Giovana Urquizo and Luisa Luna Choque are among the nine UN Community Volunteers. Giovana is from Chuquisaca Department in the center south of Bolivia and Luisa is from La Paz, the third most populous city and the seat of the government of Bolivia.  

With her knowledge, Johanna motivates young people to keep tradition alive by teaching them the art of weaving. The toquilla straw hat is woven from fibers of palm trees characteristic of the Ecuadorian coast. Pile, Johanna's hometown, is a coastal community and the toquilla straw hat is part of cultural heritage.  

Daniel Valbuena

Heather's experience with domestic violence extended beyond the home; Heather recalls having a close encounter with a male relative who tried to force himself on her. She also witnessed other women in her community being abused by their male partners. These memories from her childhood and adolescence stayed with her, and she often wondered how many women were suffering in silence.

Stefan leads the Spotlight Initiative's communications arm creating awareness of the programme through coherent communications and digital campaigns using messaging, data and infographics that tell the story of the programmes, services, results and impact.

One of the prime examples of working together for a common good is a volunteer initiative made possible by the World Food Programme (WFP), United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and United Nations Volunteers (UNV) programme in Peru.

According to CEPAL (2015), 75 per cent of the afro-descendant population in Latin America and the Caribbean participated in national electoral processes. However, their representation in power and decision-making is not proportional.