Fabio Arditi is a UN Volunteer Staff Counsellor with the United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS). He is 68 years old and is an example of how intergenerational volunteering truly is. As we mark, International Day of Peace, Fabio shares his reflections on why building peace and well-being are so interconnected.
Tell us more about your role at UNMISS.
UNMISS is one of the world’s largest peacekeeping missions. The South Sudanese nation is a young one having been declared independent in July 2011. As a staff counsellor, I often work behind the scenes — supporting the well-being of frontline staff. Still, I often get the opportunity to interact directly with communities, training hundreds of people on healthy lifestyles and many other health-related matters, in particular those related to stress reduction and its benefit to overall health.
As a UN Volunteer in South Sudan, what more does your work entail?
Key highlights of my responsibilities are being a good colleague, a good clinician and an excellent troubleshooter — basically being able to find working answers to other’s needs. In my day-to-day work, I interact and mainly collaborate with colleagues to deal with the everyday challenges of a hard life in a non-family UN duty station.
Fabio Arditi (center) UN Volunteer Staff Counsellor with UNMISS attends the oepning of a new hospital along with Chinese peacekeepers in South Sudan. @UNMISS, 2024.
How is your work contributing to the pursuit of peace and development in South Sudan?
Serving in a peacekeeping mission is a highly demanding task, and the peacebuilding work of UNMISS is quite complex. Often, the solutions to these complex issues lie in mental wellness and strong human relations. From the UNMISS staff supporting the peace efforts, to the community members and all parties involved — quality human connections and well-being remain crucial.
On the flip side, poor mental health and human disconnections can undermine social cohesion, fuel mistrust and anxiety, and hinder efforts to resolve conflicts non-violently. In peaceful societies, individuals have access to resources, opportunities and supportive systems. These enable them to develop resilience and coping mechanisms, helping them better navigate life's challenges and adversities, which, in turn, contribute to peaceful co-existence.
Some of my best moments during my role at UNMISS have been working alongside my colleagues to improve the quality of life of people and developing strong multicultural relationships, both at a human and professional level. I have also had the privilege of encouraging opportunities for cross-cultural learning among staff and community members.
What have been your greatest lessons so far?
Being humble! We recently lost a colleague. Apart from being colleagues, we quickly developed a strong friendship. This was exactly his main teaching: when working in a demanding environment, work and personal relationships need to be closely interconnected, honest, sincere—mainly deep. A profound and powerful lesson.
What is the one thing you are particularly proud of regarding your work?
When the majority of colleagues in the compound started to call me Fabio rather than doctor, and it no longer mattered whether I was a national or international staff. We were all colleagues.
What does volunteering mean for you?
I just want to say a simple thing: this has been, and still is, the most beautiful and rewarding working experience of my life. Were it up to me, I would like to keep doing it for another four years.
What is your parting thought as we end this interview?
We need a world more aware and respectful of the deep meaning of basic, fundamental concepts like inclusion, joy, happiness, acceptance, peace, and tolerance. These simple concepts of life hold the secret to humanity's survival.