By Toily Kurbanov, UNV Deputy Executive Coordinator, Management Services On Monday, 5 December the world will celebrate International Volunteer Day, designated by the United Nations in 1985 to applaud the inspiration of millions of volunteers throughout the world and their contributions to peace and development. 

Being a UN Volunteer was one of the most meaningful experiences in my life so far, and, being in my eighties, I think that holds some weight. In the early 1990s, having raised a family, already at the end of a successful business career, and well settled into retirement, the unexpected excitement and humility of reaching out to truly touch peoples’ lives showed me that life can always bring the unexpected. At a gathering with leaders from UNHCR and business associates, I had a conversation that led me to UNV.

As a UN Volunteer Specialist on Economic Development at UNDP Tajikistan’s Aid for Trade project, I liaise with our clients and partner organizations, monitoring the range of actions and results achieved by the project. UNDP’s Aid for Trade project supports human development through the creation of jobs and by enhancing the export capacity of small and medium sized businesses.

My first experience with the United Nations was with the United Nations Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo* (UNMIK) in February 2000. I was responsible for preparing for the first ever elections in the newly divided region. The excitement of working with UNMIK was incomparable to anything I had done before. I came into contact with the United Nations Volunteers (UNV) programme later when I was heading the Victims’ Recovery and Identification Commission. I got the rare opportunity and privilege to work with a team of UN Volunteers.

The joint United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and United Nations Volunteers (UNV) programme Social Innovation and Volunteerism in Uzbekistan Project is harnessing the social innovation of young people to tackle development challenges. By providing training, advocacy, and grants to young innovators UNV is helping to unlock the talent and entrepreneurial skills of Uzbek youth, many of whom previously lacked opportunities to contribute to development.

Istanbul, Turkey:  To inform the future of humanitarian action, the UN Secretary General convened the World Humanitarian Summit on 23 and 24 May 2016 in Istanbul, Turkey. In attendance at the summit were representatives of 173 UN member states, heads of states and governments, private sector, NGOs, and civil society organizations representatives.

Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan: When I was doing my degree, I volunteered with a number of local NGOs and associations whose main activities focused on women and youth, as that is where I thought I could make a contribution and bring about change.

Kiev, Ukraine: When I was five years old, I wanted to be the Pope. Later on, a doctor. In high school I was almost sure I would be a biologist, but then I got involved in the Model United Nations and various organizations promoting European integration, which shifted my interest towards politics.    I studied international politics and European studies at the University of Economics in Prague.

Tashkent, Uzbekistan: Few people realize that, although currently there is no cure for HIV, the existing medicine has turned HIV into a chronic disease, with which HIV-positive people can and do live long, productive, flourishing lives, and have HIV-negative partners and children. Moreover, if taken correctly, modern medicine minimizes the risk of HIV transmission to others and allows partners to take preventative medicine. Yet, misunderstanding and stigma persist.

Prishtina, Kosovo: Building on our achievements with the foresight exercise for unemployment in Kosovo, our innovations team at the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), which I am part of, is now moving on to the Big Data realm. Every day, people around the world are generating massive amounts of data that, when aggregated and depersonalized to protect the privacy of each one of us, can be used to get insights into the state of society and enable us to respond more effectively and efficiently to its needs.