Eda Senel, Kivilcim Kardelen Yok, and Pelin Kocer were always interested in gender issues. Now, as UN Volunteers, they apply their knowledge gained throughout their academic studies and previous internships, to contribute to the improvement of coordination and operations.  

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. 

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

COVID-19 was the first pandemic the world faced in a century. People responded with fear, anxiety and uncertainty during the first wave. Yet, there were also the acts of compassion, courage and care coming from the people. The country was in lockdown for more than two months from March to May 2020. The lockdown and intermittent curfew imposed created panic among people. It also led people to stock up their food and other essential items.

Angela Gregório António Chale Macie, UN Volunteer with WFP in Nampula, Mozambique Just a couple of months before COVID-19 spread across nearly every border in the world, Ângela Gregório António Chale Macie began serving as a United Nations Volunteer in Nampula, Mozambique. Little did she know just how critical her role would become for the people in Erati district when the Coronavirus endangered their already-limited access to food.

The shadow pandemic of violence against women and girls is one of these issues. The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that about one in three women worldwide have suffered physical and/or sexual violence at some point in their lives. The scourge of gender-based violence (GBV), one of the most ubiquitous human rights violations in the world, is exacerbated during the COVID-19 crisis as traditional prevention and attention mechanisms are inhibited.

Hyo Jeong Jung, engaged with WFP in Kyrgyzstan, has just completed her assignment as UN Volunteer Migration and Employment Specialist. She successfully developed a research paper on migration and food security that will now help the programme team to integrate migration into a new food security project.

The SDG AI Lab is introducing big data and artificial intelligence into the everyday work of the UN agencies and other development partners. A partnership between the United Nations Volunteers (UNV) programme, UNDP amd the Istanbul International Centre for Private Sector in Development (IICPSD) has faciliated this process.

Many factors motivated me to volunteer: I always wanted to be an agent of change to change mindsets towards persons with disabilities and disability-related matters. I further wanted to prove to the world – through my actions and contributions – that disability does not mean inability. --Pelgrina Shimanu Ndumba, UN Volunteer with UNDP, serving under the UNDP-UNV Talent Programme for Young Professionals with Disabilities

Through their partnership, the UN Population Fund (UNFPA) and UN Volunteers (UNV) programme have deployed 10 such UN Community Volunteers in the different regions of Senegal.