Helping to ensure that education never stops in Bosnia and Herzegovina

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National UN Volunteer Amila Planinčić is engaged with the UNESCO and UN assistance to Bosnia and Herzegovina in addressing the effects of the pandemic on the education sector. Her assignment as a Programme Assistant with UNESCO Regional Bureau for Science and Culture in Europe-Antenna in Sarajevo is close to its end – Amila calls her UNV year great luck and success despite all challenges.

I am beyond proud that as UN Volunteer I had an opportunity to contribute to UNESCO and joint UN in BiH response during the COVID-19, --Amila Planinčić, National UN Volunteer.

In 2020, Amila assisted in conducting joint UNESCO-UNICEF Rapid Situation and Needs Assessment in Education, aimed at collecting and analyzing the immediate effects of the school closure on learning outcomes among students in Bosnia and Herzegovina. 

Exploring the potential of volunteerism in Turkey

International Volunteer Day 2020
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The United Nations Volunteers (UNV) programme in Turkey, National Volunteer Committee and German Corporation for International Cooperation (GIZ) led country-wide celebrations of International Volunteer Day to recognize the vital role of volunteers and the outstanding potential of volunteerism in the country.

Just as it is an obligation to pay taxes, it is also an obligation to transfer social responsibility and the awareness we create within us as a culture to our children and society. That is why I would like to thank the individuals and institutions that managed to come together, despite their differences and across varying fields, on 5 December, International Volunteer Day. --Mert Fırat, UNDP Goodwill Ambassador and Turkish actor

Beating COVID-19 with solidarity

Veronique Zidi-Aporeigah, Regional Manager, UNV Regional Office for West and Central Africa
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This year marks 30 years since I started working in the UN system, mostly at the UN Volunteers program. Looking back at my experience, I have never witnessed a time like what we have experienced since the emergence of COVID-19. We have all been impacted directly or indirectly by this horrible pandemic that has spread across the world. If there is one thing I have learned from the COVID-19 pandemic, it is that solidarity is a strong value that stands the test of time and circumstances. 

During these past 10 months, while we were all facing a global crisis devastating our socio-economic systems, adaptation, resilience and solidarity have enabled us to respond.

V4Action in Nepal: Volunteers curb misinformation about COVID-19

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Youth volunteers have been playing an important role in curbing misinformation about the coronavirus in Nepal. Brought together through the Volunteer for Action (V4Action) platform, they are providing accurate and verified information as educators and change agents among their peers and in their communities.

As Nepal began to shut down due to the coronavirus outbreak, myths and misinformation about the pandemic started spreading fast – through personal interactions and social media. To address this issue and to ensure the safety of all communities, the UN Volunteers (UNV) programme, together with the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF), UN Development Programme (UNDP), World Health Organization (WHO) and UN Resident Coordinator's Office (UNRCO), formed the Volunteer for Action (V4Action) group, comprising 500+ volunteers from all seven provinces of Nepal.

UN Volunteers monitoring human rights in areas hardest hit by the pandemic

Hasan Ibhais, UNV Communications, Arab States
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UN Volunteers are supporting the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) at an unprecedented time. Over thirty UN Volunteers are on the ground around the world, monitoring the measures countries have taken to mitigate the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and human rights implications for the most vulnerable. They are also engaging youth, women and under-represented groups in dialogue, peacebuilding and protection for migrants and refugees.

UN Volunteer Giada Rubina supports a specialized OHCHR unit in Honduras that promotes dialogue and provides technical assistance. She is particularly concerned with strict lockdown measures that have decreased access to legal aid, limited rights awareness and the movement of rights activists.  

Celebrating Christmas with little angels

Juelma Mendes, UN Volunteer Public Information Officer, MINUSCA
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I have been serving as a Public Information Officer within the Communication Division of the UN Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in the Central African Republic (MINUSCA) since 2019. This is my first-ever volunteering assignment with United Nations peacekeeping. This Christmas, I was far from my family, so I decided to celebrate with little angels.

Coming to CAR was not an easy decision because I had to leave my family and friends in Guinea Bissau where I am from. I am motivated to gain new experiences with the UN, growing in the organization, and contributing to peace and stability worldwide. As a UN Volunteer, I am here not only to promote peace but also to assist populations. And it is possible to do it in different ways.

Together we can: celebrating Shramdaan, the spirit of volunteerism, in India

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For centuries, selfless service or Shramdaan, community service or a voluntary contribution towards community welfare, has been central to India’s social fabric and culture.  To commend and encourage the spirit of volunteerism, the United Nations Volunteers (UNV) programme in India ran a nationwide campaign to mark International Volunteer Day (IVD) 2020, under the theme Together We can Through Volunteering, organizing several activities in the run-up to 5 December.

#TogetherWeCan Anthem

The #TogetherWeCan Anthem was  composed by UNV in India, in partnership with the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) and its talented refugee volunteers. The anthem captures the motivation, spirit and joy of volunteering. The video of the anthem features UN Volunteers in the field, V-force volunteers and heads of UN entities to reflect solidarity and support.  

Looking back on my first year as a UN Volunteer in Uganda

Yannick Van Winkel, Communications Officer at the Regional Service Centre Entebbe (RSCE)
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Well, that went by fast! It seems like only yesterday I was working for a global credit card company, back in a small office cubicle in grey Brussels. It wasn’t long after starting my job there that I realized that a career in the financial sector wasn’t a fit for me in the long run.

While I might have been physically in Europe, I often had an interest in working in an African country. I also wanted to contribute my time, skills and knowledge to a more meaningful cause – something I couldn’t quite figure out how to do in the private sector. When an opportunity to serve as a UN Volunteer at the UN Regional Service Centre Entebbe (RSCE) in Uganda came along, I knew that I had to grab it with both hands.

Volunteering amidst a pandemic – Enabling evidence-based governance remotely

Hamed Sambo and Ulises Munguia
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The United Nations Volunteers (UNV) programme and UN Development Programme (UNDP) are collaborating to digitally support country offices in assessing the impact of COVID-19. The pandemic has intensified the need to adapt to technology and embrace new ways of working. Volunteering is no different.

COVID-19 has intensified the need to adapt to technology and embrace new ways of working. Volunteering is no different. To scale up its response to the pandemic, UNDP's Crisis Bureau initiated a partnership with UNV earlier this year that allows rapid deployment of subject-area experts remotely.

Volunteer action counts: Reimagining volunteering in the Decade of Action

Sharmalee Jayasinghe, UNV Country Coordinator in Sri Lanka
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This is the fourth in a series of articles featured by United Nations Volunteers (UNV) programme in Sri Lanka in the context of International Volunteer Day 2020. 

Every day, millions of individuals across the planet engage in volunteer actions supporting development initiatives in order to improve conditions for others and for themselves, their families and communities.However, the full picture of volunteering is complex and often hidden as most volunteering is spontaneous, often times it is individual actions in response to a need which are hard to capture with a tendency to focus on formal and full-time volunteers.

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