Heather's experience with domestic violence extended beyond the home; Heather recalls having a close encounter with a male relative who tried to force himself on her. She also witnessed other women in her community being abused by their male partners. These memories from her childhood and adolescence stayed with her, and she often wondered how many women were suffering in silence.

How does the recruitment of UN Volunteers add value to UNFPA? As an efficient, speedy and diverse talent solution for UN partners, UN Volunteers serve with UN entities to bring people to the forefront of development, peace and humanitarian issues. UNV manages a pool of over 350,000 talented and qualified UN Volunteers who can be deployed to bolster the delivery of UNFPA’s programmes and support the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

UNV and Sida have been partnering in support of peace, humanitarian and sustainable development for many years. In 2018, they renewed their partnership, in line with Sida’s Strategy for Capacity Development, Partnerships and Methods Supporting Agenda 2030 for Sustainable Development, (2018-2022). One of the objectives of this strategy is to broaden the Swedish resource base for implementation of the 2030 Agenda.  

What will the prospective fellows gain from this experience? The UN Volunteer Population Data Fellows will work with UNFPA in advancing applied research, technical assistance and capacity building in civil registration and vital statistics, in close collaboration with national statistics offices, civil registration authorities and related UNFPA institutional partners.

What will the prospective fellows gain from this experience? The UN Volunteer Population Data Fellows will work with UNFPA in advancing applied research, technical assistance and capacity building in civil registration and vital statistics, in close collaboration with national statistics offices, civil registration authorities and related UNFPA institutional partners.

UN Volunteers in Bangladesh provide support to refugees in issues related to education, water and sanitation, health care, research, nutrition, child care and gender, among others. Based in Cox’s Bazar, they serve with the international Organization for Migration (IOM), UN Development Programme (UNDP), UN Population Fund (UNFPA), UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR), UNICEF and UN Women.

I was recruited by UNDP in Zimbabwe to provide technical support to the UN Partnership on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and the Spotlight Initiative on disability-inclusive programming and interventions.

The workshop explored the role of volunteering in contributing to Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and enhanced the knoweldge and leadership of participating UN Youth Volunteers, especially in the COVID-19 context. Welcoming the participants via a video message Kyoko Yokosuka, Chief of UNV's External Relations and Communications Section, highlighted the importance of UN Volunteers serving with pride, awareness and ethics.