Long thought of as a place of natural beauty and biodiversity, Madagascar is experiencing environmental destruction like never before.

Ayaka’s assignment had a strong focus on COVID-19 response and capacity building, along with accelerating private sector engagement in the Sustainable Development Goals. She also enhanced Uzbekistan’s participation in the UN Food Systems Summit last year. 

Since 1994, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan has supported UNV through the Japan Trust Fund. In addition to supporting the implementation of UNV-executed projects, funding through Japan-UNV Trust Fund has supported the deployment of UN Volunteer specialists and UN University Volunteers, which has contributed to creating an enabling environment to promote global volunteerism for peace and development.

The Comprehensive School Safety (CSS) programme is an extension of the Government of Nepal’s School Sector Development Plan, and as such, provides a detailed roadmap on how to ensure a child’s right to access quality education in safe learning environments. My key duties in the capacity of a DRR Programme Officer were to monitor programme progress and provide technical support in a timely manner.

Most people remember where they were when the disaster struck. I was serving as UNV Programme Officer in Timor-Leste at the time, where hundreds of international UN Volunteers supported the nation-building efforts of the then-newest member of the United Nations family. On home leave celebrating Christmas with my family in Germany on that very day, I felt the urge to support the people in the affected areas.

As a coordinating agency, the RCO seeks to strengthen cooperation between UN entities on issues related to economic development and climate change resilience. It looks at ways to strengthen the UN system by financing and implementing cross-cutting programmes.

UN Volunteer Kazuaki Tsujii joined UN Women in Lebanon in 2018 as a Peace Building and Conflict Resolution Officer. He served through the Global Human Resource Development Programme for Peacebuilding and Development (HRD) of the Government of Japan from April 2018 for one year.

A UN Volunteer's journey in south-eastern Mauritania Sitting by the window on my first flight with the United Nations Humanitarian Air Service (UNHAS) en route to Bassikounou, in the south-eastern part of the country, all I could see was the vast Sahara Desert. As I got off the airplane during a stop-over in Kiffa, heat blew into my face. The sand was playing with the wind. There was no shade. And it was about 45 degrees Celsius. The question on my mind was: how can people survive — and thrive — in a desert?  

Having earned a master’s degree in Migration Studies, Ken thought that the UN project dealing with border control issues was strongly relevant to his interest. Now, as a UN Volunteer, he is contributing to meaningful changes in this area. As part of his assignment, which involves countering narcotics, Ken supports assessment and monitoring in the beneficiaries’ field office, drafting mission reports and preparing related team events.

While based in the Sahel - the most youthful region in the world, with 64.5% of youth aged under 25 [1] - I have had the opportunity to witness how youth volunteerism can empower young people and provide them with opportunities to actively participate in local, national, regional and global development activities.