In 2023 UNV launched two separate, but interconnected initiatives. Several UN Volunteers with disabilities were contacted and requested to provide feedback on the accessibility of the UNV applications. Highly valuable feedback was received, including a comprehensive Keyboard Accessibility Assessment Report, prepared by Hudoykul Hafizov, UN Volunteer who served as Disability Inclusion Advisor with UNDP in Uzbekistan.  

Through community interviews, group activities, and dialogue sessions, I often gain insight into the unique mental health and psycho-social needs of community members, many times in dire situations. These interactions not only inform our programming but also foster a sense of belonging and support within the community.  

 

Every action makes a difference. At times, a very small action can have a huge impact. 

When the war started on 24 February 2022, Hanna couldn’t believe this was happening to her country. The conflict was so sudden that nobody, including Hanna, was ready. After she realized the severity of the situation, she volunteered to help others.“It is a great grief when children suffer, when rockets hit residential buildings and not only houses, and at night, when people are sleeping.” Hanna Chepil, UN Community Volunteer with UNDP Moldova

The tactile dance of dots beneath fingertips, once a key to unlocking knowledge, has now become a beacon guiding change on global platforms, helping to champion inclusivity and accessibility. 

To get back on track, the report highlighted that urgent actions are needed to change course and reimagine our futures. These actions must be collective, strategic and evidence based.     

The Community UN Volunteers were selected from 22 unions under Bandarban and Rangamati districts representing the marginalized group of ethnic minorities descending from tribal groups in the hard-to-reach terrains of Hill District Regions - 58% women. The volunteers began their assignments in December 2023 to support the multi-donor Local Government Initiative on Climate Change (LoGiC).

Through the UNDP Transitional Justice project funded by the United Nations Peacebuilding Fund, UNDP South Sudan has been collaborating with Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) in the Greater Bahr El Ghazal; Greater Equatoria and Greater Upper Nile areas to ensure that the voices of South Sudanese are included and heard in all processes. The CSOs have been using their communication channels to provide information about the transitional justice mechanisms to communities of victims and survivors of conflict.

Collaborating with people with Down syndrome is very rare or almost never happens in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Non-governmental organizations estimate that slightly more than a thousand people with Down syndrome live in Bosnia and Herzegovina, while only three to four of them are permanently employed.