On Monday 29 April, UNV Executive Coordinator Richard Dictus briefed Member States and Permanent Observers to the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC). Richard joined the Secretary-General’s Envoy on Youth, Ahmad Alhendawi, and the Assistant Secretary-General for Policy Coordination and Inter-Agency Affairs for the UN Department for Economic and Social Affairs, Thomas Stelzer, in updating ECOSOC on the progress made on the Secretary-General’s Five-Year Action Agenda as it relates to youth.

Every year, the United Nations Volunteers (UNV) programme mobilizes around 7,000 volunteers to serve in about 130 countries in the peace and development programmes of the United Nations. The work of UNODC also benefits from the support of a dozen UN Volunteers in offices across East Africa, Southeast Asia and Latin America, among others.

Richard Dictus, Executive Coordinator of the United Nations Volunteers (UNV) programme welcomed his first official visitors to the United Nations in Bonn on 22 January 2013.  Mr Dictus moderated a roundtable exchange between UN organizations within the UN family in Bonn and Members of the German Parliamentary Committee on Economic Cooperation and Development. Members of the German Parliament present were:  Dr Christian Ruck (head of delegation), Dr Sascha Raabe, Ms Helga Daub, Mr Niema Movassat, and Ms Ute Koczy.

Next time you are in Mapel, in Western Bahr El Gazal state in South Sudan, check out the busy restaurants located near the military barracks.  One is operated by Mary Alueth Madu, now a successful business woman, who employs a staff of six. This is certainly a change since those days before the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) was signed, when Mary spent 10 years cooking for the Sudan People’s Liberation Army.

Next time you are in Mapel, in Western Bahr El Gazal state in South Sudan, check out the busy restaurants located near the military barracks.  One is operated by Mary Alueth Madu, now a successful business woman, who employs a staff of six. This is certainly a change since those days before the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) was signed, when Mary spent 10 years cooking for the Sudan People’s Liberation Army.

Helen Clark, Administrator of UNDP, says that 20 years after the Rio Earth summit, sustainable development is still not mainstream policy because governments considered the short-term outcomes too politically risky.

Stefanie Franke (Germany) is a former UN Volunteer with the United Nations Mission in Sudan (UNMIS) Return, Reintegration and Recovery (RRR) unit.  She was seconded to the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) where she worked with the Sudan Information Campaign for Returnees (SICR).

The desire to make a difference in people's lives is what keeps David Asiimwe (Uganda) motivated as he serves as a UNV Civil Affairs Officer  in Bentiu, Unity State with the United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS).  If this means interrupting a mission to Mayom County with UNV colleague Pradeep Jha to help a returnee construct her Tukul, then so be it.

The desire to make a difference in people's lives is what keeps David Asiimwe (Uganda) motivated as he serves as a UNV Civil Affairs Officer  in Bentiu, Unity State with the United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS).  If this means interrupting a mission to Mayom County with UNV colleague Pradeep Jha to help a returnee construct her Tukul, then so be it.