As we are leaving the third year of the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration behind us, UNCCD is introducing innovative ways to combat climate change and its effects. Keeping technological developments in focus, the Land Restoration Information Hub aims to provide easy access to information and encourage collaboration and engagement by collecting data and best practices on one platform.

What does your assignment with UNDP mean to you? To me, this assignment is an opportunity where you don't just serve for livelihood, but also to change people's lives as much as you can. I am aware that one person cannot do much, but I am convinced that the change starts within each of us. This is much easier to do when you are part of a team of professionals who share common values. I am fortunate, because both in the Republic of Moldova and Ukraine, I have very open-minded colleagues, who helped me to change my mindset.

Volunteering in the mental health field has been a deeply enriching and transformative experience. It reminds me of the resilience of the human spirit and the power of compassion in making a difference in people's lives. --Hazal Kalıncı, UN Volunteer Staff Counsellor with WHO, Türkiye When and why did you decide to volunteer?

According to reports, since the war started more than 2.4 million Ukrainians have crossed the border into Romania from Ukraine or Moldova.

In the past months, the Youth4Climate initiative has benefited from the efforts of two Online Volunteers: Issakha Khouzeifi and Silvia Alfonsi. Over a period of four weeks, they supported the UNDP team by mentoring young people and helping them in preparing and improving their proposals in response to the Youth4climate call for solutions.

The life path of 21-year-old Anes was not the same as that of his peers. From early childhood he walked through a world that often did not understand his unique abilities. He was born with Down syndrome, which greatly influenced his upbringing and life circumstances, from schooling and adolescence to acceptance in society. But every obstacle was a new step towards success for him.

I have a long history of service that began at a young age. I completed residencies for unaccompanied refugee children and volunteered with CISV, an international youth organization that promotes peace through education. My previous experiences prepared me well for my UN Volunteer assignments with UNDP in Kosovo, fully funded by Sweden. They played a crucial role in helping me truly understand the challenges people face and the significance of finding solutions to alleviate human suffering.

I started volunteering and interning throughout my bachelor's degree in international relations from the University of York. I volunteered with the Ukrainian Institute in London and TEDxLondon, among others. It was then that I found an interesting UNV online volunteer assignment with the Accelerator Lab of the UN Development Programme (UNDP) in Ukraine, which required a translator for five months. 

Your Excellency Mr President, Ladies and gentlemen, My name is Toily Kurbanov, and I bring to you greetings from 12,000 UN Volunteers worldwide. To help our interpreters: Менің атым Тойли Курбанов және мен сізге Біріккен Ұлттар Ұйымының волонтерлерінен сәлем жолдап келдім. First, I thank the government of Kazakhstan for organizing this International Forum on Volunteering and for inviting UNV.

It was towards the end of 2020 when COVID-19 was on the rise and headlines around the world only had pandemic news that I started exploring the UNV Portal for opportunities. With an graduate degree in Biology from the United States of America and a post graduate degree from the United Kingdom, I began a volunteer assignment as an online volunteer with the Resident Coordinator's Office in the Republic of Moldova.