Twenty-two Online Volunteers mentored almost 200 applicants in developing project proposals for Youth4Climate (Y4C) a global initiative co-led by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the Government of Italy.
“Online Volunteering gave me a sense of connection and hope during challenging times and an opportunity to support important causes like climate action,” shared Anastasia Andreeva. Like many young people volunteering for climate action, Anastasia wanted to do the same. She applied to the call for Online Volunteers to support Y4C.
Another Online Volunteer, Saurabh Kumar Singh was also excited about collaborating with climate-conscious individuals and learning from experts in the field of climate change. "The opportunity to collaborate with young entrepreneurs from around the world has also helped me develop my intercultural communication skills and deepen my understanding of different cultures.”
The Online Volunteers were fluent in 10 languages and gave one-to-one virtual mentoring sessions to applicants over seven weeks. There were five thematic areas — Food and Agriculture, Sustainable Consumption and Production, Climate Education and Literacy, Natural Assets and Sustainable Energy.
As an Online Volunteer, I selected and developed mentoring and training methods, and created content outlines along with designing session plans. Through the training, my role was to guide the young applicants in refining their proposals, focusing on aligning their projects with real-life needs for the climate initiative.” Anastasia Andreeva, Online Volunteer.
Berthe Senga's major in project management gave her that additional edge to look at various areas of the Y4C initiative. During the one-to-one virtual mentoring sessions, she guided applicants on project planning, budgeting, and made sure that all applicants could fully grasp guidelines on inclusivity, adaptability, and relevance to fit the diverse backgrounds of the participants. “By creating a safe and inclusive space for participants, I was able to effectively convey complex concepts and encourage active interaction. The collaborative nature of our task allowed us to encourage each other's strengths — teamwork at its best."
The mentoring sessions not only supported the project writing and proposals of many applicants but also gave them additional confidence in what they were trying to achieve. At the same time, Online Volunteers shared their own project planning experiences with the young applicants, which further honed the learning aspect of these virtual sessions.
Throughout my career, I’ve been involved in managing projects centered on environmental conservation and sustainable practices. I shared my experience with the Y4C applicants to help them refine and write a compelling climate action proposal.” Yumi Chia, Online Volunteer.
“Your guidance gave me the confidence to pursue this initiative were words that inspired me during this Online Volunteering assignment," shared Saurabh Kumar Singh. "I mentored a young entrepreneur who had a particularly intricate project proposal. Watching the applicant overcome challenges and successfully refine the proposal into a stronger, more impactful version was truly an experience."
Online Volunteers recruited through UNV's Online Volunteering Service to support the Youth4Climate initiative delivered almost 100 hours of one-to-one mentoring sessions to some 200 applicants from over 30 countries in Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean.
Youth4Climate (Y4C), a global initiative co-led by UNDP and Italy, and co-shaped with youth and other strategic partners brings together existing and new online and offline resources, tools, capacities, partnerships, networks, and movements by and for youth. Young people between the ages of 18 to 29 along with youth-led organizations applied to Y4C’s Call for Solutions.