Engaging youth as key actors of change in West and Central Africa

West and Central Africa
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According to a UNFPA report (March 2018) entitled "Capturing the Demographic Dividend", more than 64 percent of the population in West and Central Africa is under 25 years of age, and facing several major challenges, including access to education, employment and health care, which causes some to emigrate or even to radicalize.

To respond to these challenges, UNV's adoption and implementation of youth initiatives, including providing young people with the opportunity to contribute to peace and development through UN Youth Volunteer assignment, has been successful in many parts of the world, such as in West and Central Africa.

In this region, UNV continues its efforts to provide more young people with opportunities to advance peace and development and build their capacity through volunteering. 

Contributing to peace and development while shaping their professional future as UN University Volunteers

UN University Volunteers
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Since 2013, the United Nations Volunteers (UNV) programme and the Kwansei Gakuin University (KGU) in Japan have mobilized over 70 university students selected from nine partner universities to serve as UN University Volunteers for five-month assignments with UN entities worldwide.

The KGU Programme enables youth to gain exposure to, and make an impact on, peace and sustainable development by working with UN partners and within communities in the field. These opportunities allow the university students to acquire enriching professional experience in international development and peace, helping them shape their future careers.

Youth and volunteerism foster innovation for development

Hyeon-Soo, UN Youth Volunteer with UNDP
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How can youth and volunteerism advance innovation and development processes? Learn from the experience of Hyeon-Soo, UN Youth Volunteer, serving with UNDP in Kosovo.

Hyeon-Soo Jeon, from South Korea, was interested in starting a career in international development, and just after graduation was selected for an international UN Youth Volunteer assignment, fully funded by the Republic of Korea, with the United Nations Development Programme in Kosovo (as per UN Security Council Resolution 1244).

Strengthening the role of youth in peacebuilding in Guatemala

Oskar Tinnerholm
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Youth will be part of the future local development and assume important roles in the resolution of conflicts within their communities. Thus building their capacity as peacebuilding actors is key to strengthen democratic governance and solve problems at the local and national levels.

The Guatemala Peace Accords were signed in 1996, ending a 36-year-long civil war, but some challenges remain in the construction of a peaceful and inclusive society. During the last years, Guatemala has witnessed an increase in social conflicts related to land disputes, lack of access to public services and natural resource management, among others.

It was in this context that I initiated my UN Volunteer assignment as a Conflict Resolution Officer with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).

Serving in Iraq, Yemeni UN Volunteer helps displaced people return home

Mustafa Al Soufi
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Mustafa, a 29-year-old from Yemen, is serving in Iraq as a UN Volunteer. “I think it’s very useful to apply my experience to a country like Iraq. Sharing experiences from different conflict zones can help beneficiaries in their recovery process," he says.

Mustafa Al Soufi, a 29-year-old from Yemen, has just started serving as an international UN Volunteer in Erbil, Iraq. He arrived in Erbil at the end of June 2018 and joined the Funding Facility for Immediate Stabilization (FFIS) at UNDP Iraq.

“As a Yemeni citizen who came from a conflict zone, I think it’s very useful to apply my experience to a country like Iraq, which has many similarities with Yemen in terms of security challenges and culture. Moreover, sharing experiences from different conflict zones can help beneficiaries in their recovery process,” he explains.

How community libraries and 600 young volunteers helped thousands of Palestinian students

Sarah El-Attar
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Oraib, a Palestinian chemistry student from a low-income family, never imagined she could become a writer, with her books displayed in a library. One day she stepped into a community library supported by UNESCO in her city, Nablus, to attend a free workshop on self-development. She started a journey that brought her to become a volunteer in the library, to use it actively for her research and finally to publish her first book, “Whispers”, later followed by a novel called “My Struggle with Books”.

The “Support Programme for Palestinian University Students Under Conditions of Severe Poverty” was started by the UNESCO Ramallah Office, funded by the Saudi Committee for the Relief of the Palestinian people, implemented by the Health, Development, Information and Policy Institute (HDIP), a Palestinian NGO, and supported by Sarah El Attar, from Belgium, an international UN Volunteer with UNESCO who spent almost three years working on the project through UNESCO’s Educatio

UNV, UNHCR and the National Police in Putumayo support Venezuelans in Colombia

Marco Nardo
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As part of the Commemoration of World Refugee Day, the United Nations Volunteers (UNV) programme, UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) and the National Police in Putumayo, facilitated a training on Refugee Law and organized a radio programme to raise awareness on protection of Venezuelans arriving in Colombia.

Marco Nardo, an Italian UN Volunteer who has been serving with UNHCR in Colombia for eight months, had the chance to join the Commemoration of World Refugee Day in Mocoa, his duty station, located in the south of the country.  He serves as Associate Protection Officer, mainly in charge of persons in need of international protection.

UNV strengthens its cooperation with the Russian Federation

Moscow, Russian Federation
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Earlier this month, with the financial support of the Government, UNV announced a call for applications for Russian citizens to become international UN Volunteers. Successful candidates will be assigned to different UN entities to help address the challenges of peace and sustainable development around the world.

UNV strengthens its cooperation with the Russian Federation

Memorandum of Understanding
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Earlier this month, with the financial support of the Government, UNV announced a call for applications for Russian citizens to become international UN Volunteers. Successful candidates will be assigned to different UN entities to help address the challenges of peace and sustainable development around the world.

As UN agencies relocate back to Tripoli, UN Volunteers are supporting the process

Ghazi Mabrouk
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"Libya is too tough for UN Volunteers? I don’t agree with that," says Ghazi Mabrouk, a Tunisian UN Volunteer serving in the Libya office of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). "If UN staff are redeployed here, UN volunteers can also support this process and have all the skills needed to do it."

The security situation in Tripoli is improving, so some UN agencies are relocating their offices back to Libya. Over the past year, Ghazi worked as a national staff at the UNDP Libyan office in Tunis. At the beginning of June 2018, he moved to Tripoli as an international UN volunteer.

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