europe, and CIS (APEC) responsible for UN Volunteer management, joint programming, and humanitarian support. This was one of the most rewarding and inspiring assignments of my UN career because I interacted with and directly supported hundreds of (mostly) young women and men worldwide who demonstrated passion and commitment to serve others less fortunate through volunteering with field-based UN agencies.
