Daria still remembers the moment it all came together. “When I saw the UN Volunteer vacancy in 2022, it felt like everything aligned—the personal connection, the long‑held dream of working with the United Nations.” She applied, got the offer, said her goodbyes—and soon after, was on a flight to Minsk. Originally from the Russian Federation, Daria joined the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in Belarus as a UN Volunteer.

Working remotely across borders and time zones, Online Volunteers embed global expertise directly into UNDP’s daily work—proving that impact is no longer bound by geography. Like Kobchat, Colman Hands, is also an Online Volunteer. He is an accomplished energy and sustainability professional, with a graduate degree in Sustainability and Environmental Systems and a bachelor's in Project Management.

Led by UNICEF’s global fundraising teams within the Private Fundraising and Partnerships (PFP), the Fx programme builds long-term fundraising skills across country offices. Its New Talents pathway focuses on digital fundraising, building the practical skills offices need to grow local support sustainably.

UNV has taken a major step forward in strengthening the digital foundations that support its global work. Building on earlier progress in moving systems to the cloud, the organization has now modernized the core network infrastructure that connects staff, offices, and services—often unseen, but essential to daily operations. At the United Nations Campus in Bonn, this meant replacing over 300 network switches, many of which had been in use since 2006. The upgrade has given network speeds up to ten times faster across all UNV-supported offices and workspaces. 

What is your educational background? I have a bachelor’s degree in Russian Studies/Political Science and a master’s degree in International Relations with focus on conflicts and transformations in the Middle East.